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Police: 15-year-old killed brother over girlfriend

WILLIAMSTOWN, Pa. (WHTM) – A 15-year-old northern Dauphin County boy was arrested after police said he admitted to fatally shooting his 18-year-old brother.

Dakota Thornton, of Williams Township, admitted to investigators that he shot Dominick Thornton early Wednesday in a dispute over the victim’s girlfriend, according to a news release from state police in Lykens.

Troopers responded to an apartment at 113 Autumn Drive after a 911 call shortly before 2 a.m. and found Dakota Thornton in a neighboring apartment. According to the criminal complaint, Thornton put his hands in the air and stated, “I shot my brother.”

He was taken into custody without incident.

Thornton was interviewed at the Lykens station and told troopers he loaded a .410 shotgun about two minutes before the shooting. He confessed that he killed Dominick Thornton because he was romantically interested in his brother’s girlfriend, the complaint states.

After consulting with the district attorney’s office, Thornton was charged as an adult with murder and possession of an instrument of crime. Bail at Dauphin County Prison was denied.

A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for April 6.

Neighbors told ABC27 News that the brothers lived with their grandmother and were always seen together, playing like brothers do.

“It’s very shocking,” one woman said. “I just saw Dominick outside yesterday. Just to know he’s dead now – I actually watched them carry him out in a body bag. It’s not usual around here at all.”