In the late afternoon of a Tuesday in Anderson, Indiana, a sudden tragedy shattered the calm of a neighborhood on West 7th Street. On November 22, 2016, Reynaldo Pizana, a 17-year-old Hispanic male, was found unresponsive inside his home. A single, fatal gunshot wound to the chest would ultimately claim the life of the teenager, who had recently withdrawn from Anderson High School to be homeschooled.
Responding officers from the Anderson Police Department discovered the grim scene around
4 p.m. and Reynaldo was rushed to a local hospital, but his injuries proved too severe. The subsequent investigation by law enforcement pointed to a heartbreaking accident. It was determined that Reynaldo's own 16-year-old brother had fired the shot. A neighbor recounted the immediate and frantic aftermath, hearing the gunshot and then seeing Reynaldo's sister run from the house in distress, screaming that her brother had been shot.
The Madison County coroner confirmed the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the chest. Based on their initial investigation, the Anderson police believed the shooting to be a tragic accident. As a result, no arrests were made and no criminal charges were filed in connection with Reynaldo's death. The investigation did, however, seek to understand how the firearm came to be in the possession of the teenager. The community was left to mourn the sudden and devastating loss of a young life.
