Man Charged In Fatal Self-Inflicted Shooting Of 13-Year-Old

IRVINE, CA — An Irvine man was charged Tuesday in the fatal self-inflicted shooting of a 13-year-old boy in Orange County.

Christian Douglas Yeager, 56, was charged with three felony counts of child abuse and endangerment and a count of criminal storage of a firearm, all felonies, as well as a misdemeanor count of possession of a prohibited large capacity magazine, according to court records.

The circumstances of the shooting — which happened at around 2:40 p.m. Thursday — remained under investigation.

According to the Irvine Police Department, the teen was at a home with two other boys near Heathergreen and Weepingwood — near the California State route 405 Freeway — when the shooting happened. The teen did not live at the home, police said.

One of the other boys was present in a bedroom when the shooting occurred, but the other was not, Irvine Police Department spokesman Kyle Oldoerp told City News Service.

The gun used in the shooting was owned by Yeager, who did not have it properly secured, he said.

Yeager was not home at the time, but an adult female family member was there, Oldoerp said.

Police recovered "numerous unsecured firearms" registered to Yeager at the home, Oldoerp said.

Investigators were working to determine whether the shooting was intentional or accidental.

The teen was a student at South Lake Middle School. The eighth-grader would have turned 14 on April 4. Counselors were made available to students and staff at the school on Friday, police said.

Oldoerp emphasized the importance of gun safety, noting that the city provides gun locks at no charge.

"This is just a solid reminder of the importance of securing firearms because tragedies can occur by unlawfully secured handguns," Oldoerp said.

City News Service contributed to this report.