A joke between two best friends turned deadly when one of them fatally shot the other with a Colt M4 rifle he thought was unloaded.
The incident occurred Thursday at Shea Harkins’ Palm Harbor house where the man was playing video games with his 26-year-old pal, Sean Cook. Harkins held the weapon that he has recently bought believing it was unloaded and kiddingly pointed it at his friend’s chest who asked him “What, are you going to shoot me?” before he pulled the trigger: “Victim and defendant are best friends. The defendant was showing off a new attachment to his Colt M4 rifle and attempted to clear the firearm, but did not,” authorities said.
The victim was rushed to a local hospital where he died shortly afterward. His friend was taken into custody for manslaughter charges.
