May 21, 2025 7:40p
(WGTD)---16-year-old Pedro Sauceda and his younger brother Jesus "Chucho" Valladares were "play fighting"--with a real gun--when it went off, killing the 11-year-old boy, according to a criminal complaint.
The shooting happened Friday night in the family's home on Prospect St. near the Root River.
The older brother now faces a charge of 1st Degree Reckless Homicide. In court Wednesday, a bond was set at $150,000. Sauceda remains in juvenile detention.
Relatives who were present in the home told investigators that the pair oftentimes played with the gun, but unlike previous instances, this time the gun was loaded and the safety was off.
A single bullet was in the gun because Pedro's sister had planned on going to the cemetery earlier in the day and firing it in the air to celebrate a deceased family member's birthday. But the girl said she never did fire the gun.
When police responded to the shooting, officers found a distraught Saucedo outside, begging them to shoot him. Instead, officers "decentralized" the teen to the ground and he was taken into custody.
According to the complaint, Pedro told investigators that the gun went off when Chucho tried to grab it from him.
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