Rock Hill boy, 15, released after admitting to accidentally shooting friend
A Rock Hill 15-year-old who killed his friend after stealing a gun in September has been released to his family after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
And then minutes later Tuesday outside the York County Family Court courthouse, he and his family exchanged embraces with the family of the boy who died.
The hugs came after victim Braylen Jackson’s mother and grandmother in court each said minutes before in court: “I forgive you.”
Braylen, 14, died Sept. 25 at a Rock Hill apartment after the 15-year-old played with the stolen gun before accidentally shooting Braylen. The two boys were friends who at the time lived with their families in adjacent apartment buildings off Springsteen Road.
The Herald is not identifying the boy who killed Braylen, under a judge’s order. The boy did not speak in court other than to admit he was guilty.
Judge: “Children should not play with or possess guns”
Visiting Family Court Judge Jan Bromell Holmes released him on GPS monitoring and house arrest pending sentencing after a hearing Tuesday where the boy admitted to the killing and possession of a weapon by a minor under age 18. Prosecutors dismissed breaking into a car and stolen gun charges.
Holmes agreed to release the boy after Braylen’s family agreed with prosecutors to allow a court-required evaluation to be done at home rather than in juvenile jail. The boy had been in custody at an S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice jail in Columbia for two months since the shooting.
The judge praised Braylen’s family showing “forgiveness, grace and mercy” but gave the shooter a stern warning about his conduct.
The boy shot who shot Braylen has had “horrific” discipline problems in school since a young age that included name-calling, shaming, disrespecting teachers and fighting, the judge said.
“I can only hope this is your turning point,” the judge said.
Bromell Holmes also called the killing “horrific” and rebuked the boy about the dangers of guns and the violence they wreak in the hands of children.
“Children are taught at a young age to not play with guns,” the judge said. “And at the age of 14, 15, it is clear that children should not play with or possess guns.”
Prosecutor: Tragedy for Braylen’s family
The shooter stole the gun from a neighbor’s car the night before the shooting, then was showing off with the gun to Braylen and another person the next day, prosecutor Erin Joyner said in court. He took the magazine that holds bullets out of the gun and pointed it at Braylen while not knowing a bullet was still in the gun, according to Joyner. The boy then shot Braylen and he died.
“This has been an unimaginable tragedy for the family of Braylen,” Joyner told the judge.
He initially lied to police and told officials Braylen shot himself, previous court testimony showed.
Braylen’s mother and grandmother then told the judge — and the boy shooter — that they knew he was Braylen’s friend. Each said they forgave him.
Some in the packed courtroom were in tears as Braylen’s family said it is the right thing to do to forgive the boy shooter.
“I know my son (Braylen) forgives him,” said Rylan Jackson, Braylen’s mother.
Defense: Boy has to live with shooting friend the rest of his life
Although the boy did not speak in court, his lawyer said the shooting was accidental and not done with any will or intent. Lawyer Josh Brown of the MLB Law Firm called what happened, “immature and reckless conduct.”
The boy has “taken ownership of what he has done,“ and will receive counseling and other services, Brown said.
“For the rest of his life he has to live with the fact that he took a life, a young man’s life,” Brown told the judge.
The teen’s parents and other family were in court but did not speak Tuesday. They had spoken at two earlier court hearings where he was previously kept jailed pending the outcome of the case.
What happens now?
The teen will live with family in neighboring Lancaster County for the next several months while on house arrest and GPS monitoring, the judge ruled.
During that time the S.C. Department of Justice will do an evaluation of him and the case, then present the findings to a judge sometime in 2026. He will be sentenced after that, but what the sentence will be remains unclear.
Any sentence in South Carolina juvenile court ends at age 22.
