Arrest report details accidental Escambia County shooting that killed 16-year-old

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. -- The incident report details how Escambia County deputies determined Friday night's fatal shooting of a teen to be accidental.

19-year-old Ethan O'Brien, of Cantonment, was arrested Monday afternoon and charged with manslaughter through negligence.

The shooting -- which took place around 11:30 p.m. Friday outside a home in the 1300-block of Wishbone Road -- left a 16-year-old boy dead.

The sheriff's office said Saturday that deputies determined O'Brien accidentally discharged the gun as he was showing it off at a party. He then fled the scene after realizing the boy had been shot.

WEAR News obtained the incident report on Tuesday, which sheds more light on the incident.

According to the report, teens were having a party as the adult homeowner was out of town.

The report states that deputies were called to the scene for a shooting. Upon arrival, they found the 16-year-old boy unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was pronounced dead on scene.

Six witnesses were interviewed separately by deputies and all provided the same information, according to the report.

The report states O'Brien had been at the party when, at one point, he pulled a gun from his trunk and began to show it off. Witnesses described it has an AR-style rifle. One witness said O'Brien appeared to be intoxicated.

According to the report, a witness said O'Brien "held his gun up midway" -- and then the 16-year-old boy got shot. The boy said, "You just shot me bro," and fell down to the ground.

The report states everyone started screaming. Witnesses told deputies O'Brien said he had to go because he didn't want to get in trouble, then left in his Honda.

According to the report, one witness told deputies they "didn't feel that O'Brien was trying to shoot [the boy] on purpose." Another witness said they believe "he was messing around with the gun and he felt that he didn't shoot it on purpose."

That night, deputies checked two addresses for O'Brien but could not locate him.

The sheriff's office put out an alert Saturday morning that O'Brien was wanted for the shooting. He turned himself in to deputies around 3:45 p.m. on Monday.

The gun used in the shooting has not been recovered, according to the sheriff's office.

O'Brien is being held in Escambia County Jail on $300,000 bond.

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