Tennessee Bully Murders 8-Year-Old Girl After Puppy Disagreement, Uses Dad’s Shotgun To Kill Neighbor

A Tennessee bully has shockingly murdered an 8-year-old girl after shooting her using his dad's 12-gauge single-shot shotgun. The suspect was an unidentified 11-year-old boy, who has now been charged with first-degree murder. The victim, on the other hand, was the boy's next-door neighbor, McKayla Dyer.

According to the Jefferson County sheriff, the crime happened when the Tennessee bully asked the 8-year-old girl that he wanted to see her puppy. However, the victim, who had been playing outside about 7:30 p.m., refused. The girl's mom, Latasha Dyer said the older boy had bullied her daughter since moving to the mobile park in White Pine, Raw Story reported.

"He was making fun of her, calling her names - just being mean to her," Dyer told ABC affiliate WATE. "I had to go the principal about him, and he quit for a while, and then all of a sudden yesterday he shot her."

Jefferson County Sheriff Bud McCoig said each of the children in the neighborhood had a puppy, and the bully wanted to see the puppy of the little girl. But when the 8-year-old girl said no, the Tennessee bully went home and retrieved a gun. According to Washington Post, the minor suspect fired the 12-gauge shotgun, which was stored in a closet without locks, from the inside of his house, striking the victim as she stood in her yard.

Upon arriving on the scene Saturday night, the authorities found the girl lying on the ground with a gunshot wound on her chest. She was immediately taken to an area hospital. Unfortunately, she was pronounced dead due to her injury.

The Tennessee bully, who is one of six siblings, is currently in custody, New York Daily News noted. His father, who obtained the weapon legally, has not been charged. He also told the police that he had taken his son on several hunting trips.

On Monday, a judge ordered the boy to be held in a juvenile facility pending his next court hearing, on Oct. 28. But McCoig said the case could later be transferred to adult court.

The appalling murder on Saturday came just two days after a mass school shooting in rural Oregon. It has also rocked the small community of White Pine, Tennessee. Both children attended White Pine School, which teaches students from kindergarten through eighth grade, school principal Bill Walker said.

"She was a precious little girl, she was a mommy's girl - no matter how bad of a mood you were in, she could always make you smile," the victim's mom, who was shattered and devastated, said.

Real Time Analytics