HAMPTON, Va. — A 17-year-old boy was killed when he was apparently accidentally shot by another 17-year-old in a room at the Red Roof Inn on Coliseum Drive in Hampton on Thanksgiving morning, Hampton Police said.
News 3 has confirmed with Newport News Public Schools the teen killed was a senior at Warwick High School.
Police believe three 17-year-old boys were in a room early on the morning of Nov. 27 with a gun when it went off and hit one of them, killing him.
Watch: More questions than answers after shooting injures two teens at Hampton bus stop
The other two 17-year-olds, police say, may have tampered with the scene to make the gunshot wound look self-inflicted. But upon further investigation, police assessed that one of the boys was handling the gun when it fired.
According to a search warrant filed December 5, when police got to the hotel room November 27 the two other teens said the 17-year-old killed accidentally shot himself when picking up a gun off the bed.
Two days later, however, according to the search warrant one of the other two teens told police the gun actually went off when the third teen in the room picked it up off the bed.
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On December 3, the search warrant says, that third teen came to police headquarters and admitted the gun went off when he picked it up to move it.
In a news release December 9, police said Hampton's Commonwealth's Attorney did not plan to charge anyone involved.
Lena Ellis, the mother of the teen killed, created a GoFundMe account to raise money for funeral expenses. News 3 reached out to the mother, but did not get a response by the deadline for this story.
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On the GoFundMe account, however, the mother says, in part, "This tragedy has left me emotionally shattered and financially unprepared as I am a single mother with 2 surviving children. I am trying to navigate funeral costs, memorial arrangements, and all of the unexpected expenses that come with laying a child to rest. I want to honor my son properly, with the love and dignity he deserves."
In an interview with News 3, she said her son had stopped playing football to take carer of her.
Watch: Lena Ellis talks with News 3 about the loss of her son
As of December 10, police were continuing to investigate the incident. Court documents say the room was rented by an adult who was not in the room when police responded. The documents do not say who the adult is, why they rented the room, if or how any of the teens are related to the adult, where the gun came from or who it belongs to.
