Man kills girlfriend while showing her gun, charged with negligent homicide

New Orleans Times-Picayune ^

[WilliamReading]

A 23-year-old man's attempt to show his girlfriend a pistol ended in tragedy Monday night when the gun fired, killing her, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

Averyell Davis, 23, was shot in the abdomen after the handgun her boyfriend was handling went off, said sheriff's spokesman Col. John Fortunato. Curtis C. Murray has been arrested and booked with one count of negligent homicide.

The couple were in the living room of their home in the 500 block of Behrman Highway in Gretna at about 10:15 p.m. when the gun discharged, Fortunato said. Authorities did not specify what caused the gun to fire.

Emergency responders arrived at the couple's home, where Davis' mother met them and told them that her daughter was shot inside the home.

In the living room, they found Davis lying on the floor with a wounded abdomen.

Responders transported her to Ochsner Medical Center, and on the way there, she told authorities that her boyfriend accidentally shot her, according to Fortunato.

Davis died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Lt. Don English, the homicide detective handling the case, later booked Murray with the criminal charge at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.

Even though the victim claimed it was an accident, "our investigation showed negligence on (Murray's) part, and that's why he was charged," Fortunato said.

Negligent homicide defendants can face up to 5 years in prison, a fine up to $5,000, or both, according to state law.

[hiredhand]

Excellent safety points! My generation and my siblings suffer from a "senior leadership deficit" in my family, so I have had the pleasure of teaching most of my brothers and sisters (I'm the oldest) to handle and use firearms safely.

Both my youngest brother and my youngest son have the "experience" of a tactic I used with both of them at separate times. We were shooting and I was the "instructor". On both occasions, they had firearms that I KNEW were loaded and yet they told me they weren't. I put my hand around theirs, pointed the weapon in a safe direction, put the selector switch to FIRE and pulled the trigger....and *BANG*! Then I had a stern word with them about firearms safety! It had quite an effect on both of them that remains to this day! I think it had a slightly greater effect on my son though because he had an AR-15 in his hands the day he had his "experience" (my brother had a .22 pistol), and it was quite a surprise!

Anyway...good points. Safety is paramount!