A Sioux City teen boy died Tuesday after apparently being shot while a fellow teen played with a handgun. Sioux City Police lieutenant Marty Reilly says 16-year-old Ryan Blanchard was shot in the head Monday by 16-year-old Codie Kapaun, a girl who was a friend of Blanchard.
Rielly says the gun was brought to the house and fired several times before Blanchard was struck. Reilly says one of the people involved took the gun from a relative, and that person was not aware the gun was taken. Reilly says there were five teens at the house at the time of the shooting, and doesn’t appear to have been any drugs or alcohol involved.
But Reilly says the teens were playing around with the gun. Reilly says he can’t think of a reason other than “horsing around” as an excuse for firing a gun inside a house. Kapaun has been charged in juvenile court with involuntary manslaughter. Reilly hopes the deadly shooting serves as a warning to everyone.
Reilly says the tragedy is an opportunity for parents to talk with children about gun safety, and for parents to be sure that guns are secured properly in homes. Grief counselors are available at Sioux City West High School where Blanchard was a student.
Sioux City Schools superintendent, Paul Gausman, says over 100 students attended a grief counseling session Monday night after news of the shooting. Gausman says they will continue to provide grief counseling to help students deal with the tragedy. Reilly says Blanchard was shot with a .380 semi-automatic handgun.