Darric Appleton, 14, was killed in Phoenix on Monday, March 9, 2020, after being struck by a bullet from a handgun while at a home near 43rd Avenue and Baseline Road. He was at the residence with a group of children aged roughly five to seventeen; Darric was not a resident of the house. Emergency services transported him to a local hospital in critical condition, and he was later pronounced dead.

No adults were present in the home when the shooting occurred. Authorities reported that a 16-year-old male who had brought the firearm to the house was taken into custody and booked on manslaughter and weapons charges. The investigation into how the handgun came to be handled and the exact sequence of events remains ongoing.

If anyone was at that house or has information about who brought the gun or what happened inside that day, please come forward.