A 19-year-old man fatally shot his sister, 14-year-old Briana Thornhill, on Thursday, police said.
“I shot her! It was a mistake,” Keon Martavious Thornhill told police officers, according to an arrest report obtained by Local 10 News. The parents of both the suspect and the victim believe it was accidental shooting, and say they had no idea their son had a gun.
Briana suffered a gunshot wound to the face at her townhome in the gated community of the Mirage at Sailboat Cove, according to Local 10 News.
Thornhill’s story reportedly changed throughout the arrest report. He initially said he had gotten into an argument with his sister and handed her his gun, which she used to shoot herself. Then he said he shot her, according to Local 10 News.
Police officers responded to a 911 call that there was a man knocking on doors and asking for help at 3 a.m. One of the doors he knocked on belonged to an off-duty officer with the Opa-locka Police Department. Thornhill allegedly told the off-duty officer that his sister was injured, according to Local 10 News. The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue team found Briana dead in the home.
Miami-Dade detectives detained Thornhill for questioning in Doral, and he reportedly continued to provide inconsistent statements, according to Local 10 News. (RELATED: Country Singer Kellie Pickler’s Husband Dies In Apparent Suicide At Their Home, Police Say)
Joven dispara y causa la muerte a su hermana de 14 años en Florida.Keon Martavious Thornhill dijo inicialmente que le había disparado por error.El joven de 19 años disparó en el interior de su vivienda en una casa adosada en Opa-lockan, en el condado de Miami-Dade. pic.twitter.com/wAVWJuJaIO
— Yordan (@YRoque2021) February 23, 2023
“There were four additional siblings inside at the time of the shooting,” Detective Alvaro Zabaleta from the Miami-Dade Police Department said. The children aged 9-12 years old were home alone while their parents were at work, and were uninjured, according to Local 10 News.
“Detectives have also spoken with the family members who said they had no idea there was a firearm inside of the house,” Zabaleta said.
Police officers arrested Thornhill in July 2022 for grand theft auto. He now faces a second-degree murder charge, with the possibility of a life sentence, according to Local 10 News.