A 16-year-old boy who has been charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of a teenage girl inside a Queens home claims the gun went off by accident, authorities and sources said.
Deaza Barkley, 17, who dreamed of one day joining the Air Force, was found with a fatal gunshot wound to her head inside the Clover Place home in Jamaica just after 5 p.m. Sunday, police said.
The alleged shooter was taken into custody hours later and also faces gun possession charges, police said Monday.
Cops revealed that the shooting may have been accidental.
The teen told police he was at his grandfather’s house on the tree-lined, residential street and invited Barkley over when no one else was home, law enforcement sources said.
He claimed he was playing with the gun, according to the sources, when it went off — mortally injuring Barkley.
The boy then called his dad, who sent the boy’s brother over to see what happened, the sources said.
The brother walked in on the grim scene and reported back to his father, who then dialed 911, according to the sources.
When first responders arrived, Barkley was unconscious and rushed to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where she later died, police said.
It’s unclear how the two teens knew each other.
Friends and family of Barkley — who lived in East New York, Brooklyn — were baffled by the killing Sunday.
“She was getting ready to graduate high school, and her plans were to apply for a job in the Air Force,” Barkley’s mother told The Post.
A family friend, who did not want to be named, described her as someone who loved her family and was always well-behaved.
“I just came up from Florida for a wedding, and her mother called me this morning crying, and told me what happened,” the friend said. “I know she liked to dance, and she was a cheerleader at the high school.
“She never got into any trouble. She has an older sister, and she also has a younger brother. I’m confused, and I’m just trying to find out what happened.”
