WARREN COUNTY — A Warren County 8-year-old girl is expected to recover after being shot Monday afternoon, authorities said, and her 14-year-old sister has been charged as an adult in the case.
Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said deputies responded just before 4 p.m. to a report of a shooting in the 100 block of Abraham Drive, where they found the child with a gunshot wound. She was transported by ambulance to a Jackson-area hospital and is in non-life-threatening condition.
Deputies quickly identified the suspected shooter as the victim’s 14-year-old sister, Destiney O’Neal. Pace said the teenager was detained near the scene, and investigators soon recovered a handgun believed to have been used in the shooting after it was discarded in a neighboring yard.
Authorities believe the shooting occurred inside the home before the suspect fled.
O’Neal has been charged with aggravated assault and made her initial appearance in Warren County Court before Judge R.C. Southerland. She is being held without bail and has been appointed an attorney.
Because of the victim’s age, Pace said Child Protective Services has been notified and will assist in the investigation.
Investigators are now focused on determining a motive and how the 14-year-old gained access to a loaded handgun, Pace said.
Once the investigation is complete, the case will be turned over to the district attorney for presentation to a grand jury.
Under Mississippi law, individuals 13 or older can be charged as adults for certain violent offenses involving a firearm. Pace said that statute required deputies to charge the suspect as an adult in this case.
