Police identify Central El Paso teenager killed while handling gun

Police identified the teenager killed when the gun she was handling discharged a round.

16-year Gabriela Pitones was fatally wounded inside a home on the 400 block of Hardy.

It happened at about 3:30 am Wednesday March 22, 2017.

While the shooting death remains under investigation, police said last week a “preliminary investigation revealed the victim and another person were in possession of a handgun. During the handling of the weapon, it discharged, striking the victim in the upper torso.”

Police, who initially ruled the death a suicide, said Pitones was transported to University Medical Center, where she died.

Detectives arrested the young man with Pitonos, 18-year old Victory Lago-Elama, for an outstanding Aggravated Robbery case unrelated to the shooting death. Lago-Elema was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility on the outstanding warrant with bond set at $200,000.

Police have not said if the shooting was an accident. No charges have been filed in connection with the death.