Relative charged in accidental fatal shooting of teen

Daniel Farias Jr. charged in connection with death of Zenas Farias, 15

SAN ANTONIO – An adult relative of a teenage boy who was killed in an accidental shooting Friday morning will face criminal charges, San Antonio police said.

Daniel Farias, Jr., 20, was arrested on a criminal negligent homicide charge, police said. He is being held in the Bexar County Jail on $10,000 bail. 

Farias was one of five people inside a home shortly before 5 a.m. in the 6200 block of Big Valley Drive when Zenas Farias, 15, was shot, police said.

Officers at the scene said the bullet went into the teen's arm and then traveled into his chest.

"The victim -- 15 years old, would've been 16 later this month --- was transported to University Hospital, but later passed away," police spokesman Officer Douglas Greene said.

Detectives believe the teen was sitting in the living room at the time. When officers arrived, they found him just outside the front door.

In addition to Daniel Farias, an adult woman, a teenage girl and a baby were inside the home at the time, police said. 

According to investigators, the three older people initially claimed to have been the one who fired the weapon.

But detectives determined that wasn't the case, and determined that Daniel Farias accidentally pulled the trigger.

"(The suspect) had a loaded weapon on the couch. When that individual went to pick up the weapon, it discharged," Greene said. "Based on the information that they gathered, the suspect was reckless with that weapon being loaded, being out in the open, which resulted in the death of the victim."

Greene said the shooting is "a sad situation for the suspect and the victim" and a reminder for gun owners to keep their weapons safely locked away..

"It's important to know that when you're talking about an accidental shooting, if you're going to own a weapon, you have to be responsible," Greene said.

 

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About the Author:

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.