A 23-year-old Florida sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot by his fellow deputy roommate over the weekend, in what the sheriff described as a “clearly dumb and avoidable accident.”
Brevard County Sheriff’s Workplace deputy Austin Walsh was killed Saturday morning in Palm Bay by his roommate Andrew Lawson, Sheriff Wayne Ivey stated in a Sunday information convention.
The 2 had been taking a break from taking part in on-line video games with pals and had been standing and speaking collectively when Lawson, who believed he had unloaded his gun, “jokingly” pointed the weapon at Walsh and pulled the set off, Ivey stated, citing the probe by the Florida Division of Legislation Enforcement and the Palm Bay Police Division.
A single bullet was fired, struck Walsh, and killed him, officers stated.
Lawson instantly known as 911 saying he by chance shot his roommate and wanted assist, Ivey stated. When officers arrived, they discovered Lawson “totally distraught and devastated.”
They discovered Walsh contained in the residence the place he “apparently succumbed instantly” to a gunshot wound, Ivey stated.
Ivey stated the 2 males had been “the most effective of pals” and Lawson is “fully devastated” over what occurred.
“Even with that, there isn’t a excuse for this tragic and completely avoidable loss of life,” Ivey stated.
Following the investigation, Lawson was taken into custody Sunday on a no-bond warrant on a manslaughter cost by the the Florida Division of Legislation Enforcement and transported to the Brevard County jail, Ivey stated.
It isn’t clear if Lawson has retained a lawyer. NBC Information has reached out to the Florida Division of Legislation Enforcement for remark.
“People this pointless and completely avoidably incident not solely took the lifetime of a tremendous younger man and deputy, however it has ceaselessly modified the lifetime of one other good younger man who made a particularly poor and reckless choice,” Ivey stated.
The sheriff stated speaking in regards to the deadly incident was “one of many hardest days of my profession” as he liked each of the deputies and believed each to be “good children.”
Walsh had served with the company since he was 18 and was a part of its Explorers youth program earlier than that, in response to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Workplace Fb web page.
“If nothing else, I pray there’s a lesson discovered from this tragedy,” Ivey stated.
