OPA-LOCKA, Fla. -- An 11-year-old boy who was hiding behind an old piece of furniture at an Opa-Locka apartment was shot and killed after his neighbor celebrated the New Year by shooting a gun into the trash.

Police said Zenon Fernandez shot his neighbor Joshua Arroliga after Fernandez, 49, randomly fired a semiautomatic handgun into a trash pile of old furniture near a Dumpster, not knowing the boy was there.

Police believe Fernandez was ushering in the New Year around 11:15 p.m. Monday by shooting the gun.

"My brother was hiding behind the couch and the guy saw a bunch of couches and he shot into them and shot my brother," said Joshua's brother, Marvin, who said the two were playing hide and seek.

Investigators said Arroliga was shot multiple times and was hit at least once in the head.

Police said they believe Fernandez fired the weapon into the trash and old furniture, and not into the air because he thought that it would be safer.

"We constantly tell the public not to use firearms to celebrate the New Year and the Fourth of July and here's a case where an 11-year-old child lost his life needlessly," said Detective Carlos Maura of the Miami-Dade police department.

Fernandez initially fled the scene, according to police. He later turned himself in to the North Miami Police Department. He is charged with one count of manslaughter.

"They already got him, but that won't bring my brother back, you know?" said Marvin Arroliga.