Florida teenager accidentally commits that while showing friends how to safely use a gun

By SNEJANA FARBEROV

A Florida teenager accidentally shot himself in the head Wednesday, just seven months after losing both his parents to illness and violence. In the course of just over a week this summer, 18-year-old Alex Shaw, of St. Petersburg, was left orphaned when his mother died from cancer and his father was murdered by armed gunmen.

Following his father's brutal slaying, which played out before his eyes, Alex Shaw got a .38 handgun for his own protection. At around 6.30pm Wednesday, the 18-year-old was sitting on the back patio of his grandparent's home in St. Petersburg and showing some friends how to safely handle a firearm, Tampa Bay Times reported.

According to police spokesperson Mike Puetz, the boy told his companion that to make a handgun less dangerous to carry, it has to be with 'no round in the chamber.' To demonstrate his point, Shaw then reportedly put the handgun to his head and pulled a trigger, firing a single bullet that ended his life.

Shaw's grandparents and an uncle were inside the house at the time. Paramedics who were called to the scene attempted to resuscitate the 18-year-old, but to no avail. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to Puetz, despite the tragic events of the past year, the teen had no intention to harm him, and he was described by family and friends as being in good spirits, WTSP reported. This is just the latest in a series of calamities that have befallen the Shaw clan.

On June 11, Alex's mother, Tory, succumbed lost her prolonged battle with lung cancer. Just eight days later, on the morning of June 18, masked gunmen stormed into the family's home on Orpine Drive while screaming 'Police! Police!' and demanded money and drugs.

When Richard Shaw, 41, confronted the intruders, he was shot dead in front of his son. Two suspects in the fatal home invasion, identified as 28-year-ld Charles Stone and 24-year-old Maurice Hart, were arrested and charged in Richard Shaw's death. Two others remain at large.

The suspects are believed to be responsible for another home invasion that happened one mile away from the Shaw’s' home two minutes prior. In that earlier incident, the intruders were also heard yelling 'Police!' before ransacking the evidence and striking the homeowner in the head. Alex Shaw leaves behind his half-brother, Trevor, who is the only surviving immediate family member.

'It's very heart-wrenching to realize what this family has gone through ad now they have this latest tragedy to deal with,' Puetz said.