Young Florida His deputy was accidentally shot and killed by his friend and roommate — also a police officer — after the two had taken a break from playing video games together, authorities said.
Early Saturday morning, Brevard County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Lawson called 911 and told the dispatcher that he had shot his friend Austin Walsh, 23, and needed help immediately.
In a Facebook In a video posted Sunday, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said Lawson and Walsh were playing video games online before the fatal shooting.
A Police Officer “Jokingly” Pointed A Gun At His Friend, Who He Had Been Sleeping With, And He Pulled The Gun On Him Thinking He Had Lowered The Gun.
Lawson allegedly told investigators that he “jokingly” pointed the gun at Walsh before pulling the trigger, thinking he had unloaded the gun.
Authorities say Walsh was struck once and died at the scene.
He and Austin had taken a break from playing online games with a couple of their friends and were just standing around. “Lawson was carrying a gun, which he believed to be unloaded and at one point during the conversation, Lawson, thinking the gun was unloaded, jokingly pointed the gun at Austin and pulled the trigger,” said Ivey.
Meanwhile, Lawson was taken into custody on a no-charge warrant by Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials on charges of murder, according to Sheriff Ivey’s Facebook post.
Lawson turned himself in Sunday and is charged with murder, WESH reports.
“Austin and Andrew were good friends and Andrew was devastated by what happened,” Ivey said in a Facebook post. “However, there is no reason to live with this tragic and preventable death.”
Florida | Deputy Austin Walsh, 23, was accidentally shot by a fellow officer early Saturday morning at his home in Palm Bay, Florida.
The two were close friends. pic.twitter.com/RPrswWkQwc
— 🅢🅘🅡 🅝🅔🅡🅓🅨 🅐🅓🅓🅘🅒🅣.pdf (@SirNerdyAddict) December 5, 2022
Accident Victim Fulfills Lifelong Dream of Becoming a Police Officer After Enrolling in Cadet Program at 18
Sheriff Ivey went on to say that Walsh started with Brevard County when he was 18 after enrolling in the cadet program, fulfilling a lifelong dream of becoming a police officer.
“Man, Austin was a great kid,” Ivey said. “Our hearts are broken because of his death. He will be greatly missed by our organization, our community, and our prayers are with his family. “
Ivey added that Lawson was “very distraught” when he was shot, and immediately cooperated with responding officers.
Very sad. @SheriffIvey
says the man, 23-year-old Brevard Co. Sheriff’s Deputy Austin Walsh, was accidentally shot and killed by his roommate, Deputy Andrew Lawson. Lawson pointed what he thought was an unloaded gun at Walsh and fired. Lawson is now charged with murder. pic.twitter.com/0lFYBCCIwyAmanda Dukes (@AmandaDukesWESH) December 5, 2022
Sheriff Criticizes Deputy as “Big Kid” Who “Sadly Made a Bad Decision”
He called the deputy defendant a “big kid,” who “sadly made a bad decision.”
“Andrew, he’s a good kid,” Ivey said. “Who sadly made a terrible and reckless decision that has affected so many lives forever.”
The shooting reportedly happened while both officers were on duty.
Meanwhile, Ivey described Walsh as a valuable member of the organization’s family, and asked that the public keep him — and his loved ones, the organization and the community — in their thoughts and prayers.
