St. Louis-area 3-year-old shot to death; teen questioned

ST. LOUIS -- A 3-year-old boy was fatally shot Monday at a suburban St. Louis home, hours before a teenager described as a family friend surrendered to the authorities after being sought for questioning, police said.

The 3-year-old was shot once in the abdomen Monday morning at a home near Florissant and later died at a hospital, police said. Brian Schellman, a St. Louis County police spokesman, said it was not clear whether the shooting was an accident.

Several adults reportedly were in the home at the time of the shooting, although no weapon was found, said Shawn McGuire, another police spokesman.

The 15-year-old, who has not been identified publicly, was described by police as a family friend who ran from the home and was missing for hours, prompting a search that included the use of police dogs.

"This is just tragic for the family, the officers involved on the scene and the whole neighborhood," McGuire told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"There are a lot of people that have children around here, and it's Christmas."

The newspaper reported family members identified the dead boy as Xzavier "Zae" Robinson.

Shawmane Robinson told KTVI-TV he was asleep when his son was shot.