The attorney representing a 16-year-old Pennsylvania boy charged with fatally shooting a friend in the face and then taking a selfie with his lifeless body stated in court Wednesday that the killing was an accident . Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey does n't deny that Maxwell Morton , of Jeannette , killed 16-year-old Ryan Mangan at Mangan 's home February 4 . But Thomassey disputes that Morton meant to kill Mangan . He says the boys were horsing around with a loaded gun when Mangan was shot in the left eye . Scroll down for video . Maxwell Morton ( left ) , 16 , has been charged with murder in the death of Mangan ( right ) , 16 , after Mangan was found with a single gunshot wound to the face . Headed for trial : Morton , seen here being led in handcuffs into a courthouse Wednesday , was ordered to stand trial for the alleged murder . Accidental or intentional ? Morton 's lawyer and family insisted he and the victim were friends and there was no animosity between the two boys . During a hearing Wednesday , a police officer testified that Morton was trying to take a picture of Mangan with the cellphone aimed down the barrel of the gun before pulling the trigger . Thomassey says Morton panicked and took the selfie to send to a friend via Snapchat as 'proof ' after the friend refused to believe what happened . The defense attorney said it was Mangan who brought the gun and reloaded it for Morton . What happened next , according to Tomassey , was a terrible accident . 'Obviously , there was no animus whatsoever between these two young men , ' he told reporters . Morton 's relatives , who attended Wednesday 's hearing , sounded a similar note when asked about the deadly shooting outside the courtroom . 'It was an accident . That was his friend , ' said the teenager 's mother , Honey Morton , accoding to the station KDKA . Mangan 's family were also in the audience but declined to speak to the press . Morton , dressed in a suit and tie , was led in handcuffs into the Westmoreland County Courthouse by a pair of officers for a preliminary hearing Wednesday , which concluded with District Judge Joseph DeMarchis ordering the 16-year-old to stand trial for first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a minor . Detective Bob Weaver testified in court that Morton had sent the selfie of Mangan 's body slumped over a chair via an Xbox to a friend in Wisconsin . He also allegedly boasted that he 'got his first body , reported TribLive . Morton was identified by police after he sent a selfie on Snapchat of himself posing with Mangan 's ( above ) body . According to authorities , when police came to interview Morton a day after the shooting , the teenager made a confession . ' I just shot him . it did n't matter , and I do n't care , ' he was quoted as telling the cops . Police also recovered a 9mm handgun from the basement of the boy 's home , which Morton allegedly identified as the weapon used in the shooting . District Attorney John Peck said that based on the evidence and Morton 's own statements , the shooting was not accidental and the suspect 's actions afterwards show a 'callousness of guilt . ' Morton is being held without bond pending his formal arraignment scheduled for May 20 . Ryan Mangan , a junior at Jeannette High School where Maxwell Morton was also a student , was found dead around 6pm on February 4 by his mother , Rebecca Murtland . Investigators at the scene found a 9mm shell casing but a handgun was not recovered at the time . The day after Mangan was found , a mother of one of Morton 's friends told police her son received a selfie on Snapchat of the victim who was sitting in a chair with a bloody wound to his face , according to the Post-Gazette . Morton 's friend saved the image before it deleted itself , as Snapchat lets users send images that are removed from the recipient 's phone after a few seconds . The friend 's mother also said her son received messages from Morton that said : ' I told you I cleaned up the shells ' , 'Ryan was not the last one ' and 'got my first body . ' The teen was discovered by his mother in her home ( above ) last Wednesday evening . Mangan was a junior in high school at Jeannette High School and has been described as a fun-loving guy by friends . Following a search at Morton 's home , he confessed to shooting Mangan after police found a 9mm handgun hidden under the basement steps that matched the shell casing found at the scene of the murder , according to Triblive . Mangan 's friends have gathered to comfort each other as they mourn his loss , and described him as a fun-loving guy who was goofy and funny . His friend Taylor Wiltrout said she just wants justice served in the case . She said : 'That would be the most important thing . That 's what he would want . He would want all of us to continue on and go on like he 's still here and do what we planned on doing . '
Maxwell Morton , 16 , from Pennsylvania , will be tried as an adult for shooting Ryan Mangan . Mother of Morton 's friend told police her son received Snapchat image of him with victim - message had Maxwell written across it . He admitted to shooting Mangan after police found 9mm handgun hidden in his house . Both teens were juniors at Jeannette High School . Morton was also charged with first-degree murder and two count of possession of a firearm by a minor . Morton 's lawyer and family said the one boys were friends and there was no bad blood between them .