17-year old Iowa boy unintentionally shot and killed by 17-year old friend

Hunter True, age 17

17-year old Hunter True and his friend, 17-year old Nicklaus Lala, were in their father's cabin in Nora Springs, Iowa, handling a loaded, unsecured .22-caliber rifle.  Lala unintentionally discharged the weapon, striking Hunter in the abdomen, killing him.

From the article:

The shooting death of Hunter True, 17, of Mason City, last month near Rudd has been ruled accidental.

Nicklaus Lala, 17, of Mason City, was handling a .22-caliber rifle that discharged, but “probable cause for filing of criminal charges does not exist,” Floyd County Attorney Normand Klemesrud said in a statement released Wednesday.

True and Lala were in a cabin at 1545 Foothill Ave. owned by Lala’s father, Jay. The incident happened about 7:45 p.m. April 22.

A bullet struck True in the lower abdomen, according to Klemesrud, and Lala called an ambulance.

True was airlifted to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in Mason City, where he died as a result of his injury.

The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the incident.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.