13-Year-Old Missouri Girl Shoots Korean Couple After Stealing From Their Store

July 21, 2016

A 13-year-old girl from Missouri surrendered herself to authorities after allegedly shooting an elderly Korean couple on Tuesday. She has not yet been formally charged.

The victims, who are in their 70s, were listed critical. Each had been shot once in the torso, St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The shooting took place at Kings Beauty Supply in Bellefontaine Neighbors, Missouri, which was their daughter’s store where they worked.

Joo Lim, a family friend, expressed, “They have had a lot of hardships in the past. They’re very sweet people who didn’t deserve this.”

The unnamed teenager turned herself in at the St. Louis County Police Department’s North County precinct late Wednesday morning. She was accompanied by family members at the time of surrender.

According to the police, the suspect, together with another juvenile, stole some items — believed to be hair extensions — from the beauty shop in their first visit. The items had been retrieved and they were not reported to authorities.

Police chief Jeremy Ihler said via KMOV, “The shop stewards that were there were kind enough to not press charges saying the crime was in their eyes petty giving that person a second chance essentially.”

However, the girls returned later, prompting the elderly couple to call the police. Detective Lt. Shawn Applegate said one was taken into custody, citing an earlier warrant. The other was released under warning.

Yet the free girl made a comeback, “then less than a minute later came running out, swinging in her right hand a revolver as she ran,” Applegate said.

The gun used to shoot the couple has not yet been retrieved. The juvenile is under police custody.

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