Family Mourns 10-Year-Old Allegedly Killed By Boy Who Found Gun In His Father’s Car

The family of a 10-year-old California boy is mourning his loss after he was allegedly killed by another 10-year-old.

Family members identified Keith “KJ” Frierson on GoFundMe as the 10-year-old victim of a fatal shooting on Saturday, after a boy of the same age allegedly stole his father’s gun.

The boy who authorities say shot Keith has been arrested and charged with murder, while his father, 53-year-old Arkete Davis, is facing multiple charges including child endangerment.

According to a release from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a report of a shooting outside Keith’s family home in Foothill Farms, where they found him unresponsive and bleeding from his head and neck.

Keith’s godmother, Nina Trepagnier, told CBS affiliate KOVR-TV that Keith was outside riding a bike he’d gotten as a Christmas gift.

“He was helping [his mother] bring in groceries and he had just gotten his bike for Christmas, and he wanted to go out there to ride his bike,” Trepagnier told the outlet. “He was outside for all of 15 or 20 minutes just literally riding his bike right here with another little kid.”

According to the statement from the sheriff’s office, responding deputies began performing life-saving efforts on Keith until fire department personnel arrived to the scene. Keith was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, authorities said.

In a post on social media, Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper said the shooting occurred in front of a 6-year-old boy. Trepagnier also indicated that Keith’s older brother was present at the scene.

“His brother had to see his little brother laying on the ground, covered in blood,” Trepagnier told KOVR-TV.

Witnesses told deputies that the child who allegedly shot Keith ran to a nearby apartment. Law enforcement detained everyone inside, including Arkete Davis and his two children, authorities said.

According to the sheriff’s office, earlier that day Davis’ 10-year-old son had gone to get cigarettes for his father from the car, where he found a gun.

The 10-year-old allegedly took the gun from the car, then “bragged” about it before shooting Keith outside the apartment’s parking lot.

Detectives later found the gun in a nearby trash can and accused Davis of trying to “dispose of it.”

According to deputies, Davis was legally prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm due to a felony. The gun the 10-year-old allegedly found in Davis’ car was reported stolen in 2017.

“We cannot let this boy’s murder be a one-day news story and forgotten about by tomorrow morning,” Cooper said.

In a GoFundMe launched to offset Keith’s funeral costs, Trepagnier said Keith’s mother and brother decided to leave their home following the shooting.

According to the Pew Research Center, which cites mortality statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of children and teens killed by guns in the U.S. rose by a full 50% between 2019 and 2021.