A 15-year-old boy is dead after being shot in the head on Whistlers Cove Boulevard at the Whistlers Cove Apartments near Lely Resort early Monday morning.
Collier County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of a person with a gunshot wound at 1:12 a.m. Monday.
Deputies confirmed Christian Chavez, 15, died of a gunshot wound to the head. The young man was found on a pool lounge chair inside the community with a handgun nearby.
Gulf Coast News spoke to Chavez's sister Monday evening, she said her brother went to East Naples Middle School, he was soccer player and told us, "If you knew him, you knew he had a good heart." In addition to that, he was an uncle.
Residents at Whistlers Cove said they were confused on how a teenager that young had access to a gun.
"Thirteen years old, his life is over now, never had a chance, and he might it might not even be his he don't even know enough he wasn't taught enough to even weigh the you know the outcome of the situation," said Kenneth Griffin.
"I see a lot of, like, with the kids come around here shooting fake guns, thinking it's cool and funny, like, they could easily hurt somebody," he added.
Irving Adrian Jimenez Lopez, 13, has been arrested and faces a manslaughter charge. He was arrested nearly a mile away in Naples Manor.
Deputies say that, at this time, they believe the shooting was “accidental.” Chavez's sister tells Gulf Coast News that the two young adults knew each other, and were on "bad terms."
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