Teen killed when friend mistook an air rifle's safety catch for the trigger at house party, inquest hears

A teenage boy died after his friend accidentally shot him through the eye socket with an air rifle while at a party.

Connor Bell, 17, was drinking with his friends at the home of Joshua Brown in Basingstoke, Hampshire on 8 November last year, an inquest heard.

At the party, the teens took Brown’s air rifle and began firing at bottles from the conservatory.

However, things took a tragic turn when Jack Beechey, then aged 17, fired a fatal shot at Bell after mistaking the trigger for the safety catch.

The teen suffered an ‘unsurvivable’ brain injury after the pellet entered his head through his right eye socket and caused him to have a cardiac arrest.

He was taken to Southampton General Hospital where he died two days later.

The inquest today (14 October), was told that Brown, who is now 18, had agreed with his parents that he’d have some friends around for drinks and that the air rifle, which they had owned for three weeks, would be left locked away in a cupboard.

But the teen said that on the day, more friends than he’d told his parents about had arrived and they drank vodka, cider and beers instead of the box of 12 Peroni beers that his dad had bought for them.

Connor Bell died after being shot with an air rifle (PA)

During the course of the evening, the air rifle was taken from the cupboard and the teens used it to fire at targets in the garden.

Later on, Beechey ran in from the kitchen and told Brown: “I shot Connor.”

Beechey said that when Brown had asked him to put the rifle away, he’d decided to use up the remaining pellets as he thought it ‘would be safer’ and had believed he’d ‘completely unloaded it’.

Beechey said it was as he walked into the kitchen that he accidentally fired the rifle by mistaking the trigger for the safety catch while Connor was standing nearby.

He said: “I tried to put the safety on but it was the wrong trigger. The safety is directly in front of the trigger.”

The inquest heard that after the emergency services arrived, Beechey told police: “I shot my friend with an air rifle, it was an accident.”

A post mortem carried out by pathologist Dr Megan Jenkins found the cause of death to be a hypoxic brain injury caused by cardiac arrest resulting from a gunshot wound to the head.

Coroner Jason Pegg recorded a conclusion of accidental death with a lack of weapons-handling skills contributing to the death.

He added Connor’s death was ‘devastating’ and added: “This is a deeply tragic case.”

In a statement released after the hearing, Connor’s family: “Connor was a much-loved boy, who was very sporty and had a large circle of friends.

“This was a tragic accident which led to the loss of Connor.

“His friends conducted CPR at the scene, which allowed our son to be an organ donor and save lives. He has since been awarded an Order of St John in recognition of his donation.

“This incident was a tragedy for all the families involved and we are all supporting each other at this incredibly difficult time.

“We would like to remind the public about the potential dangers of air rifles and the care needed to ensure they are safely stored. They should only be used by people with the necessary skills and weapon-handling training.”

In a statement, Hampshire Police said: “As part of our initial enquiries, a 17-year-old boy from Tadley, now aged 18, was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He has since been released and will face no further action, following discussions with the CPS and Connor’s family.”