South Carolina authorities have charged two young boys in the murder of a man who was cutting down brush in a field.
The identities of the 8-year-old and 9-year-old have not been released. But police say they shot at Danny Andrew Smith with a rifle as he rode his tractor in the field near Westminster on June 23.
Smith, 62, was shot once and died from a gunshot wound to the back. Both boys were charged as juveniles in Family Court because they each fired the rifle.
Due to their age, the boys cannot be kept in jail and released to their parents.
Deputies confiscated the .22 rifle used. It remains unknown how the boys got the rifle, ABC News reported.
Smith’s wife found him slumped over in the driver’s seat of the tractor. His autopsy revealed he had been shot in his back about four to six hours before his body was found.
