Stephen Ellison

Antioch Teen Dies in Accidental Pellet Gun Shooting: Police

15-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the chest by a friend

A 15-year-old boy died after being accidentally shot by a friend with a pellet rifle in Antioch Thursday morning, according to police.

Officers responded at 9:55 a.m. to the 4300 block of Palomar Drive on a report of someone accidentally shot with a BB gun.

They found the victim, Marcos Garcia, on the ground with what appeared to be a small wound to his chest. He was unresponsive and was taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, police said.

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eastcountytoday.net
Three distraught teens sit outside the scene of a fatal pellet gun shooting in Antioch. (June 8, 2017)

Investigators learned the Garcia, a Deer Valley High School student, was shot once in the chest with a pellet rifle by a friend, also a 15-year-old boy, in what police said appears to be a tragic accident.

Neighbors said it all happened too fast to save the young man.

"As soon as I got in there, my mom was trying to see, like, get something out of him, but he wasn't responding," Jorge Duran said. "When I got there, I felt his pulse; he had a pulse, but he wasn't breathing. We couldn't do anything; we didn't know what to do."

Word of the freshman's death slowly got out to staff and students Thursday at Deer Valley High as the school's seniors prepared for graduation. 

Duran said he couldn't believe a neighbor and a friend is gone.

"He was a good kid, nice," Duran said. "He would come over and swim. We were neighbors, hung out all the time."

Antioch police said no arrests have been made in what they are calling an accidental shooting but added that the investigation is ongoing.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Garcia's family.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Police Department's non-emergency line at (925) 778-2441. People can also send a tip by text message to 274637 (CRIMES) using the keyword ANTIOCH.

NBC Bay Area's Scott Budman contributed to this report.

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