PARACHUTE – A 12-year-old boy died Friday after he apparently was shot by another boy.

Nick Jones, of Parachute, was pronounced dead at 12:14 p.m. Friday at Clagett Memorial Hospital in Rifle after being shot a little more than an hour earlier.

“We really think it was three kids messing around with a gun and the ultimate tragedy happened,” Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario said.

A sheriff’s office news release Friday said Jones and two other boys were at one of the two other boys’ house when the shooting occurred. All three are believed to be around the same age and each is believed to be in sixth grade, Vallario said.

On Saturday, Vallario confirmed the shooting occurred at the home of the boy who allegedly shot Jones.

“They didn’t bring the gun into the home,” Vallario said of the .22-caliber-rifle that is believed to have been used in the shooting. “It was already in the house.”

Vallario said Jones is believed to have been shot in the side of his upper torso by the rifle.

“Although we believe that this was an accidental shooting, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate this terrible tragedy and more information will be released when it becomes available,” the news release said.

Saturday, Jones’ body was in Grand Junction for an autopsy, but the results will not be available for several days, Vallario said.

It’s possible that charges could be filed against either the juvenile who shot Jones or possibly even the parents if they left the rifle in an accessible place.

“It’s really going to come down to how the rifle was left, if it was kept from the kids in some way and if they did something to defeat that,” Vallario said. “We’ll sit down with the D.A. on Monday to determine if criminal charges will be filed or not.”