Boy, 11, fatally shot in northwest Houston

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Witnesses say kids playing with a loaded weapon at a home in northwest Houston ended in tragedy Sunday when an 11-year-old boy was shot and killed.

Houston police are calling this an accidental shooting.

They say the boy was with other children at a condominium complex in the 2000 block of Laverne Street near Hammerly Blvd. in the Spring Branch area when the shooting happened around 2pm.

The child's grandmother, Susan Wenzel, told us that her 11-year-old grandson, Alex Whitfield, died from a gunshot wound he suffered at his father's home.

Police told her and the boy's mother that the child was playing with four other children when they found a gun.

The grandmother says they were told a child grabbed the gun and it went off, ricocheting and hitting the boy.

"As soon as he got shot, he ran inside and he fell in the living room and my neighbor -- she's a nurse. She came outside and did CPR for 10 minutes, but he passed away," witness Brian Esparza said.

Wenzel says medical staff performed CPR on the child for 40 minutes, but couldn't bring him back.

Neighbors say no adult was home at the time of the shooting. The victim's grandmother confirms that a 16-year-old was babysitting the children.

The case is still under investigation.

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