OAK HILL, Fla. – A 14-year-old New Smyrna Beach High School student was fatally shot in the neck at a home in Oak Hill Saturday evening, officials said.
Volusia County Sheriff's Office officials said deputies were called to a home at 287 Wood Ave. around 7:30 p.m. and found Ernesto Sierra-Plummer, a ninth-grader, suffering from a gunshot wound to the neck.
The boy's cousins were in the home at the time of the shooting but no one saw it, a news release said. One of Sierra-Plummer's cousin reported seeing Sierra-Plummer with a handgun in his hand and another cousin said the boy said he shot himself, according to deputies.
Sierra-Plummer was taken to Florida Hospital New Smyrna, where he was pronounced dead at 8:44 p.m.
Deputies said the circumstances surrounding the shooting are under investigation.
Sierra-Plummer's autopsy is scheduled for Monday.
A representative for the school said grief counselors will be available to students Monday.