‘Gunplay between friends’ leaves 15-year-old girl dead, Alabama cops say
.jpg "Her death is being investigated as a homicide, officials told media outlets. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)")
A 15-year-old girl was shot and killed with a rifle at a friend’s family home in Alabama, police say.
Bessemer police told WVTM that the shooting appears to be the result of “gunplay between friends” and that she was shot in the chest with an “AK-47 style rifle.”
An 18-year-old friend is in custody and faces a charge of manslaughter, police said.
Janiya Simmons of Birmingham was shot on the evening of Monday, Feb. 14, WIAT reported. She died about an hour after the shooting, at 9:34 p.m., at the University of Alabama Birmingham hospital, the Jefferson County coroner told WVTM.
The coroner said Simmons sustained a gunshot wound during a “reported domestic argument,” according to WVTM. “The death is being investigated as a homicide.”
The shooting occurred at Simmons’ friend’s family home in Bessemer, about 25 miles southwest of Birmingham. The friend is an 18-year-old senior at McAdory High School, police Lt. Christian Clemons told AL.com.
The 18-year-old stayed at the scene after the shooting and is cooperating with police while in custody at the Bessemer City Jail, WBRC reported.
McClatchy News reached out to Bessemer police for comment.
Simmons’ school commented on her death, WBRC reported.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of Janiya Simmons, a freshman scholar at Wenonah High School,” the superintendent said, according to WBRC. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Janiya’s’ family, as well as the students, faculty and staff at Wenonah High. Grief counselors will be on hand at the school today.”
Simmons’ mother responded on social media as people shared their support.
“Mama loves you to the death of me and even after that, gorgeous,” Simmons’ mother wrote on Facebook under photos of her daughter. “Not my child, Lord, Lord, Lord.”
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 5:32 PM with the headline "‘Gunplay between friends’ leaves 15-year-old girl dead, Alabama cops say."
