ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque police charged a woman under Bennie’s Law after her 14-year-old son accidentally shot his friend in the shoulder last August, who police said was also 14 years old.
Police said the shooting occurred on Aug. 22 at a home in the 2800 block of Manzano Street N.E., near Claremont Avenue N.E. and San Mateo Boulevard N.E. Several boys were inside the bathroom when one of them was holding a handgun. That boy had been pointing the gun and pulling the trigger while the magazine and ammunition were not in the gun. When the boy inserted the magazine and moved the slide, the gun fired a shot, striking the victim in the shoulder.
The victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The shooter was taken into custody and taken to the Juvenile Detention Center. Detectives later interviewed the shooter’s mother, 41-year-old Leigh Cleveland, who said the gun belonged to her and that she kept it inside her office at home. She said the children knew where the guns were kept inside the home and that she relied on them knowing they were not supposed to touch them…