Boy who killed girl over puppy got gun from unlocked closet, sheriff says

Note: This Is Not The Actual Boy In The Photo

As a Tennessee community prepares to bury a girl allegedly killed by an 11-year-old boy over a puppy, more details emerged about the gun used in the shooting.

The preteen faces first-degree murder charges in the death of MaKayla "BooBah" Dyer, 8.

He fired at her from his house Saturday, killing the girl who was in her yard, Jefferson County Sheriff Bud McCoig told The Washington Post. 

The boy used his father's 12-gauge shotgun, which he got from an unlocked closet, the sheriff told the paper.

He is being held on a first-degree murder charge in a juvenile detention center. The center's superintendent, Richard Bean, said the boy is the youngest held there on a murder charge in his 44-year career. Bean described him as "very tiny," weighing about 55 pounds.

He is in a regular "pod" that holds up to 16 other juveniles between ages 12 and 17.

-CNN News