Douglas County

Girl was killed by teen brother who fired at man in botched ‘ghost gun’ deal, sheriff says

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — Authorities say a 13-year-old charged with fatally shooting his sister was building guns and selling them on the street.

Kyra Scott, 14, was killed outside her home. Authorities say her younger brother accidentally shot her while trying to stop someone from stealing one of his guns.

The Douglas County Sheriff told Channel 2′s Tom Regan that the teen was buying gun parts online and making the weapons.

Authorities say Kyra Scott was shot when Yusef McArthur, 19, stopped by to buy a gun from Scott’s brother. Instead, McArthur snatched the gun and ran. Scott’s brother, who hasn’t been identified because he is a juvenile, fired at McArthur, but hit his sister.

She later died at a gas station as family members tried to rush her to the hospital.

“Her brother was yelling, saying ‘don’t die, don’t die,” witness Jaquan Straugh said.

Authorities said the young teen was buying gun parts online, and somehow putting them together — running a black-market weapons business.

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“This kid is 13-years-old and he’s making weapons, semi-machine guns, and selling those weapons on the streets of Douglas County, Carrol County, Atlanta,” Douglas County Sheriff Tim Pounds said.

Channel 2 Action News found out just how easy it is to buy one of these guns online in a previous 2 Investigates story. We bought an unfinished assault-style rifle online, no questions asked, put it together and took it to the range.

We later took the weapon to be disposed of properly.

What’s most dangerous about “ghost guns” is that they’re untraceable — an ideal weapon for criminals.

“We seize hundreds of these, and the number is going up every year,” said Graham Barlowe with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “We have found ghost guns, or firearms from unfinished receivers, used in some horrific crimes.”

Authorities are now trying to determine how many guns the 13-year-old made, and whether anyone in the home knew what was going on.

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