A Coffee County Central High School senior is dead after an accidental shooting at his Tennessee home on Friday.
Austin Payton Davis, 17, was at home with his grandfather and siblings when the fatal shot was fired from a small-caliber weapon, according to media reports in Coffee County.
Neither Coffee County Sheriff Chad Partin nor investigator Billy Butler returned calls Tuesday seeking information or a comment on the incident, but the newly elected sheriff told the Manchester Times over the weekend that the teen was “playing” with a gun when it “accidentally” discharged and shot him in the head.
The shooting happened around 3-3:30 p.m. CDT Friday in the New Union community, north of Manchester. The weapon was described as a .22-caliber pistol, according to the Times report.
Authorities told the Manchester paper there were no previous problems involving the victim and that the incident is believed to be a “tragic accident.”