The mother of a Utah boy shot to death by his stepbrother said the admitted killer was raised in a home that valued gun safety.

Seventeen-year-old Haegan Sagers received a sentence ranging from two to 15 years in a juvenile detention and prison facility on July 15, a few months following the tragic shooting of his 14-year-old stepbrother, Malaki Porter. At the time of the incident in September 2024, Sagers was just 16 years old. He agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter, having initially faced adult charges for murder.

As reported by KSL, an NBC affiliate, during the sentencing hearing, Stormi Hass, the mother of Porter, explained that both her son and stepson had been educated on the critical importance of handling firearms safely.

Hass informed the court that Sagers showed no hesitation in using the firearm, expressing an intent to injure Malaki, fully aware of the serious consequences guns can cause.

KSL reported that Hass was the live-in girlfriend of Sagers’ father, and Porter lived with the blended family. Hass said in court, “[N]ot only did I lose one child that day, I lost both of my boys that day.” Still, she wanted Sagers to experience the consequences of his actions.

According to KSL’s reporting, prosecutors did not believe Porter’s killing was premeditated. However, they presented evidence by investigators that Sagers had expressed a desire to harm and even kill Porter in the time leading up to the fatal shooting on Sept. 22, 2024. Prosecutors said the then-16-year-old boy had “a predilection toward violent problem-solving.”

Sagers’ story also changed as investigators interviewed him following the shooting. First, Sagers told detectives that Porter came at him with the gun and it went off accidentally during a struggle. Then he said that he had taken the gun from Porter, and believing that the younger boy was going to harm him, Sagers stood back and pointed the gun at Porter’s left shoulder. He claimed that he had intended to hurt him, but not kill him.

In court, Sagers apologized for killing Porter, saying, “If I could say anything to Malaki, it would be how sorry I am, and how we should have talked through our problems. Although he and I had our issues, he was a great friend and the best little brother you could ask for. I am very sorry.”