Family of 13-year-old shot at JBLM file lawsuit

TACOMA — The family of a 13-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a friend at Joint Base Lewis-McChord has filed a lawsuit against the government.

The News Tribune reports that the family of Alexander Demello says a hole in the fence around the base contributed to Demello’s death.

Demello died days after 17-year-old Adonis Brown accidentally shot him in the face Oct. 20 near Lakewood.

Brown, now 18, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February and has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

Demello’s family filed a lawsuit Friday naming Brown and U.S. government as defendants in the wrongful death lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that Brown and Demello used a longstanding hole to get onto the base where Demello’s parents say Brown found a gun.

Brown told investigators he found the gun in a bush.