15-year-old Jacob MacKenzie of St. Paul was killed early Sunday morning when an AK-47 misfired, striking him in the head, according to the Pioneer Press.
Alfredo Gutierrez-Gonzales, 19, also of St. Paul, was attempting to load a magazine clip into his AK-47 when it suddenly fired, killing MacKenzie immediately, according to police reports. Gutierrez-Gonzales told police he had received text messages from friends at the house where the incident took place that said they were fearful the house would be the target of a drive-by shooting, reported the Star Tribune. After the incident, Gutierrez-Gonzales fled the premises, but turned himself in Thursday after a public plea by his girlfriend, Jayna Emerson, according to the Pioneer Press.
A witness, identified by police as J.A.E., told police that Gutierrez-Gonzales was having difficulty loading the weapon, and that he also tried to load the magazine clip but was unable to because "the frame of the gun was messed up or bent," reported the Star Tribune.
The Star Tribune reported that Gutierrez-Gonzales has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and illegal possession of a firearm. The Pioneer Press reported that bail for Gutierrez-Gonzales was set for $250,000.
"I hope he gets everything coming to him," Michelle Olson, MacKenzie's mother, told the Pioneer Press. "He killed my son, and I can never get him back."