Killed – Carlos Rueda (Rio Rancho, NM)

RIO RANCHO, N.M. —Police have made an arrest in a New Year’s Eve slaying in Rio Rancho.

Authorities with the Rio Rancho Police Department said they were called to a shooting in the 1600 block of Evelyn Drive NE about 10:40 p.m.

Police said this was a case of negligence. Officers told KOAT Action 7 News that Ryan Wathen, 20, picked up a gun without checking if it was loaded and then shot and killed his friend, Carlos Rueda, 22, during a party.

“The suspect did not make sure that the chamber was clear, that the gun was safe, before pulling the trigger,” Rio Rancho police Officer Janet Garcia said.

Investigators said Rueda, of Rio Rancho, suffered a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

A 911 caller reported that Rueda, an employee of Rio Rancho Archery and Armory, was shot about 10:30 p.m. in the bedroom of a house in the 1600 block of Evelyn Drive NE in Rio Rancho.

Wathen later told family member that he did not intentionally shoot Rueda, police wrote in the complaint.

Instead, Rueda asked Wathen to pick up a pistol that was lying next to a computer in the bedroom, the complaint said.

Rueda allegedly gave Wathen assurances that the pistol was unloaded and said, “don’t you trust me?” police wrote in the complaint.

Rueda told Wathen to point the pistol at Rueda’s head and pull the trigger, the complaint said.

After the gun discharged, Wathen dropped the pistol and ran from the house because he was scared, it states.

http://www.koat.com/news/new-mexico/police-make-arrest-in-new-years-eve-slaying/23727280#mid=17366364http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/1-man-killed-another-hurt-in-2-separate-shootings-in-milwaukee-b99175466z1-238326111.html

http://www.abqjournal.com/330171/news/police-victim-asked-friend-to-shoot-him-in-the-head.html

http://www.abqjournal.com/329456/abqnewsseeker/station-20-year-old-rio-rancho-man-accused-of-new-years-eve-killing.html

http://www.koat.com/news/new-mexico/man-allegedly-shot-by-friend-had-posted-gun-safety-story-on-facebook-hours-before-death/23742938

http://www.koat.com/news/new-mexico/police-make-arrest-in-new-years-eve-slaying/23727280

http://www.rrobserver.com/news/article_316050fc-74d1-11e3-823a-001a4bcf887a.html

http://www.rrobserver.com/news/local/article_316050fc-74d1-11e3-823a-001a4bcf887a.html

http://nocera.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/06/weekend-gun-report-january-3-5-2013/?_r=0

http://www.tributes.com/obituary/show/Carlos-Rueda-99384163

Killed – William Heape Sr. (Colleton County, SC)

An elderly Hampton County man was accidentally shot and killed Tuesday morning while hunting in a wooded area off Mount Carmel Road near Walterboro.

William Heape, Sr., 67, of Varnville, was with of a group of people hunting deer when another hunter accidentally shot Heape, killing him.

Members of Colleton County Fire-Rescue and the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office were called to the scene at approximately 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Safety forces were required to drive approximately half a mile down a dirt road located off the 3500 block of Mount Carmel Road and then walk for another half-mile before arriving at the scene of the accidental shooting.

http://www.colletontoday.com/news/update-identity-released-of-varnville-hunter-killed-in-hunting-accident/article_3aefbd0c-725f-11e3-9014-001a4bcf887a.html

http://thecolletonian.com/hunting-death-investigated/

http://www.scnow.com/news/state/article_ea469b7e-732a-11e3-9cbd-0019bb30f31a.html

http://www.abcnews4.com/story/24344216/residents-still-trying-to-understand-fatal-hunting-trip

http://www.abcnews4.com/story/24336523/dnr-investigating-fatal-hunting-incident-in-colleton-county

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/charleston/obituary.aspx?pid=168857858

Killed – Boy (Opelika, AL)

A 14-year-old male has been arrested for the Dec. 30, 2013 shooting death of a 10-year-old boy in Beauregard, Ala.

Authorities say the investigation has been ongoing, and a petition was issued earlier today, Feb. 28, charging the youth with Manslaughter.

Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told News Leader 9 in December that The young victim, his 12-year-old brother, and their 14-year-old friend had returned from a hunting trip, and were in a bedroom.

At the time, it was reported that one of the boys was putting his rifle away when it accidentally discharged and struck the 10-year-old in the head, killing him instantly.

The mother of the victim and another boy were in the kitchen of the home at the time of the shooting.

The juvenile suspect has been taken into custody. A hear

http://www.wtvm.com/story/24855242/juvenile-charged

http://www.oanow.com/news/crime_courts/article_c5e0b804-71e1-11e3-a8ca-001a4bcf6878.html

http://www.oanow.com/news/article_0c200eee-7176-11e3-9bf4-001a4bcf6878.html

http://wsav.membercenter.worldnow.com/story/24855238/teen-arrested-in-lee-county-shooting-death-of-10-year-old-boy

Killed – Eric M. Wheeler (Springfield, OH)

SPRINGFIELD — A Northeastern High School graduate died after a shooting that a 911 caller said was an accident, but officers investigating the incident could need weeks to complete their work, Springfield’s police chief said Tuesday.

Eric M. Wheeler, 22, died Monday afternoon from injuries sustained when he was shot in the abdomen at a southeast Springfield house.

No charges have been filed, according to the Springfield Police Division.

Authorities were alerted to the shooting at 3:29 p.m. at 932 Barker Drive, about one mile from the Burnett Plaza Shopping Center.

A man who pleaded guilty to shooting and killing his friend while they were drinking inside of a Springfield home received a three-year prison sentence on Friday.

Dustin Olwin, 29, of 932 Barker Drive, pleaded guilty June 17 to involuntary manslaughter, a third-degree felony. In exchange for the guilty plea, charges of reckless homicide, negligent homicide and using weapons while intoxicated were dismissed.

Olwin was charged in connection with the December 2013 shooting death of his friend Eric M. Wheeler. Wheeler was shot and killed while the two were drinking and hanging out at Olwin’s home.
In a 9-1-1 call from the night of the shooting, a woman on the phone with dispatchers said they were “screwing around” with guns when Wheeler was “accidentally” shot in the abdomen.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/local/22-year-old-dies-from-gunshot-wound/ncYrj/

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/crime-law/3-year-prison-sentence-for-man-who-shot-killed-fri/ngdQW/

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/news/crime-law/family-wants-jail-time-in-fatal-shooting/ndSbR/

http://www.vindy.com/news/2014/jan/01/man–found-shot-to-death-in-springfield/

http://m.whio.com/news/news/crime-law/3-year-prison-sentence-for-man-who-shot-killed-fri/ngdQW/

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/springfield/obituary.aspx?pid=168848588

Killed – Thomas Michael Harris (Sussex County, VA)

A Disputanta hunter has died of injuries he suffered Monday in a deer hunting accident in Sussex County, authorities said.

Thomas Michael Harris, 61, died at 10:40 a.m. today at VCU Medical Center in Richmond, said Lee Walker, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, which is investigating the incident.

The shooting occurred about 1:40 p.m. Monday during a hunt club outing near U.S. 460 and Georgetown Road outside of Waverly.

Walker said members of hunt club, which included Harris and the shooter, were driving deer with hunting dogs. At one point, a deer ran through the area and a hunter fired his shotgun and struck Harris – who was standing beyond the deer – in the back of the head.

http://www.richmond.com/news/state-regional/hunter-shot-in-sussex-county-dies/article_61763794-71ba-11e3-aca7-0019bb30f31a.html

http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/article_61763794-71ba-11e3-aca7-0019bb30f31a.html

http://wtvr.com/2013/12/30/waverly-hunting-accident-sends-61-year-old-to-hospital/

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/12/31/va-man-shot-while-deer-hunting-dies/

http://www.13newsnow.com/story/news/2014/09/10/14842426/

Killed – Girl – Hope Alexandra Fair (Fountain Inn, SC)

A teen boy fatally shot a 12-year-old girl at a mobile home in South Carolina on Sunday evening in what he called an accident, police said.

The unidentified 15-year-old was loading a magazine into a Colt .380 when it fired a bullet to Hope Alexandria Fair’s head, local media report.

Hope’s mother, Michelle Fair, remembers her daughter as a friendly and creative girl who loves art and music.

“She’s just very outgoing, outspoken, joyful and a happy girl,” Fair told The State newspaper of South Carolina. “She was beautiful. … She’d make friends with everybody.”

The unidentified teen boy has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, and Hope’s family thinks the killing was an accident — though the boy changed his story several times, according to the newspaper.

Hope was at the home in Fountain Inn, S.C., to visit her friend, the boy’s cousin, who called dispatch herself to say that the teen boy was holding the pistol when it went off and that he had left the mobile home to hide it, local media said.

Coroner Nick Nichols says Hope Alexandra Fair of Gray Court died at a hospital at around 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Deputies say the shooting happened at a home in Fountain Inn about an hour earlier.

Nichols says the girl was shot in the head. Authorities haven’t released any other details.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/s-girl-12-fatally-shot-head-teen-cops-article-1.1564449

http://www.islandpacket.com/news/state/south-carolina/article33551559.html

http://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article13833131.html

http://www.wsmv.com/story/24327456/cops-15-year-old-charged-in-girls-shooting-death

http://www.scnow.com/news/state/article_c1f9107e-716e-11e3-8f81-001a4bcf6878.html

Killed – Male Teen – German Serrano (Fort Worth, TX)

A 24-year-old man who acknowledged pulling the trigger and fatally shooting a 14-year-old boy last week was in jail Tuesday, police reported.

Jose Mahugnos was arrested Monday in the death of German Serrano, 14.

Mahugnos told police he thought the gun wasn’t loaded, police said.

Mahugnos and the teen were among visitors at a house in the 3000 block of Hanger Avenue in east Fort Worth when the shooting occurred about 11:45 p.m. Thursday, police said.

“The investigation revealed that several individuals were in a residence,” homicide Sgt. Cheryl Johnson said Friday. A man “had a weapon [and] pulled the trigger, shooting the victim.”

Mahugnos was questioned and released after the shooting.

Serrano died Friday afternoon at John Peter Smith Hospital. He was shot in the head, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office website.

Fort Worth police say Serrano was one of several people in a group at a home on the 3000 block of Hanger Avenue in Fort Worth, when a 24-year-old pulled out a gun and pointed it at Serrano’s head, pulling the trigger.

He shot the teen above the left eye and left the scene. The shooter later called police and told them he didn’t know the gun was loaded. Police brought him in for questioning and later released him.

FORT WORTH (December 31, 2013) Jose Mahugnos, 24, who told Fort Worth police he thought a gun he was holding wasn’t loaded when he pulled the trigger, firing a shot that killed a 14-year-old, has been charged with manslaughter.

Mahugnos was arrested Monday and remained in Mansfield Jail on Tuesday in lieu of $70,000 bond and on an immigration hold.

The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office says the teenager, old German Serrano, died Friday afternoon at John Peter Smith Hospitalfrom a gunshot wound to the head.

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article3841301.htm

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/12/27/family-of-14-year-old-victim-seeks-justice/

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/12/27/friends-hold-vigil-in-fort-worth-for-14-year-old-victim/

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/Man-Charged-In-Texas-Teens-Shooting-Death-238295541.html

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Man-Says-Deadly-Shooting-of-14-Year-Old-Was-a-Deadly-Mistake-237479361.html