The brother of a 17-year-old victim has been charged in her accidental shooting.
Joe Henry Hawkins, 18, was charged Monday afternoon with second-degree assault in connection with the June 13 shooting, Boone County Jail officials said. Hawkins was arrested Saturday afternoon with his girlfriend, Jasmine Amber Paige, 18. Paige was arrested in connection with the shooting on suspicion of hindering prosecution, said Sgt. Tom Reddin of the Boone County Sheriff’s Department.
Hawkins, Paige and a juvenile originally reported that an intruder was responsible for the shooting, but investigators found inconsistencies in the evidence at the scene and determined one of the occupants of the house was the shooter.
The shooting occurred north of Columbia at 501-A Mauller Road. A handgun was fired through the floor of the residence, police said. The bullet hit the 17-year-old victim as she was making a bed on the lower floor of the building.
Hawkins remained in Boone County Jail on Monday afternoon in lieu of $50,000 bond. Paige was released from jail Saturday after posting $5,000 bail and has not been arraigned.
The victim’s identity has not been released, but she remains in the hospital, Reddin said.