The Layton neighborhood where two boys died Tuesday night from gunshot wounds, one by his own hand, is in a state of shock. But it's shock tinged with anger.
Brock Thomas, 11, died in the street in front of his house at 1759 E. 2800 North just after 5 p.m. Monday, wounded in the right side by a single bullet from a high-powered hunting rifle.The boy police and neighbors believe fired the fatal bullet, Tyler Johnson, 14, of 1712 E. 2800 North, apparently committed suicide right after the Thomas boy was shot.
One neighbor, who called 911 right after hearing the shots, said they came close together.
Mark Padgett lives across the street from the Johnson boy and knew him well. "Tyler was a good kid," said Padgett. "It was an accident, I'm sure. A tragic accident, a one-in-a-million accident, but it was an accident."
Padgett said he believes Johnson was excited about a first hunting trip and was probably handling the 30.06 rifle in an upstairs bedroom of the home when it discharged accidentally.
"Tyler was smarter than that, to have aimed a loaded gun at someone. He'd gone through the hunter education course and he knew better than that.
"I've heard the talk about him maybe sighting the gun in (on the victim), and I'll tell you, Tyler just wasn't the kind of kid to do that," said Padgett.
"And all this talk about there being bad feelings between the two kids, or them being enemies or whatever, that's just talk. There's nothing to that," Padgett said.
"Tyler loved kids. He was a good kid. I think he saw what happened when that gun went off and he decided he just couldn't live with that for the rest of his life. It took a strong person to do what Tyler did," Padgett said.
"We all believe it was a way freak accident that ended way tragically. It was a one-in-a-million chance that those two kids happened to be standing in the street right there," Padgett said.
Police SWAT teams swarmed through the neighborhood for hours after the 5 p.m. incident, unsure if they were dealing with a sniper or other type of gunman.
"I had a guy in a SWAT uniform come to my back door and knock, asking if he could use our house," said a neighbor across the street, who didn't want her name used.
"He was up in our front bedroom at the window for hours. I took the kids to the back of the house and didn't see much of the rest of the incident," she said.
Tragically, both victims were the only children in their families and left both sets of parents childless.
"The Thomases are taking this very hard. Brock was a neat kid, just a typical 11-year-old," Padgett said. "I've never seen parents take it so hard as they are."
After police cleared the scene, neighbors rallied around the two families, some staying up most of the night to help clean up and renovate the Johnson house.
The Johnsons have moved out temporarily, staying with relatives, and a family member was at the home Wednesday afternoon, hauling several other hunting rifles out of the house to be taken away.
"Everyone here is taking it hard. The neighborhood is in shock," said Padgett, standing in the driveway of his home on the quiet cul-de-sac. The yard is decorated for Halloween, with coffins, tombstones and assorted ghouls.
The Johnson boy helped him put the mock graveyard together, Padgett said, going with him to gather some of the decorations.
"We lost two really good kids. That's the tragedy of it," Padgett said.