Shooting victim in the 4200 block of Park declared brain dead

The victim of a shooting at 42nd and Park has been declared brain dead. The Kansas City Star reports that 15-year-old D’Shawn Clayton will be kept on life support until his organs are collected.

On Wednesday, Jackson County prosecutors charged 17-year-old David L. Smith with shooting Clayton. Court records say Smith told detectives that he accidentally shot Clayton while smoking marijuana and playing with the gun in the basement of a home at 42nd and Park. Smith and Clayton got into an argument over a chair, and Smith claimed he didn’t know the gun was loaded when he pointed it at Clayton and pulled the trigger.

The Star also notes that charges against Smith could be upgraded after Clayton dies.