A South Carolina man who donned a bulletproof vest and asked a friend to shoot him was lethally wounded when his friend followed through on the request, authorities said.

Blake Randall Wardell, 25, of Honea Path was killed Wednesday with a single gunshot by 18-year-old Taylor Ann Kelly, authorities said. The bullet missed the protective Kevlar entirely, hitting Wardell’s heart instead.

“The bullet went through the top edge of the material. It missed the vest,” Lt. Sheila Cole, spokeswoman for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, told the Los Angeles Times.

Kelly, a friend of the victim, according to Cole, told authorities that Wardell had asked her to shoot him after putting on the vest. Local media reported that he had found the vest in a garage.

Cole added that nothing had been ruled out while investigations are ongoing, and that Kelly was charged with involuntary manslaughter.


Bulos is a special correspondent.