Oklahoma teen arrested for killing 10-year-old boy with crossbow after disagreement

A 13-year-old boy has been arrested after he shot an arrow from a crossbow which killed a 10-year-old boy and injured the victim's younger brother on Saturday evening (21 October), authorities in central Oklahoma said.

Austin Almanza was killed after the teenager fired the arrow, which managed to pierce through Austin's body and hit his eight-year-old brother, Ayden, on the arm as well, Charles Dougherty of the Lincoln County Sheriff said.

The name of the accused has not been revealed so far.

Police authorities were called to a Lincoln County home on Saturday after the incident took place. On arriving at the scene, the officers found Austin lying dead at a vacant lot where children from the neighbourhood usually played near a tree house.

Ayden was later treated at a local hospital and then released, Sheriff Dougherty said, according to the Huffington Post website.

In a news conference on Monday (23 October), the Sheriff stated that Austin didn't die "because of an accident". A dispute which involved the three boys led to the incident.

The crossbow belonged to the accused, and no one else was present at the time of the shooting, the Sheriff added.

The authorities are treating the case as a homicide and plan to submit their findings to the county prosecutor, who will then make a decision about the charges.

The teenager, who is not related to the victims, is currently in custody at a juvenile detention centre as investigations continue.