Teen fatally shot by friend

By

NITA MCCANN

The Natchez Democrat

VIDALIA, La. &045;&045; A Vidalia boy was fatally shot Friday evening in what police believe was an accident, Police Chief Billy Hammers confirmed later Friday night.

Hammers said Kenneth Beach, 13, of 206 Wallace Circle in Vidalia, was shot in the right side of the chest with a .20-gauge shotgun by one of his friends, a 14-year-old boy whom police would not name because he is a juvenile. The shooting took place at about 6 p.m. at the friend’s house on Virginia Avenue, with a shotgun that belonged to a friend’s mother, Hammers said.

No charges had been filed as of press time Friday.

Although details of what happened prior to the shooting were still being investigated as of Friday night, &uot;it looks like an accident,&uot; he said.

&uot;He (Beach) appears to have been shot at close range,&uot; said Adams County Coroner James Lee, who pronounced Beach dead at Natchez Regional Medical Center.

An autopsy is scheduled to be performed on the boy today in Jackson, and Lee said he expects to get preliminary autopsy results as soon as tonight.

Hammers said Beach was among a group of friends inside the 14-year-old boy’s house when he was shot.

When asked when the last such shooting had occurred in Vidalia, Hammers became silent for a moment. &uot;It’s been a long time,&uot; he said, &uot;since we’ve had something like this.&uot;