Britt Jones
A man has been charged with the murder of his friend after the two appeared to have been 'playing with guns'.
Sean O’Donnell has been charged with the murder of 34-year-old Aaron Prout following a game where the two men shot at each other's heads with rifles while wearing bullet-protection helmets.
According to the authorities, O’Donnell, 37, was taken into custody at his home in Houston on August 17 in connection with Prout's death, who was from the UK.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office says that the friends were inside O'Donnell's home when Prout became seriously injured by the rifle's bullets, leading to his transportation to a local hospital, where he sadly died due to the severity of his injuries.
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However, it is not known exactly how he died whilst wearing the helmet, as it is not supposed to provide 100 per cent protection (via news.com.au)
According to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, investigators initially suspected the incident to be a 'possible suicide'; however, following a 'thorough investigation', this was later determined not to be the case.
On August 28, investigators went on to charge O’Donnell with the alleged murder of Prout, and he was booked into the Harris County Jail, with the Violent Crimes Apprehension Team (VCAT) assisting in his arrest.
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According to a Harris County judge during his court appearance on Sunday (August 31), O'Donnell and Prout had been 'playing with guns', adding (via ABC13): "They were drinking. They were shooting at a Kevlar helmet.
"They were holding it above their heads until the complainant ended up with a bullet hole in the top of his head."
O'Donnell is also accused of attempting to cover up the incident by allegedly telling police that Prout 'shot himself', as the judge continued to say: "The defendant is alleged to have told the police that he shot himself but there are witnesses who have video that the defendant and complainant sent of that them playing with the gun and shooting with the helmet back and forth and these friends told them to stop."
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The judge added: "We are in a situation here where this is a real danger to the community because the defendant gets intoxicated and uses weapons irresponsibly."
Sheriff Gonzalez also wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "Hard to believe two, so-called friends, would take turns shooting at each other wearing a kevlar helmet, inside a house in a residential neighborhood, while using a rifle."
According to ABC13, O'Donnell remains behind bars, with his bail set at $3,000.
UNILAD reached out to the Harris County Sheriff's office for comment.