JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Friends and family members are grieving the loss of a 17-year-old who they say was accidentally shot by one of his best friends. Now they are spreading the word about the dangers of playing with guns.

Michael Saddler, 17, was arrested and charged with the death of Malik Warthen on Saturday night. Saddler is now facing manslaughter and tampering with evidence charges.

Saddler is being held at the Juvenile Detention Center.

Police said the gun Saddler used was found in the backyard near the scene, but there is still no word on where it came from.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the gun was not stolen and did not belong to the homeowner, but because of state law, firearms in Florida are not registered.

Regardless of where the gun came from, Saddler's family is hoping his story can be a lesson to others.

“Boys just like, unfortunately, they like guns, and that was an accident that shouldn’t have happened,” said Nicole Saddler, Michael Saddler's sister.

Nicole said she’s living a nightmare. She said her brother made a huge mistake and now he has to pay the consequences.

“Unfortunately, the accident was too great to have a slap on the wrist, but we are going to get through this as a family,” Nicole said.

Gary Belson, who specializes in gun safety, said there’s no such thing as an “unloaded gun.” He said every weapon should be treated as if it’s loaded.

“It happens a lot, and a lot of people that have accidental discharges, they are not accidental discharges, they are negligent discharges,” Belson said.

Belson offered examples of how these types of scenarios could play out:

Reporter: “Can I see your gun?”

Belson: “Sure.”

Reporter: “Are you sure there aren’t any bullets in the chamber?”

Belson: “It’s not loaded. I know everything about guns. I’ll show you. Ready, look, go like this, take the magazine out. It’s not loaded.”

Shoots gun, bullet comes out

Belson: “Wow, I didn’t know it was loaded.”

Belson said even if the person handling the gun checks and double-checks for bullets, a gun should never be pointed at anyone’s body.

News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said a large number of shootings happen with males because they are naturally fascinated by weapons.

“If you are a gun owner, take them to a gun range, let them see how a weapon is used, because quite often once they fire a gun a few times, it really takes away that curiosity, because they understand gun safety,” Smith said.

For Michael and Malik, that lesson came too late, and family and friends want to prevent anything like this from happening again.

“Can’t take back what’s happened. All you can do is make noise about what happened and try to help the next kid not make mistakes and not play with guns,” Nicole Saddler said.

The State Attorney’s Office is still investigating the case. Michael Saddler is scheduled for arraignment later this month.