PALM HARBOR — A 26-year Palm Harbor man has been charged with manslaughter after he pointed what he thought was an unloaded rifle at his friend and pulled the trigger, shooting him in the chest, deputies say.
The shooting happened about 7:45 p.m. Thursday when Shea Michael Harkins pointed a Colt M4 rifle at 26-year-old Sean Cook in the 3300 block of Brian Road South, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Cook, of Clearwater, had come to the house to play video games with Harkins.
Harkins told deputies that while the two friends were in an upstairs bedroom of the home, Harkins retrieved the rifle he had been customizing and pointed it at Cook as a joke. Harkins told deputies that Cook said, “What are you going to do, shoot me?”
Harkins then pulled the trigger thinking the gun was unloaded, but there was a round in the chamber, deputies said. The bullet struck Cook in the chest.
Cook was taken to Mease Countryside Hospital and pronounced dead at 8:55 p.m.
Harkins was arrested about 2 a.m. Friday. He was released from the Pinellas County jail after posting bail of $10,000.