Teen identified, charged following shooting of 14-year-old in Independence
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) - The identity of a teen accused of shooting a 14-year-old boy in Independence has been released.
According to court records, Amari Pinkins-Smith, 18, is facing two felony charges stemming from an incident on April 26, 2025.
The Independence Police Department said officers were dispatched to a home in the 3400 block of S. Leslie Avenue around 3:20 p.m. on reports of a shooting. Responding officers found the victim, a 14-year-old boy, lying in an upstairs bedroom with a gunshot wound on his upper left back and coughing up blood.
The victim gave officers a description of the person he said shot him
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Independence police investigating what led up to shooting of 14-year-old boy
Pinkins-Smith was charged with felony first-degree assault, as well as armed criminal action.
The 14-year-old shot by Pinkins-Smith told police the two were fighting over a gun that the 14-year-old said was his own. During the struggle for the gun, the 14-year-old said Pinkins-Smith, who he knew by nickname as “Ace,” shot him.
On April 27, Pinkins-Smith appeared at the Independence Police Department for an interview with a detective. In the interview, he told police an unknown individual fired a shot at the group. Later in the interview, Pinkins-Smith itted to police he lied about an unknown shooter and said he and the 14-year-old victim had previously argued over who would buy the gun.
Both the 14-year-old victim and another witness told police Pinkins-Smith was in possession of the gun during the incident and described the 18-year-old as pointing the gun at the victim prior to the shooting.
Pinkins-Smith is in custody in the Jackson County Detention Center and being held on a $50,000 bond.
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