Two young boys killed by gunfire while playing with kittens in garden

An eight-year-old and nine-year-old have died after being caught in the crossfire of a shooting while playing with kittens in their garden.

Brothers Jesus and Sebastian Perez-Salome, as well 19-year-old Joshua Lugo-Perez, were killed on Tuesday night in Pennsylvania.

Police have announced that two men, an adult and teenager, have been charged with their murder and a third suspect is still at large.

In a phone interview on Thursday from his home in Puerto Rico, the children’s uncle, Felix Muniz Torres, said their mother was working at a nearby convenience store when she heard the shots ring out.

She ran over to find them shot dead, he said, while her other child, who is 13, was fortunately at a school event.

“She’s in shock and is unable to speak coherently,” Mr Muniz Torres said.

He described his nephews as “very innocent and polite,” always together playing, mostly with their superhero figures.

“They were very close,” he added.

Alex Torres Santos, 22, and a 16-year-old male were both charged with three counts of criminal homicide, Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said at a news conference in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, on Thursday.

They also face aggravated assault, conspiracy and weapons offenses related to the shooting in Lebanon, a small city in an agricultural region roughly 70 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

The third male is still being sought and will likely face similar charges, authorities said.

Mr Santos was on house arrest for several unrelated charges and was wearing an ankle monitor at the time of the shooting.

A 33-year-old neighbour who was wounded by a stray bullet underwent surgery and remains hospitalised but is expected to recover.

The shooters were apparently targeting the third person who was killed, Mr Joshua Lugo-Perez, over what authorities called “a previous argument.”

He and the boys lived at the home where the shooting occurred, but Mr Lugo-Perez was not related to them.

Jesus was pronounced dead at the scene, while Sebastian and Mr Lugo-Perez both died later at the hospital.

Once the autopsies are completed, the family will bring the boys back to Puerto Rico to be buried, Mr Muniz Torres said.

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