Brother charged in connection to shooting death of 16-year-old near Tomball, HCSO says

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A 17-year-old has been charged in connection to the death of his teenage brother after a shooting at a property in the Tomball area early Monday morning, according to the sheriff.

The video above is from a preliminary report.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office said the shooting happened inside a barn in the 19923 block of Stone Creek Court in the Stone Lake subdivision when the brothers' parents weren't home. Instead, sources say, they were at a hospital overnight, awaiting their mother's back surgery.

When deputies arrived at the scene, they found a 16-year-old boy dead at the scene with a gunshot wound to his chest.

According to HCSO, six teenagers, ages 16-19, were in the barn on the property where the teens lived.

Initially, it was believed that the teens were handling a pistol when it was discharged unintentionally. HCSO Homicide investigators determined the teens had been drinking and handling several firearms.

In an update, the sheriff's office said that the victim's brother, Rhyder Tettleton, stated he thought the pistol was unloaded when he pointed it and intentionally pulled the trigger.

Gonzalez said a murder charge was accepted initially but, upon further review, was changed to manslaughter, a crime punishable by 2-20 years in prison.

Tettleton was paced into the Harris County Jail.