"This is not fair:" 11-year-old boy accused of shooting, killing 8-year-old neighbor after disagreement over puppy

WHITE PINE, Tennessee -- An eight-year-old girl is dead, and an 11-year-old boy arrested on first-degree murder charges following a shooting that occurred on Saturday, October 3rd in White Pine, Tennessee.

WATE reports officers were called out to a home on Robin Road around 7:30 p.m.

The Jefferson County sheriff said the 11-year-old boy who lives next door to the eight-year-old girl shot her in the chest with a 12-gauge shotgun from inside his own home.

The gun belonged to the boy's father, according to the sheriff.

Eight-year-old McKayla Dyer died at the hospital.

"She was a precious little girl. She was a Mommy's girl. No matter how bad of a mood you were in, she could always make you smile," McKayla's mother, Latasha dyer told WATE.

Officials believe this shooting stemmed from a disagreement over the girl's puppy.

Latasha Dyer told WATE her daughter was outside playing when the 11-year-old neighbor boy asked to see her puppy. Dyer said her daughter told the boy "no," and shortly thereafter, McKayla was shot.

"I want her back in my arms. This is not fair. Hold and kiss your babies every night, because you're never promised the next day with them. I hope the little boy learned his lesson because he took my baby's life -- and I can't get her back," Latasha Dyer told WATE.

The sheriff said McKayla and the boy, whose identity hasn't been released, attended the same school -- White Pine Elementary School.

WLTV reports the 11-year-old boy is being held at a juvenile detention facility, charged with murder.