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Boston Teen Who Fatally Shot Brother 'Aggressive' Toward Family, Police Say

A newspaper reported Sunday that Boston police responded to several calls on reports of violence in the past year at the house where a 14-year-old boy is accused of accidentally shooting and killing his 9-year-old brother on Friday.

The Boston Herald reports that according to police records it obtained, officers visited the apartment last June on a report of a 13-year-old boy who hit his brother and his mother and threw his brother to the ground.

On June 22, 2013, a 13-year-old juvenile was reported to have "hit the brother and the mother ... slapped their brother in the face and threw him to the ground," according to the report.

The caller said the suspect "then pushed their mother ... to the ground, began fist fighting her ... and made threats to kill her. The suspect has been very aggressive towards the family lately." The suspect was placed under arrest.

On May 10, 2013, police spoke to the mother of the suspect "who stated that her son had gone missing from a DCF facility in Norwood. Ms. (redacted) stated that the facility had reported the victim missing with the Norwood Police Department." The 13-year-old returned home, and "she wants him to stay home."

Less than a year later, police were called to the boys' home in the city's Mattapan neighborhood at about 11:30 a.m. Friday, where they found the wounded 9-year-old boy. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The shooting is thought to be accidental. Police Commissioner William Evans said the older boy panicked and ran away, but was "very remorseful" when police found him later.

Police are investigating how the boy got the gun and why the children weren't in school. Authorities say there's no evidence anyone in the family knew the boy had the gun.

The teen was arraigned Monday on delinquency charges of involuntary manslaughter and illegal possession of a firearm related to the shooting death.

He was held on $50,000 cash bail and will next appear in court on March 3.

Mayor Martin Walsh says Boston’s police department and the city will initiate a gun buyback as a result of the shooting.

Reporting by The Associated Press and the WBUR Newsroom

This article was originally published on February 10, 2014.

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