CAMPBELLSBURG, Ind. — A 14-year-old Indiana boy was accidentally shot and killed by his older sister Sunday as they and their father prepared to go target shooting.
Rex William Pruett was shot at his father’s home in Campbellsburg, a small Indiana town located about 50 miles northwest of Louisville, Kentucky. Rex, a seventh-grader at Orleans Junior-Senior High School, died a short time after his father rushed him to a hospital.
"The father received a phone call and, while he was on the phone, the daughter, in what appeared to be unintentional, shot her brother with a .22-caliber revolver," Indiana State Police spokesman Chad Dick told The Times-Mail in Bedford.
Officials at the boy’s school, where his sister is a ninth-grader, said that extra counselors were brought in Monday to help students cope with the tragedy. Police investigators waited to release the boy’s name until those measures were in place.
"The first-period teachers had a written statement to read about the incident and then, for any students that need additional help, we have counselors standing by," Orleans Community Schools Superintendent Gary McClintic told the newspaper.
Chris Stevens, principal of the siblings' school, showed a news crew from WAVE 3 News in Louisville Rex's locker, which was adorned Monday with photos and letters from his classmates.
"This does remind you quite a bit of Rex," Stevens told the station. "There were a lot of tears and a lot of smiles today."
Stevens said that faculty members and administrators have made it clear to students that the shooting was accidental. When Rex’s sister returns to class, they will offer her their support, he said.
Family and friends also offered the girl their support on Facebook, where she described her younger brother as “such a sweet little boy.”
“Much love, Rexy, much love. We will all keep you in our hearts,” the girl wrote.
Stevens described the rural community as one in which guns are part of everyday life.
"In our elementary, at the sixth-grade level, we have a gun safety course that all of our students are allowed to go through," Stevens told the news station.
McClintic, who said he taught Rex’s father when he was a teacher, described the boy’s family as a good one that had been involved with Orleans’ public schools for multiple generations.
"It's hard on the community, just as much as it is on the school," McClintic told The Times-Mail.
Johnny Henderson, pastor of Lost River Missionary Baptist Church in Claysville, said that Rex and his family attended services there the morning of the shooting.
“He was an outstanding young man,” Henderson said.
The pastor said the Pruett family needs support, not criticism over the shooting.
"They need support and people to pray for them for peace and comfort," Henderson said. "They still have a hard time going forward. They still have a funeral to go to.
“They are going to be living without this young man.”