PHOENIX — Court documents are revealing new information about a weekend shooting that claimed the life of a 15-year-old.
The investigation into the shooting began when Phoenix police were called to Banner Estrella Medical Center early Sunday morning after the victim was brought to the center for treatment.
According to court documents, the shooting happened early Sunday morning before 3 a.m. in a vehicle driving on Buckeye Road.
Gabriel Hernandez has been arrested in connection to the incident.
The documents say the teen was shot while riding in the car with a family friend later identified as Hernandez.
The vehicle was heading westbound on Buckeye Road east of 99th Avenue at the time of the shooting.
The victim was riding in the front passenger seat of the vehicle being driven by his mother while Hernandez was directly behind the victim in the back seat.
Witnesses said Hernandez pulled out a handgun from his waistband and fired one round which hit the victim in the back.
During an interview, Hernandez said he had put the gun on the floorboard of the vehicle and later went to pick it up when he pulled the trigger.
After the shooting, Hernandez said he was sorry and didn’t know there was “one in the head.”
A juvenile witness sitting next to Hernandez in the back seat said they had seen him consuming alcohol and marijuana in the hours leading up to the shooting.
After the teen was shot, Hernandez jumped out of the moving vehicle at an intersection near 107th Avenue and Buckeye Road and ran away.
Hernandez said he lost the gun after it fell from his waistband while he was running away. The gun has not been recovered.
The victim’s mother continued driving the vehicle, rushing the victim to Banner Estrella Medical Center on Thomas Road for help. The teen later died at the medical center.
Hernandez is facing a second-degree murder charge in connection to the shooting.
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