Community Grieves After 6-Year-Old Boy, Shot By 4-Year-Old, Dies

Family, friends and local officials continued to grieve Wednesday after a 6-year-old boy — shot in the head by a 4-year-old — died.

"It's true, it's true," a source close to the family said Tuesday, a day after Brandon Holt was shot in the McCormick Drive yard of the 4-year-old.

Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy said the matter is under investigation, and any possible criminal action could be subject to an investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, cited a possible conflict between the 4-year-old's family and Ocean County law enforcement that caused authorities to move the case's jurisdiction.

The community continue to provide comfort to each other Wednesday, coming to grips with what led a 4-year-old to gain access to a .22 caliber rifile and shoot his playmate.

"It's a tragic thing that happened," said Mayor Thomas Kelaher Tuesday night. "It's a terrible tragedy."

Toms River schools officials will be available to provide counseling services to students at Cedar Grove Elementary and Saint Joseph's Grade School, where the victim was a student.

Police were seen outside St. Joseph's Tuesday, hours before the victim died.

Mastronardy said that the 4-year-old boy obtained a .22 caliber rifle from inside the residence. The state Division of Youth and Family Services were also called to the scene because there were three other children in the home.

The parents were "nearby" when the incident occurred, the chief said. The mother of the 4-year-old called 911. The 6-year-old was flown to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune with a head injury and was in serious condition as of Tuesday morning, but died in the late afternoon, the chief said. 

Kelaher, as well as Township Council President George Wittmann, told Patch after the regular Township Council meeting that their thoughts are with the families.

"I think it's a terrible tragedy that a 4-year-old boy was able to get a hold of a rifle that was loaded," Wittman said. "I think it's incumbent upon gun owners to keep their firearms in a safe location where they cannot be accessed by children."

"It does behoove everybody who has weapons in the township to make sure they're secure," Kelaher said.

The investigation into the shooting is being turned over to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, according to an Asbury Park Press report. The newspaper reports that the 4-year-old’s family includes several members of Ocean County law enforcement.

His grandfather, Tony Senatore of Berkeley, is a retired Jackson police officer, and other relatives are employed by Ocean County law enforcement as well, according to the Press.

The shooting occurred in the Cedar Grove area of the township, according to Toms River schools Assistant Superintendent James Hauenstein, who received the news during a New Jersey School Boards Association meeting Monday night. 

The children were outside the home when the 4-year-old boy went inside to get the rifle, and then shot the 6-year-old about 15 yards away, the chief said. Mastronardy did not say if the 4-year-old pulled the trigger, or if the rifle accidentally discharged.

The 4-year-old's parents were home at the time, but no names have been released. Authorities were on scene at a McCormick Drive home Monday night and had the yard cordoned off with yellow tape.

Debi Coto thought McCormick Drive in Toms River was a quiet cul-de-sac, where kids played safely, free from car traffic.

On Monday night, Coto watched police remove what appeared to be "all these guns" from the scene shortly afterward.

"It's sad for the whole neighborhood," she said. "I'm angry."

Daniel Watkins, saying he is the uncle of victim, appeared briefly on the scene Tuesday and said - referring to the 6-year-old - that the bullet "went into his head."

"It's really difficult to deal with," he said. "It's something that should not have happened. It's horrible."

Four people were seen entering the home of the 4-year-old Tuesday morning after parking down the street.

Coto said she didn't hear the gunshot, but saw a woman waving down an ambulance in the street.

"It was crazy - there were police all over," she said.

She said the neighborhood is a quiet place, where a group of kids play around. Now she's worried about its future.

"It was always quiet - it was always nice a good neighborhood for kids," she said. "it's sad."