Police charge boy, 10, with shooting cousin dead

US authorities have charged a 10-year-old boy with voluntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of his younger cousin in March.

Investigators believe the boy intentionally shot six-year-old Darrel Boyd with a shotgun, but the circumstances did not warrant stiffer charges, said Captain Gary Hastings with the Greensboro Police Department in North Carolina.

The boy’s identity has been withheld because of his age and he was not taken into custody when charged yesterday.

The boy and Darrel were alone together in part of Darrel’s great-grandparents’ home on March 29 when the shooting occurred. Darrel suffered a single gunshot wound and later died at a hospital.

The boy is the second person charged in the case. Police last week served Darrel’s great-grandfather, Haywood Crawford, 68, with misdemeanour charges of leaving his guns accessible to children.