“This child is only 11 years old and drives like a pro,” she said. The boy, who just turned 12 but was 11 at the time of the incident, had quickly noticed the change in his grandma, and didn’t think twice about riding his go-kart home to fetch a more suitable road vehicle.Īngela praised the driving skills of her grandson, who, she explained, has had a lot of practice in his short life.
It was him - it was PJ,” Angela recalled. Just in an easy, calm manner, it was coming towards me,” the woman told 11Alive. “I was leaning against the stop sign, and all of a sudden, I look to my right, and I see my car - my Mercedes-Benz coming towards me. The pair were about a mile and a half from their home when his grandma began to feel ill.Īt that moment, PJ was zooming up and down the street past his ailing grandmother.įeeling dizzy, weak and unable to see clearly, Angela leaned against a road sign. PJ Brewer-Laye, who was driving his go-kart at the time, had been out with Angela Brewer-Laye last week in their Indianapolis neighborhood as she walked nearby. When his grandmother was struggling to stand, an 11-year-old Indiana grandson got it in gear. 'Winter of death': Biden sounds alarm for unvaxxed as Omicron variant takes holdģ5 hospitalized in Florida with severe bleeding after smoking synthetic 'spice' Woman shares hospital delivery room with her ex and his wife in viral video Although investigators have hinted that the young child was confused by the violent video game, the reason why the eight-year-old boy shot the 90-year-old grandmother is currently a mystery.Suspect in LA overdose deaths charged in sex assaults of 4 other women The gun is believed to be Marie Smothers' own weapon, according to Baton Rouge news source WBRZ.įamily members said the relationship between the boy and Marie Smothers was normal and loving. "There'll be an autopsy performed to determine the exact cause of death, which we believe to be a gunshot wound to the head," he said. Sheriff's spokesman Kevin Garig told WWL that there was no doubt that the eight-year-old boy was the person who shot Marie Smothers. However "investigators have learned that the juvenile suspect was playing a video game on the Play Station III Grand Theft Auto IV, a realistic game that has been associated with encouraging violence and awards points to players for killing people, just minutes before the homicide occurred." Instead, he was released into the custody of his parents.Īn official statement from the sheriff's office said that they didn't know the motive for the boy shooting the grandmother. Under Louisiana law, they couldn't charge him with the crime because he is under age 10.
In a statement, the sheriff's office said that they couldn't release the boy's name because of his age. However, after an autopsy and a more extensive investigation on Friday, the sheriff's office now believes that the eight-year-old boy shot Marie Smothers on purpose in the back of the head while she was watching television. On Saturday, East Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Office officials said that they now believe the child deliberately shot the woman, described as his primary caregiver.Īccording to WAFB, the child told police that he'd accidentally shot Smothers while playing with the gun.
An eight-year-old boy shot and killed Marie Smothers, a 90-year-old grandmother, on Thursday night in Slaughter, Louisiana.