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ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) – A teenager is shot to death and his friend is charged with murder, even though he didn’t pull the trigger.

The circuit attorney’s office issued warrants for second degree murder and attempted burglary against 17-year-old Michael Bryant.

Police say Bryant and 15-year-old Demetrius Murphy were trying to break into a home on Tennessee early Friday morning.

Investigators say the 33-year-old homeowner heard them, went outside, and confronted the suspects.

The homeowner then shot and killed Murphy.

The homeowner was questioned, but not arrested.

Under Missouri law, if someone is killed while a felony is being committed, other suspects involved in the crime can be charged with murder. That’s why the accomplice, Michael Bryant, was charged with second degree murder as well as 1st degree attempted burglary.

Murphy’s mother says her son was mentally disabled. She says he was coming back from the store with a friend and she has no idea how he wound up in the backyard of the home.