Mackeon Schulte, 15, Wakes Friend Late At Night — What Happened Next Was An Accident [UPDATED]


Mackeon Schulte was a 15-year-old sophomore at Billings Senior High School in Billings, Montana, who, along with another teen, tried to play what seemed like a harmless prank on a friend in the early morning hours of Sunday.

But Schulte apparently didn’t count on his friend overreacting — and reaching for a gun. The end result of the prank was a horrifying tragedy, but one that police are calling an accident.

The incident took place at about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday morning at a home on Alderson Avenue in Billings. Here’s what happened, according to an account made public by the Billings police on Monday.

Schulte and the other boy were hanging out together, apparently for a sleepover, but at some point early Sunday morning, the pair decided to go out. Where exactly they had been staying and whether either Schulte’s or the other kid’s family knew they had left the house was not revealed.

What is known is that they went looking for a third friend, a 17-year-old whose name has not yet been publicly released. When they arrived at the other teen’s home, they tried to wake their friend up by first tapping on his bedroom window, then tossing small stones or pebbles at the window.

That’s when things went wrong — terribly wrong.

The other boy, for some reason, had a gun in his bedroom. Startled by the tapping at his window and unable to recognize who was outside in the dark or see that it was just his high school buddies out there, he grabbed the gun.

Then the 17-year-old, whom police described as “scared,” pulled the trigger, firing blindly through the window into the dark.

According to the police account, the bullet struck Mackeon in the head. Police and paramedics were quickly called and Schulte was rished to the nearby St. Vincent Hospital. But it was to late. The 15-year-old was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.

“This is a huge tragedy for Senior High and the district,” said Billings Senior High Superintendent Terry Bouck. “We’re just doing the best we can to make sure everyone is OK throughout this situation.”

Mackeon’s Facebook page reveals a typical teen, with pictures of the boy making faces at the camera, and shots of video game logos. According to his sister’s Facebook page, the family was originally from Vail, Colorado.

Police did not name the type of weapon fired by the 17-year-old. Montana residents must be at least 18 to obtain a concealed weapons permit.

The violent crime rate in Billings, a city of more than 100,000 population, is relatively low with just four murders out of only 494 violent crimes of any type in 2013, the most recent year for which data is available. The national average per 100,000 people is 4.5 murders.

No charges have been filed in the fatal shooting of Mackeon Schulte, which police are currently calling an accident.

UPDATE: Following the shooting, police were still undecided over whether charges would be filed against the 17-year-old who shot Mackeon Schulte. The youth’s name was not released, but he was described as a close friend of the victim.

“We’re not going to rush to judgment,” said Billings Police Captain John Bedford. “There’s enough damage that’s already been done.”

He added, however, “there’s going to have to be some kind of acknowledgment of what this young man did.”

According to school friends of both boys, the family of the 17-year-old had been victimized by an earlier break-in at their home.

[Image: Mackeon Schulte Facebook]

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