2 arrested in death of teen fatally shot in front of father while trying to sell Xbox in Gary

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Thursday, July 4, 2019
2 arrested in death of teen fatally shot in front of father while trying to sell Xbox in Gary
2 arrested in death of teen fatally shot in front of father while trying to sell Xbox in GaryTwo teens were arrested Thursday in connection with the shooting death of a teen who was trying to sell his Xbox, police said.

GARY, Ind. (WLS) -- Two teens were arrested Thursday in connection with the shooting death of a teen who was trying to sell his Xbox, police said.

Johnny Peluyera, 16, was shot and killed in front of his own father while trying to sell his Xbox in Gary last month.

Gary police said the shooting occurred at about 6:05 p.m. June 12 near 51st Avenue and Maryland Street. Peluyera, from Merrillville, Indiana, was driven to the area by his father to meet people he met on online sales app Offerup in order to sell his Xbox.

Police said he met two people at abandoned homes around Gary. When one of them took out a semi-automatic handgun from his waist-band, police said Johnny then turned to run back to the car where his father was waiting and was shot in the back. He died just minutes later.

A 17-year-old and an 18-year-old have been arrested in Peluyera's death, according to the Lake County (Indiana) Sheriff's office.

Charges are pending and both suspects' names will be released once charges are filed, according to Sheriff Oscar Martinez. His office is asking that the 17-year-old be charged as an adult, Martinez added.

In the end, the suspects didn't even get the Xbox.

"They killed my son over nothing. They didn't even get the gaming system. They didn't even get the Xbox, so why did they have to shoot him?" said Kelly Arroyo, the slain teen's mother.

The boy's father was not injured in the shooting.

In an interview days after her son's death, Arroyo said she was in "unbearable" pain.

"I hope you feel the pain that I feel right now," she said of her son's killers. "I want you to live with this the rest of your life."

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