EVERETT - Additional charges will soon be filed in the Friday shooting death of a 15-year-old Everett boy, Bedford County District Attorney Bill Higgins said Wednesday.
Cole McConoughey, also 15, was charged as an adult with aggravated assault before his friend, Neal Hammond, died at Memorial Medical Center, Johnstown.
Hammond's funeral was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
The charge will be upgraded to homicide, Higgins said. Whether McConoughey will face a third-degree murder or a manslaughter charge will depend upon the investigation's outcome, he said. Police reports indicated the shooting was an accident, with the shooter unaware a bullet was in the gun's chamber.
McConoughey's preliminary hearing was continued Wednesday as his defense attorney filed a request to move the case to juvenile court.
"We have additional information. ... but we're not prepared to file charges yet," Higgins said.
Charges will also be filed against other people, Higgins said, though he wouldn't specify whom. Investigators are looking for who initially provided the handgun McConoughey allegedly used, he said.
Police said a third boy brought the .38-caliber revolver to the West Providence Township house where the shooting occurred.
Prosecutors will take into account the victim's family's preference when deciding what further charges and punishments to pursue, Higgins said.
"We're [doing] all we can to temper mercy and justice," he said.
