Teenagers in Florida “were simulating a rap video” when a gun held by one of the teens accidentally went off, killing his friend, according to local police.
The Miami Herald reported that Jonathan Batista, 18, was arrested and charged with manslaughter in Hialeah, Florida, after the death of Brian Shakur Meridor on Oct. 22. The two teens were reenacting a rap video they had seen in a third friend’s apartment when Batista accidentally shot Meridor in the chest.
“We are all shaken by the tragic incident that occurred last week and our hearts go out to the family of the young man who lost his life in this horrific accident,” said Eric Matheny, Batista’s lawyer, according to the Miami Herald. “Jonathan and his family offer their deepest condolences.”
The Miami Herald reports that Batista claimed he “didn’t mean to shoot the victim and that the gun wasn’t supposed to work.” The arrest record also added that the teen’s admission was “spontaneous” and that the third friend tried to save Meridor by applying pressure to the gunshot wound, but he later died at the hospital.
The gun used in the shooting had been reported stolen from a car in Broward County in December. Andres Otaiza, the 18-year-old whose apartment the teens were in at the time of the shooting, has been charged with possession of a stolen firearm.
Batista is currently out on bail and will be arraigned on Nov. 20.
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H/T the Miami Herald