He got a gun as a graduation gift, then accidentally shot and killed his girlfriend, police say

A tragedy in Arlington, Tennessee, has left two families in mourning, as a 19-year-old woman was shot and killed on accident by her boyfriend with a gun he had just received.

Brennan Fields, 18, had just received a pistol as a high school graduation present from the father of his 19-year-old girlfriend, Lucinda Luna, according to The Commercial Appeal. He was at Luna’s house on Thursday night, showing the weapon to several friends. According to localmemphis.com, there was also a toddler in the room where the teenagers were.

As Fields was either playing with the gun or putting it away, it discharged, hitting Luna in the stomach, police say. She was transported to a local hospital and underwent surgery, but died from her injuries early Friday morning, according to WMC.

According to a friend and neighbor of Luna’s, Fields owned several other weapons and was experienced with guns.

“He would never hurt her or anyone,” the friend, Kara Stubblefield, told localmemphis.com. “He's always been really responsible. He likes guns and swords. He's a dude, so he likes dude-stuff. But I mean he's never fooled around or aimed it at anyone or ever done anything to hurt anyone.”

“No charges are expected to be filed. It’s just a real tragedy,” a police spokesperson told The Commercial Appeal.

The number of accidental gun deaths, especially among children and teenagers, is a fiercely debated topic among gun enthusiasts and activists. While the NRA cites CDC statistics that put the rate of accidental firearm deaths at 0.1 percent of all gun deaths, USA Today and the Associated Press have conducted reviews, alleging that the CDC significantly underestimates those numbers because not all coroners note whether a shooting was intentional or not.

This story was originally published June 3, 2017 at 12:26 PM with the headline "He got a gun as a graduation gift, then accidentally shot and killed his girlfriend, police say."