UPDATE
Dec. 28, 2005, 11:45PM
Slain teen wasn't supposed to be at house, mom says
Authorities say shooting appears to be an accident
By RENÉE C. LEE and CINDY HORSWELL
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
PORTER - The mother of a 16-year-old boy who died in an apparent accidental shooting said her son should have been at his best friend's house. Instead, he was at a house where teenagers are known to hang out and drink alcohol, she said.
''I don't want to sue anybody because that's not going to bring him back," said Denise Ebert. "I just want something done so they won't do it again."
Ebert is referring to the adults who live at the Porter house where the shooting occurred at about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. She said they should have been supervising the teenagers.
Her son, Derrek Delk, and his friends were at the house in the 23300 block of Smith Road when they found a loaded gun in a truck parked at the house. They began horsing around with the weapon and it discharged, hitting Derrek in the neck, police said.
Six teenagers, including Derrek, were at the house with a 21-year-old man, who owned the gun, according to Montgomery County sheriff's officials.
The man lives in a house behind the main house on the property owned by a relative.
A woman who answered the phone at the Smith Road house said she did not know what happened the day of the shooting and declined to comment further.
Ebert said she talked to the boys who were with her son when the shooting happened. She said they told her they took the clip out of the gun before they started playing with it. Derrek later reloaded the clip and put the weapon back in the truck. Sometime later, another 16-year-old, Derrek's best friend, took the gun out, pointed it at Derrek and pulled the trigger, not realizing it was loaded, she said.
''It was a very tragic accident," Ebert said.
Sgt. Carey Mace with the sheriff's office said the teenagers told investigators a similar story.
Mace said the 21-year-old, whose name was not released, was asleep when the shooting occurred.
"He was somehow awakened shortly afterwards and drove Delk to the hospital," Mace said.
Ebert said the boys called 911, but then decided they needed to get Derrek to the hospital right away and woke up the 21-year-old man. Derrek was pronounced dead at Kingwood Medical Center.
According to the autopsy report, the bullet pierced Derrek's neck where carotid arteries convey blood from the aorta to the head, Mace said.
He said the teenagers liked to hang out at the Smith Road house. That's what they were doing Monday night into early Tuesday morning, while drinking beer, he said.
"The property has a pond and sometimes they would build a bonfire," Mace said.
He said the 21-year-old man did not invite the teenagers to the house for a party. Investigators have not determined how the teenagers got the beer or how much they had consumed before the shooting.
Although the investigation is ongoing, authorities do not believe the shooting was intentional. "All indications are it was an accident, but the facts will be referred to a grand jury for review," Mace said.
Ebert said her son was a junior at New Caney High School.
She described her son as a sweet boy who liked to be with his friends and ride his four-wheeler.
''He loved the outdoors," Ebert said.
