A 10-year-old and his father have been arrested in after the boy shot and killed another child using his father’s stolen gun, according to Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper, who called the homicide “tragic and completely avoidable.” Image courtesy of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office

“The victim was transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased. It was later confirmed that the victim was only 10 years old,” they said.

Family members identified the victim as Keith “KJ” Frierson, who had just gone outside of his apartment to ride his bike.

“He was very smart, very intelligent, kind, loving, respectful,” Frierson’s aunt Erika told KCRA-TV. “He didn’t deserve this. He still had a whole life to live.”

The boy, who was arrested, had taken the stolen gun from his father’s car and bragged about having the weapon before shooting the other boy, according to investigators who said the suspect had originally gone to the car to get his father cigarettes.

Deputies confirmed Arkete Davis, 53, was “legally prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm.” The gun was located in a nearby trashcan where Davis is believed to have tried to dispose of it, as his son ran into the building.

“Simultaneously, witnesses at the scene told deputies that the individuals responsible for the shooting ran into a nearby apartment,” deputies said. “Deputies called out all the individuals from that apartment and detained everyone without incident.”

The boy who is believed to have shot the victim was arrested and was transported to the Sacramento County Youth Detention Facility where he was charged with murder. Davis was arrested and taken to the Sacramento County Main Jail where he was charged with several firearm-related charges, child endangerment and accessory after the fact. He is being held on $500,000 bail.

“Last night’s homicide of a 10-year-old boy was tragic and completely avoidable,” Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper wrote Sunday in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“As more details of the incident come to light, there is definitely a concern about irresponsible parenting and that an ex-felon was illegally in possession of a firearm that led to this young boy’s murder,” Cooper added, as he promised to address illegal gun possession in 2024.

“We cannot let this boy’s murder be a one-day news story and forgotten about by tomorrow morning. The issue of illegally possessing guns by those who should not have them and using them to commit violent crimes is a real one.”