Parents of Penn Hills 13-year-old accused of shooting, killing sibling in custody

PENN HILLS, Pa. — UPDATE: The parents of a 13-year-old boy accused of shooting and killing his 5-year-old sibling back in November have turned themselves in.

Arrest warrants for both Thomas Wolfe and Sara Gerwig were issued on Monday.

Stay with Channel 11 News as we continue to follow this developing story.

On Monday, an arrest warrant was issued for the parents of the teen accused of shooting and killing his 5-year-old sibling back in November.

A new criminal complaint states that 5-year-old Connor Wolfe and his three siblings were playing in a bedroom while their parents, Thomas Wolfe and Sara Gerwig, were in another part of the house.

According to court documents, the three youngest children were jumping on a bed in their Prescott Drive home, while the oldest, a 13-year-old boy, asked them to stop.

When they ignored him, according to court documents, he reached for his father’s 9mm handgun, which was loaded and unsecured.

The teenager told police he pointed it at Connor in an effort to scare him and believed the safety was still on. An autopsy performed on Connor showed he died from a gunshot wound to the head and neck.

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Now, nearly a month after the tragedy, the children’s parents, Wolfe and Gerwig are being charged with endangering the welfare of children.

Court documents show that Wolfe admitted that the gun belonged to him and was left out on top of a gun safe, loaded and in the same room the children were playing in. Wolfe also said the gun was one he carried every day and had a live round in the chamber.

The complaint also states the victim’s mother, Gerwig, was also aware the gun was loaded and was out of the safe, claiming that it had been sitting out in the open for nearly two days.

Allegheny County police said that when they processed the scene, they found multiple gun safes in different locations around the home.

The 13-year-old accused of pulling the trigger has been charged as an adult with homicide.

13-year-old now charged in shooting death of 5-year-old brother at Penn Hills home

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