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FORT EDWARD, N.Y. -- Counselors will available in Fort Edward Schools today as the community deals with the death of a 13-year-old.

Police said Gary Cota and another 13-year-old were handling a shotgun when it off. Fort Edward Police say Cota was shot in the head, and he died at the home on Keating Avenue.

This hits the community hard almost two years after six local kids died in a house fire. And then two months later, the village's first ever junior firefighter died unexpectedly during heart surgery.

"People who don't live in this community need to understand the closeness that is here. The kids need to grieve, however they choose. They are going to be angry, they are sad. They don't understand," said Michele Stimpson, a neighbor.

"The last few years we have had a lot. The whole community. He was a great kid. He could take a rainy day, being walking down the road with a million problems, you look at his smile, he would take them all away," said another neighbor, Jeff Etu.

At this point no charges have been filed.