WOUNDED YOUTH DIES

CHAFFEE -- A sixth-grader at Chaffee Elementary School died Saturday night from a bullet wound he suffered a few hours earlier following a shooting at his home.

A spokesman for the Chaffee Police Department said Dustin Ray Cooper, 12, died from a .22-caliber bullet wound to the head. He lived over four hours following the shooting but died about 11 p.m. at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.

Cooper and an 11-year-old friend were home alone and removed a .22-caliber revolver from a drawer. The youths were playing with the weapon when it discharged, the police spokesman said.

Funeral service for Cooper will be at Amick-Burnett Funeral Home in Chaffee at 11 a.m. Wednesday.