EDINBURGH, Ind. – On April 29, 14-year-old Jonathon Elliott was simply doing what many 14-year-olds do: sitting on his couch playing video games.
Then, he heard a loud bang, felt something hot in his chest and realized he’d been shot. He died at a hospital shortly after it happened.
Before being taken away in an ambulance to Riley Hospital for Children, Elliott gave police a one-word answer when they asked who shot him: “Pedro.”
He was referring to 20-year-old Pedro Castillo-Salmeron, who’s now charged with reckless homicide.
Court documents leave the reason behind the shooting ambiguous, with Castillo-Salmeron “playing” with a Taurus GC3 handgun before he fired it, hitting Elliott as he was playing video games on a couch inside the Edinburgh home.
Three other children were playing in a different room at the time, according to court documents. They were unharmed.
“I was playing video games and then I felt something hot,” Elliott told police after they arrived. He was placed in an ambulance and later succumbed to his injuries at Riley Hospital.
Elliott’s older brother thought Castillo-Salmeron initially left after the shooting and hid the gun. But police soon encountered the 20-year-old suspect, placed him in handcuffs and arrested him.
Elliott’s older brother told police he and Castillo-Salmeron were hanging out in the home and wanted to go to a gas station to get something to drink. It was raining, however, and they planned to wait until the rain died down. At one point, Castillo-Salmeron stood up, and Elliott’s brother heard a bang. He thought Castillo-Salmeron shot at the floor.
Instead, he saw his younger brother stand up holding his chest. He said he’d been shot. Elliott’s brother said Castillo-Salmeron had a gun in his hand; “he’d been playing with the handgun when he shot it,” the brother told police, according to court documents.
Castillo-Salmeron requested an attorney and refused to speak to police until he consulted one. He was taken to the holding area at the Edinburgh Police Department.
When informed of Elliott’s death, Castillo-Salmeron “lunged” toward a wall as if he was going to punch it, although officers restrained him. He was then placed in handcuffs and leg shackles. He was booked into the Johnson County Jail.
