‘Horseplay’ among friends with loaded gun kills 17-year-old, California police say

A 17-year-old boy died when a friend pulled the trigger of a gun during “horseplay” at a Menifee home, California police told news outlets.

The four friends did not realize the gun was loaded in the shooting death at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, March 19, police told KMIR.

The other three friends immediately called for help, but firefighters were unable to revive the injured teen, police told The Riverside Press-Enterprise.

A 19-year-old accused of shooting the teen once in the upper torso faces an involuntary manslaughter charge, police told Menifee 24/7. Police did not say the other teens, ages 17 and 18, will face charges.

Police took custody of the firearm, KMIR reported. They did not say who owned the gun.

McClatchy News reached out to the Menifee Police Department for more information and did not immediately receive a response.

Police ask that anyone with information call 951-723-1500.

Menifee is a city of 103,000 people about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published March 22, 2023 at 7:38 AM with the headline "‘Horseplay’ among friends with loaded gun kills 17-year-old, California police say."