A Florida man allegedly shot a pellet gun at his roommate during a minor argument — and killed him.
In May, Jesse Hill, 42, locked his roommate Ernie Wilburn, 44, out of the house they shared. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office reported that Wilburn started yelling to be let back in.
Hill was inside the house with his girlfriend, according to the New York Post, and picked up a pellet gun and shot through a window at Wilburn, hitting him in the chest.
Police responded to a 911 call and found Wilburn dead on the floor, wrapped in a sheet and with furniture pillows on his body.
A Ruger .22-caliber air rifle was found in bushes beside the house.
Hill had fled prior to the arrival of police and went into hiding. His girlfriend told police Hill had fired the weapon because he was annoyed by Wilburn insisting he be allowed back into the house.
Hill was found last week and charged with manslaughter. While in hiding, he told friends he never thought the pellet would kill his roommate and only intended to scare him.
Autopsy results showed that the pellet inflicted a fatal wound, puncturing Wilburn’s lung.
Pellet guns and other air rifles are extremely dangerous to children in particular and have a lengthy track record of eye injuries. Fatalities are rare, but can happen.
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