Martin County Sheriff John Woodward said there have been no “red flags” raised in the course of his office's investigation into the Sunday afternoon shooting that took place at a farm located approximately 10 miles north of Stanton.

“We just want to make sure we cover all of our bases before we declare this an accidental shooting,” said Woodward. “The autopsy is being conducted in Lubbock. We've notified Victim Services, Child Protective Services and all of the other appropriate agencies, but there have been no red flags raised during the course of our investigation. As it stands right now, it appears to be an accidental shooting.”

According to Woodward, he and other law enforcement officials responded to the home shortly after 1 p.m.

“Upon arrival we found two juvenile subjects,” said Woodward. “One was a 15-year-old white male that was deceased. The second was a 13-year-old juvenile who was related to the victim. The 13-year-old suffered no injuries, and no charges have been filed against him at this time.”

Woodward declined to release the names of the juveniles.

“We're not releasing that information right now, both because they are juveniles and because of the impact this has already had on their family,” said Woodward. “County Chaplain Chris Tyler has been working with the family since we responded to the shooting. This has been very hard on them.

“Once the autopsy is in and we're able to make a final determination as to the cause of the boy's death, we'll make a public statement that will include the boy's name, but not until then.”

Woodward said the weapon involved in the shooting was a small caliber rifle.

“It's really a scary thing because so many of us have owned a rifle like this when we were younger,” said Woodward. “And you never really think about something like this happening.”