Court documents: Friend kills 12-year-old boy after making fun of his mom

A 13-year-old boy fatally shot his friend in York County over the weekend after making a joke about his friend’s mother, court documents said.

Pennsylvania State Police have not made any arrests in the death of 12-year-old Kain Heiland around 8:30 p.m. Saturday in Red Lion. Troopers have collected photographs, DNA samples, and clothing as part of the ongoing investigation, according to a search warrant return.

The court documents said this is what happened the night Heiland died:

After his 13-year-old friend made a joke about Heiland’s mother, Heiland told him to shut up. The friend responded by pointing a black gun with a laser at Heiland and pulling the trigger. Heiland was hit at close range in his upper back, court documents said.

12-year-old Kain was killed in a shooting on Saturday. Officials have now revealed more details about the incident and the shooter.https://t.co/HzrcqyXh6q

— CBS 21 News (@CBS21NEWS) April 3, 2023

The York County Coroner’s Office ruled Heiland’s death a homicide. The coroner noted that the homicide determination meant that Heiland died at the hands of another, but does not necessarily indicate whether a crime occurred.

The boy police say fired the gun and another friend checked on Heiland after he was shot and realized he was not breathing. Both friends went home, and the 13-year-old called his father and asked him to come home.

Troopers found a .380-caliber shell casing near Heiland’s body, state police said. The father of his 13-year-old friend owns a .380-caliber gun, according to court documents.

A witness showed troopers a photo of the 13-year-old pointing a gun with a red laser at Heiland’s face. The clothing Heiland is wearing in the photo matches those he was found in after the shooting, state police said.

The 13-year-old went to the state police’s York barracks for an interview and was wearing different clothing than he was wearing at the time of the shooting, according to court documents.

“In my experience with prior criminal investigations involving shootings, suspects will change clothing in an attempt to hide evidence,” state police wrote in the search warrant.

The search warrant return said state police seized a .380-caliber weapon, magazines, bullets, clothing, as well as DNA from the 13-year-old suspected shooter. Court documents said the search warrant was carried out around 4 a.m. Sunday at the teenager’s home.