Neighbor recounts trying to save 14-year-old boy killed in Oaklawn shooting
By Kate Devine
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SEDGWICK COUNTY, Kan. (KAKE) — The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a 17-year-old in connection with a shooting that killed a 14-year-old Jesus Merino Terrero in Oaklawn earlier this week.
Deputies say the teen arrested is the victim’s brother. He has been booked into the Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Facility and faces two felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of aggravated child endangerment.
The shooting happened around 3 a.m. Tuesday at the Englewood Mobile Home and RV Park in the 3200 block of East MacArthur. Deputies initially responded to an unknown EMS call before dispatchers updated it to a shooting.
When deputies arrived, they found 14-year-old Jesus Merino Terrero with a gunshot wound to his upper body. Despite lifesaving efforts, he died at the scene.
Neighbors say they were among the first to respond.
Danielle Rud, who lives across the street, said she woke up to pounding on her door in the middle of the night.
“I was in bed with my husband, and at three o’clock in the morning, there was pounding on the door. When we opened the door, there were our three neighbor girls screaming, crying, saying that their brother had been shot. I’m a mom,” Rud said.
Rud’s husband Daniel Reid says he was one of the first to call 911.
“It was pretty devastating, especially since my daughters played in that house,” Reid said.
Rud said she immediately ran across the street.
“I’ve been trained in CPR since I was about 14 years old, so the very first thing my husband asked me to do was just try. As a mom, that’s all I could do, was try,” she said.
She said she quickly realized the boy was already gone but continued trying to help.
“I knew he was gone, but you still have to try, especially for that mama,” Rud said.
Rud said the experience was unlike anything she had ever seen.
“I’ve never seen anything like that in my entire life. Nothing like they describe on TV. It’s nothing like that. It’s way more real,” she said.
She said the situation is especially difficult knowing her own daughter had recently been inside the home and was friends with the victim’s sisters.
“The scariest part was my daughter has been in and out of that house. She was friends with the sisters, and now here we are, two days after she was in that house, and a senseless tragedy happened. That is very scary,” Rud said.
Rud also said her heart goes out to the boys’ mother.
“It hurts my heart for the mama, because not only does she now have to grieve one son, but now she has to grieve two,” she said.
She is now urging parents to stay involved in their children’s lives and to stress gun safety.
“Be involved in your children’s lives, because you don’t know what is going on,” Rud said. “If you have a gun at home, teach your children about gun safety.”
The sheriff’s office says the investigation remains ongoing.
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