Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

When Emo Kids Attack!

Elijah Horne told a judge Thursday that one of his friends shot him in the face after an argument about a messy room.

Elijah, 13, testified that his 15-year-old friend was upset with him July 10 when he walked into his Walnut Hills bedroom and found it in disarray. Elijah, who was spending the night, had said he didn't do it.

But he said his friend pulled a gun from under the mattress and shot him.


The bullet went through his cheek and remains lodged in his neck.

"He just came in kind of crazy," Elijah Horne said.

After hearing the testimony in Hamilton County Juvenile Court, Chief Magistrate John McManus found there was probable cause to keep the 15-year-old locked up pending his next court appearance in August.

The accused teen, who is not being identified, faces an Aug. 6 hearing to determine whether he should be charged as an adult in Common Pleas Court.

Assistant Prosecutor Rachel Lipman urged McManus not to release the teen, who has told his mother and police the shooting was an accident.

The teen's lawyer, Kelly Rice Hunt, said her client did not intend to hurt anyone and did not have a history of violence.

She cited Elijah's testimony that his friend had never before threatened him.

"It's going to be hard to show he knowingly tried to hurt this friend," she said.

But McManus said he would wait to read an evaluation of the teen's mental state before considering releasing him or sending the case to adult court.

Police have said the incident occurred after 3 a.m. in the teen's bedroom. Elijah said his friend accused him of messing up his room and said, "You don't think I'll shoot you."

Elijah said his friend then walked out of the room for a few seconds, returned, retrieved the gun and pulled the trigger.

Police have not recovered the gun.