Deputies: Teen critical after shot by half brother

MACCLENNY, Fla. – A 13-year-old is in critical condition at UF Health Jacksonville after he was accidentally shot by his 18-year-old half brother in their Macclenny home, according to the Baker County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies said the teen was shot near the abdomen area while at the home on Tom Wilkerson Road about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The Sheriff's Office is investigating what happened but believe the shooting was accidental.

Joseph Macquarrie (pictured below), the older brother who's a convicted felon, was arrested on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, reckless handling of a firearm, and discharging a firearm within a home.

According to a police report, Macquarrie first lied to deputies, saying his brother had been shot by someone else at the Baker County Fairgrounds. He initially told investigators his brother heard a loud noise and then fell to the ground, so he picked him up and took him to the hospital.

Deputies said Macquarrie because he knew with his prior convictions he was not allowed to possess a gun.

According to the Sheriff's Office, Macquarrie has at least three prior felony convictions in Duval County as a juvenile.

Pictures (one seen below) posted to Facebook just hours before the shooting show Macquarrie holding guns.

"It was very apparent that was he was telling was not the truth. The story made absolutely no sense," said Major Gerald Gonzalez, of the Sheriff's Office.

Investigators said they found blood at the entrance of the home, and they said Macquarrie then confessed to accidentally shooting the teen.

Macquarrie told deputes he was in the living room talking with his brother and trying to empty a magazine from a black Taurus handgun that he had found about a week earlier. He told deputies he was playing with the gun when one shot fired, hitting his brother near the abdomen.

He also told deputies he hid the gun underneath the home in an effort to get rid of it.

In addition to Macquarrie and his brother, there were three other people in the home, including a 15-month-old child, deputies said. Macquarrie's fiance and her mother live there, and deputies said they're not sure how long the brothers had been staying there.

They said say this should serve as a reminder to everyone about keeping guns secure.

"It's another opportunity for us to remind folks if you have firearms in your house, you need to have them in safe and secure locations where they're not accessible to folks that don't need to get their hands on them," Gonzalez said.

Deputies said the 13-year-old was able to talk with them a little bit shortly after being shot. Deputies were with him at the hospital Wednesday trying to gather more information.

Deputies said the gun used in the shooting was reported stolen out of Duval County.