A 14-year-old girl dies after being shot by her 13-year-old brother, who was making and selling homemade guns

(CNN) – A 13-year-old boy who manufactured and sold the calls “ghost weapons” was arrested after he allegedly shot and killed his 14-year-old sister with one of his own homemade firearms, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia.

Two people had gone on November 27 to the family home in Douglasville, about 30 kilometers west of Atlanta, to buy a weapon that the 13-year-old had made, as he explained this Wednesday at a wheel of press Douglas County Sheriff Tim Pounds.

But instead of buying the firearm, the couple stole the 13-year-old boy’s gun and fled the scene, the sheriff told reporters. The boy then shot them as they left, Pounds said, but instead hit his 14-year-old sister, who was identified by the sheriff’s office as Kyra Scott.

Investigators believe that the weapon he used was one that he had made himself.

Two detainees so far

Authorities have arrested Kyra’s 13-year-old brother and 19-year-old Yusef Jabryil McArthur El, one of two people who had come to buy the homemade gun, according to the sheriff’s office. The 13-year-old admitted to shooting, Pounds said.

The 13-year-old boy has been charged with murder, the sheriff’s office said in a statement, and McArthur El has been charged with robbery and murder.

The Douglas County prosecutor’s office is waiting for information from the investigation to be released to prosecutors before making a decision on the final charges, prosecutor Dalia Racine said Wednesday.

CNN is trying to determine if the defendants have legal representation.

According to the sheriff’s office press release, the people at the home tried to transport Kyra to the hospital, but stopped at a gas station, where they were caught up by paramedics and sheriff’s deputies. Kyra was taken to a hospital, where it was confirmed that she had died from her injuries.

“It is so sad … because the mother loses two children at the same time,” Pounds said, telling reporters that the child had been making weapons from “start to finish.”

“He’s selling those guns on the streets of Douglas County, Carroll County, Atlanta … everywhere,” the sheriff said.

Investigators are still looking for the third person implicated, Pounds said, and the shooting remains under investigation.

Authorities did not detail exactly how Kyra Scott’s brother made homemade firearms or how long he had been selling them. Investigators were looking at possible weapons charges for the 13-year-old, said Lt. Jon Mauney of the sheriff’s office, but declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.

Ghost weapons

The use of ghost weapons – self-assembled firearms that are often made from parts sold online and do not have serial numbers – has been on the rise in some major cities. Between 2016 and 2020, it was reported that more than 23,000 firearms without a serial number were recovered by security forces from potential crime scenes.

Pounds called the ghost gun issue a “super big problem,” adding: “no serial number, you can’t trace that weapon.”

“It’s really critical, and it’s a bad thing for law enforcement around the world,” he said. “You can order everything you need to make that pistol on the Internet and make it … and it will fire.”

A GoFundMe created by Kyra’s brother to raise money for his funeral service describes her as “the kindest girl you will ever meet.”

“He had the biggest heart and always wanted to be close to his family,” he says.