Soldier charged for killing friend to cure his hiccups
Patrick Edward Myers, 27, was charged with manslaughter and held in jail on $1 million bond.
A Fort Hood, Texas soldier is being charged with manslaughter for accidentally shooting a fellow soldier in the face to try and scare away his hiccups, reports AP.
Police reports claim that 27-year old Army Spc. Patrick Edward Myers was drinking beer and watching football with two friends at a residence in Killeen, Texas on Sunday night when 22-year-old soldier Isaac Lawrence Young developed a case of the hiccups. Myers pointed a loaded gun at Young to try and scare him but the gun discharged and hit him in the face.
"The victim had the hiccups. The suspect pulled out a gun to scare him in order to stop the hiccups," spokesman Carroll Smith of the Killeen, Texas, Police Department told CNN.
NBC News reports that Myers thought the gun held dummy rounds when it discharged but it actually held real bullets. Young was taken by ambulance to an airfield for transport to a hospital when he reportedly died enroute.
Myers, of Spartansburg, S.C., remains in Texas' Bell County Jail on $1 million bond.
The article you just read is free because dedicated readers and listeners like you chose to support our nonprofit newsroom. Our team works tirelessly to ensure you hear the latest in international, human-centered reporting every weekday. But our work would not be possible without you. We need your help.
Make a gift today to help us reach our $25,000 goal and keep The World going strong. Every gift will get us one step closer.