Culture

15 Year Old Dies in Game of Russian Roulette

The tragedy brings out the best in a small Pennsylvania town

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Scott Hammond doesn't blame the 15-year-old boy accused of killing his only son during a game of Russian roulette at a sleepover in a small Pennsylvania town earlier this month. Instead, he prays for him.

The rural community of Everett, population 2,000, has been devastated by the death of Neal Hammond, also 15, in an incident that forever damaged three families – Hammond's, the shooter's and that of the boy who brought the gun to the slumber party. But instead of bitterness and anger in a town where nearly everyone knows everyone, the awful tragedy has spurred an outpouring of compassion, starting with the dead boy's family.