A 12-year-old boy was killed after he was accidentally shot by a 12-year-old friend of his Wednesday night.

The incident occurred shortly after 7 p.m. in the town of Wilton, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office.

Police said it appears one of the boys had retrieved his father's handgun from another room, and the two boys were handling the gun when it fired, striking one of the boys in the head.

The wounded boy was sent to Albany Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead, police said.

There were no further details about where the incident occurred or who was involved. The Sheriff's Office was investigating the incident and said more information might be released later Thursday afternoon.

Idiot father is to blame.

Abso-fucking-lutely

Police have charged a 12-year-old boy with manslaughter and his 56-year-old father with endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the shooting death of 12-year-old Nicholas Naumkin of Wilton last Wednesday.

Naumkin, a seventh-grade student at Maple Avenue Middle School, was visiting a classmate at the O'Rourke residence at 1 Birchwood Drive Wednesday. Police said Monday that the two boys were left alone in the residence for more than three hours to play video games, and that they "found" a handgun and ammunition in the father's bedroom.

The two boys were handling the gun about 7 p.m. Wednesday when it fired, striking Naumkin in the head.

Naumkin, of Knollwood Drive, was taken to Albany Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

The handgun, which is registered to 56-year-old Edward O'Rourke, was unloaded and sat in a holster in the man's bedroom, hidden under clothing in a dresser drawer, according to police. Ammunition was similarly hidden in a different drawer, police said.

According to a Saratoga County Sheriff's Department press release, the two boys first found the unloaded handgun and were playing with it when they returned to the father's bedroom and founded a loaded ammunition clip.

According to police, the boys loaded and unloaded the gun several times before it discharged, fatally wounding Naumkin.

According to county records, the elder O'Rourke obtained a pistol permit in 2004. Police allege the man left unsecured loose ammunition in the residence.

O'Rourke was arraigned in the Town of Wilton Court on Monday and released. He is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 25.

His 12-year-old son, a seventh-grade student at Maple Avenue Middle School, will answer to a charge of second-degree manslaughter, a felony, in Saratoga County Family Court.

According to state Penal Law, a person is guilty of second-degree manslaughter when he "recklessly causes the death of another person."

The Post-Star is not publishing the name of the boy because of his age and the nature of the crime.

Maple Avenue Middle School, which is closed for holiday recess, was reopened Monday to provide grief counseling for students and their parents. The invitation to attend was extended to students and parents involved in the middle school and at Dorothy Nolan Elementary school, where the younger brother of Nicholas Naumkin attends classes.

"I've been in touch with both families to tell them know we are thinking of them and that we are grieving with them," said Maple Avenue Principal Stuart Byrne. "I personally understand that this is a tragedy, for both families."

Counselors will be at the middle school when classes resume Jan. 3, Byrne said.

Friends and classmates of Naumkin visited the New England Congregational Presbyterian Church in Saratoga Springs during calling hours Monday afternoon to express their condolences to the Naumkin family.

Photographs tracing the life of the 12-year-old clung to billboards in the lobby.

Funeral services will be held at the church, at 24 Circular St., at 9:30 a.m. today (Tuesday). Burial will follow at Maplewood Cemetery, located at Weibel Avenue and Louden Road.

he kept the gun unloaded and hidden and the ammo in another drawer.

sounds more like an accident.

I dunno, maybe my parents are just old school, but we've had guns all over our house...and I was informed of the dangers of them at a young age, and my dad took me shooting when I was young. Blasted off a .357 Magnum into a watermelon at about 10 yards...no sir I didn't go near a gun until I was legally able to own my own.

At some point we have to stop blaming the guns and blame the people responsible for not educating their kids properly on the dangers of guns.

That being said, if you do permit your children in rooms where guns are, trigger locks are like 12 bucks each, or better yet, just lock your bedroom door when you're not home. Fixes a lot of problems.

Fault rests with the kid and the father, but in my eyes more the father for not properly securing his firearms.

That being said, my 3 side arms are scattered over my bedroom at home, my car, and my bedroom at school.

I dunno, maybe my parents are just old school, but we've had guns all over our house...and I was informed of the dangers of them at a young age, and my dad took me shooting when I was young. Blasted off a .357 Magnum into a watermelon at about 10 yards...no sir I didn't go near a gun until I was legally able to own my own.

At some point we have to stop blaming the guns and blame the people responsible for not educating their kids properly on the dangers of guns.

That being said, if you do permit your children in rooms where guns are, trigger locks are like 12 bucks each, or better yet, just lock your bedroom door when you're not home. Fixes a lot of problems.

Fault rests with the kid and the father, but in my eyes more the father for not properly securing his firearms.

That being said, my 3 side arms are scattered over my bedroom at home, my car, and my bedroom at school.

regardless, the 12 year old shouldnt have know where either were.

he probably didn't. sounds like he was snooping around the room.

That kid needs to get his ass tanned then...what ever happened to the golden rule of stay the fuck out of mom and dads room?

Honestly, what would have happened if they found a dildo? ok that may have been in bad taste...