Children will imitate the actions of the adults, as in this 1912 case where a young boy shoots another boy over an argument.
Five Year Old Held For Murder
Grand Junction, Col., May 7. — A Five year old boy is held for murder here on the testimony of a four year old playmate.
Yesterday the police found the dead body of John Maloney, 7 years old. He had been shot through the head.
Michael Maloney, the 4 year old brother of the dead boy, was bending over the corpse, shaking it, crying on his brother to waken up. Little Michael told the police how he and his brother and John Santos, 5 years old, had been playing together, when a childish quarrel arose.
In the midst of the quarrel, Michael said, John Santos went to a dresser drawer where his father kept a revolver. He took it out, walked up to the older Maloney and killed him.
Source: (1912, May 7). Five Year Old Held For Murder. The Day Book.
