LAKE CITY, Florida — On Thursday evening, December 27, Columbia County Sheriff Office Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for the 11 year old that shot and killed 14 year old Jadon Vaughn, Wednesday night.
Carter Palm, 11 of Lake City was taken into custody without incident at a residence in Gilchrist County on the charge of Manslaughter and is currently in juvenile detention in Gainesville.
Detectives met with the victim’s family at 10 am this morning to brief them on the arrest and progress of the investigation.
Police say Jadon was visiting the home of Carter and his brother. The adults of the home went out for the evening, leaving the children at the residence. Around 7pm, Jadon and Carter began play wrestling in an attempt to see if the family dog would respond to Jadon attacking Carter. After this, Carter went and retrieved a pistol from his parent’s room, removed the magazine and pointed it at Jadon. The gun discharged killing Jadon.
Afterward, Carter called his father and told him that Jadon came at him with a knife. Carter and his 13 year old brother admitted placing a kitchen knife near Jadon after the shooting believing they would be in less trouble.
“This is a tragic and avoidable death” Sheriff Mark Hunter said, “Our hearts are broken for both families; one has lost a son and the other will struggle with these events for the rest of their lives” “To honor Jadon, I want to stress the important of securing your firearms so a child cannot get to them!”
The investigation continues.
