Police: Gun Used In Accidental Teen Shooting, Suicide Was Stolen
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- We now know more about where a Coon Rapids teenager got a gun used to accidentally shoot his girlfriend, then take his own life.
Alantae Arnold's girlfriend told police he was playing with a .357 Magnum when he accidentally shot her on March 9. Police tell WCCO the gun was stolen from a Coon Rapids home.
The tragedy unfolded at the Winchester Place Apartments in Coon Rapids. Arnold, 15, and his 14-year-old girlfriend were in his apartment when his mom frantically dialed 911.
Caller: My son and his girlfriend were in the bedroom and I was laying down taking a nap and my daughters were outside.
911: Ma'am, calm down.
Caller: And she came out with blood all over and I don't know what's going on.
The mom gives the address, then shouts:
Caller: My son is crying! I need an ambulance! She's shot!
She continues:
Caller: I don't know how she is bleeding, on her neck or her shoulder or something and he just took off and I think it was an accident. I don't know what's going on. I just need help.
911: Is your son still there?
Caller: I don't know, I just seen him and he's like, 'Mom,' and I don't know. He just took off.
911: Is there any weapons in the area?
Caller: There was nothing in my house. I don't know what it was, if it was. I don't know!
The girlfriend is alert and eventually gets on the phone:
2nd Caller: I don't know, I don't know where I'm bleeding from.
A person in the background then says, "It's her neck, it's her neck."
The girlfriend later told police Arnold was playing with the gun when it went off.
Police say she was lying down when one bullet struck her chest and then hit her in the jaw, becoming lodged behind her ear. She will be all right.
Arnold was found at a nearby school parking lot, where he had taken his own life.
The Anoka County Sheriff's office told WCCO the .357 Magnum handgun used in this case was reported stolen from a Coon Rapids home.
Coon Rapids police are investigating that part of the case to determine how it was stolen and ended up in Arnold's hands.
