Inquest hears 17-year-old Connor Bell was accidentally shot dead with air rifle at Basingstoke party

Left · 2An inquest at Winchester heard that Connor Bell, 17, from Tadley, Hampshire, died after being accidentally shot in the head with an air rifle by his friend Jack Beechy at a house party in Basingstoke. 1 2 Left · 2The shooting happened on 8 November last year at the home of Joshua Brown, then 17 and now 18; Connor was taken to Southampton General Hospital, where he died two days later, on 10 November. 1 2 Left · 2Beechy, now 18, told the inquest he had drunk beer, cider and vodka and was "a little bit drunk"; he said he tried to put the safety on but pressed "the wrong trigger", mistaking the trigger for the safety catch. 2 1

Left · 2According to the Mirror, Beechy said Brown had asked him to put the rifle back in its case, so he decided to fire off the remaining pellets from the conservatory because he "thought it would be safer", and that he fired as he walked into the kitchen with Connor standing nearby. The Guardian reports the group had been shooting from the conservatory into the garden at targets such as bottles, and that Beechy pulled the trigger while the rifle was pointed towards Connor's head. 2 1 Left · 1The Mirror reports that the .177 calibre pellet entered Connor's head through his right eye socket, causing an "unsurvivable" brain injury and a cardiac arrest; pathologist Dr Megan Jenkins found the cause of death was a hypoxic brain injury caused by cardiac arrest resulting from a gunshot wound to the head. 2 Left · 2Brown told the inquest he had agreed with his parents to have a couple of friends round and that the air rifle, owned for three weeks, would stay locked in a cupboard; more friends came than he had said, they drank vodka, cider and beer, and he took the rifle out. He said his father had shown him how to use it safely and told him not to point it at people, and that he got it out because "I wanted my friends to use it. I just thought it would be fun." 2 1

Left · 1The Guardian reports that police arrested Beechy but took no further action. 1 Left · 1Hampshire area coroner Jason Pegg concluded that the death was an accident, with, according to the Mirror, a lack of weapons-handling skills contributing. He said Brown's father had told him not to take the rifle out, that the party became bigger than planned with "copious amounts of alcohol", and that he was satisfied Brown had shown his friends how to use the rifle and its safety catch. 2 Left · 2Pegg said the case showed "the real risk when you have a group of young people drinking alcohol" and called it "a deeply tragic case". 1 2

Left · 2Connor's father, Robert Bell, paid tribute to a son who was "cheeky and mischievous but so kind and caring", loved football, and was doing a sports course at college and training to become a personal trainer. 1 2