He ordered everything he needed online to make guns, including semi-automatic weapons. Then, the 13-year-old boy sold them on the streets to others, Douglas County Sheriff Tim Pounds said Wednesday.
But when a man tried to take a gun without paying for it, the teenager fired a shot with one of his homemade weapons, Pounds said. The shot killed the boy’s 14-year-old sister, Kyra Scott, described as a “beautiful, kind soul.”
“A 13-year-old kid, doesn’t weigh but about 80 pounds, was able to make a weapon from start to finish,” Pounds said. “At 13 years old.”
On Saturday, two people arrived at a Vicki Lane home in Douglasville to buy one of the boy’s guns, Pounds said. Instead of paying for it, the two took it and fled, the sheriff said. Investigators believe the boy fired a shot in an attempt to stop the robbery.
“According to the investigation, he was shooting at the folks that took his weapon,” Pounds said. “But instead, he shot his sister. And it’s so sad his sister’s death happened.”
“A 13-year-old kid, doesn't weigh but about 80 pounds, was able to make a weapon from start to finish. At 13 years old."
Someone in the home called 911 after Kyra was shot, but her mother decided to drive her to a hospital. She pulled into a Marathon gas station on Stewart Mill Road, but Kyra died before she could get help, according to police.
From there, the investigation turned to the family’s home and what was going on inside. Pounds said investigators soon learned of the 13-year-old’s gun-making, something the sheriff said he had never seen.
“Never in my entire career,” Pounds said. “Never heard of that.”
The “ghost guns” are particularly troubling to law enforcement because they don’t have serial numbers and can’t be tracked, the sheriff’s office said.
Credit: Alexis Stevens
Credit: Alexis Stevens
Kyra’s brother and 19-year-old Yusef McArthur El, who was allegedly attempting to buy a homemade gun, were both arrested Monday and charged with murder. In addition, El is charged with robbery-sudden snatch. The two were denied bond Tuesday.
El was being held at the Douglas County jail, and the 13-year-old was at a youth detention center. Their mug shots had not been released Wednesday afternoon.
Lt. Jon Mauney said the investigation is ongoing, and additional charges are possible.
“We have a tremendous amount of work that has to be done on this,” Mauney said.
“This loss is absolutely senseless, and many are grappling to understand how this could happen. We in Douglas County are a community that is in need of healing. Our village has failed to protect our youth."
Detectives hope to find out how many weapons the 13-year-old made and whether others in the home knew about the guns, Mauney said.
District Attorney Dalia Racine said Wednesday that once the sheriff’s office completes its investigation, her office will review the findings.
“Kyra Scott’s death is a tragedy of epic proportion. It’s an unspeakable loss for her family,” Racine said. “This loss is absolutely senseless, and many are grappling to understand how this could happen. We in Douglas County are a community that is in need of healing. Our village has failed to protect our youth.”
Kyra was a student at Chapel Hill High School, where grief counselors were brought in to help students and staff members cope with the death. She had previously attended Lithia Springs High School, Mauney said. A GoFundMe page, created by an older sibling, had raised nearly $12,000 by Wednesday to assist the family with funeral costs.
“Kyra Scott, by all accounts, was a beautiful and kind soul, and nothing that is done in this case will bring her back,” Racine said. “The cost of losing our children is simply too high of a price to pay, and we must do better. And we as a community are going to do better.”
