Manslaughter Charge For MI Teen In Younger Brother's Fatal Shooting: Report

FRUITPORT TOWNSHIP, MI — A 16-year-old boy is facing charges after his younger brother was shot and killed in west Michigan last month, according to local reports.

Police said the shooting happened at 7:20 p.m. on Jan. 24 at a home on Romedius Street in Fruitport Township, where officers found a 14-year-old boy shot to death.

Fruitport Community Schools has identified the boy as Rylen Yager, an 8th grade student at Fruitport Middle School.

Yager's 16-year-old brother has been charged as a juvenile with manslaughter. A manslaughter conviction carries up to 15 years in prison, but that can vary for a juvenile.

Their grandfather, 62-year-old Gregory Hulka, a Fruitport Township trustee, has been charged with one count of safe storage violation resulting in death by a minor. He was released from jail on $10,000 bond.

Investigators determined the brothers gained access to a gun inside Hulka's home, and the 16-year-old was holding the gun when it went off and fatally struck Rylen Yager.

Hulka's lawyer called the incident a "tragic, tragic accident."

Michigan's safe storage law requires a gun owner to lock away their firearms if there is a minor in the house. If a child gets a hold of a firearm that wasn't properly secured and uses the gun, the owner can face multiple penalties, including up to five years in prison, a $5,000 fine, or both.

Michigan State Police were still investigating the shooting.