Florida Deputy Killed by Fellow Officer in Accidental Shooting at Home

A 23-year-old Florida sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot by his fellow deputy roommate over the weekend, in what the sheriff described as a “clearly dumb and avoidable accident.”

Brevard County Sheriff’s Office deputy Austin Walsh was killed Saturday morning in Palm Bay by his roommate Andrew Lawson, Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a Sunday news conference. 

The two were taking a break from playing online games with friends and were standing and talking together when Lawson, who believed he had unloaded his gun, “jokingly” pointed the weapon at Walsh and pulled the trigger, Ivey said, citing the probe by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Palm Bay Police Department. 

Lawson immediately called 911 saying he accidentally shot his roommate and needed help, Ivey said. When officers arrived, they found Lawson “fully distraught and devastated.” Lawson was taken into custody Sunday on a no-bond warrant on a manslaughter charge by the the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and transported to the Brevard County jail, Ivey said.  

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