BOY DIES AFTER FRIEND ACCIDENTALLY SHOOTS HIM WITH AIR RIFLE AT PARTY

Connor Bell, 17, died after being accidentally shot in the head with an air rifle by a friend at a house party, Winchester coroner's court has heard. The inquest was told the shooting happened in Basingstoke, Hampshire, on 8 November last year, when Jack Beechey, 18, fired the fatal shot. Beechey mistook the trigger for the safety catch while the rifle was pointed towards Bell's head, the inquest heard. The two had been drinking and were firing the air rifle from a conservatory into the garden at targets including bottles. Bell, from Tadley, Hampshire, was taken to Southampton General Hospital but died two days later from a severe brain injury.

The inquest heard the weapon, described as a crank air rifle, was usually kept in a cupboard under the stairs at the home of Bell's friend Joshua Brown, who was 17 at the time. Brown, now 18, told the court his father had shown him how to use the gun safely on two occasions. He said his father had told him not to point the rifle at people. Asked whether he had thought about putting the gun away before his friends arrived, Brown told the inquest he had wanted his friends to be able to use it. Beechey was also 18 at the time of the shooting.

Paying tribute to his son at the inquest, Robert Bell said Connor was cheeky and mischievous but kind and caring, with a wicked sense of humour. He told the court his son enjoyed a variety of sports, particularly football, and was often the one encouraging friends to play or spend time together. Robert Bell said Connor had been taking a sports course at college and had completed a work placement at a leisure centre in Tadley, where the manager had told him to return once he obtained his certificate. The evidence was given as part of the inquest at Winchester coroner's court into the circumstances of Connor's death.