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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An 18-year-old charged with involuntary manslaughter says the gun he pointed at his best friend “just went off,” according to court documents.

Zachary Hammond told police that Eric Apisa, 19, came to his home near Unser and McMahon on Tuesday to buy drugs. While he was there, Hammond mentioned he had a gun he wanted to sell, and Apisa said he was interested. Hammond retrieved the gun and pointed it at Apisa, who was waiting outside in a friend’s vehicle.

“Zach stated in the past he and Eric have pointed guns at each other multiple times just to mess around,” police wrote in a criminal complaint.

He told police that he did not remember pulling the trigger and believed the safety was on.

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“According to Zach the gun just went off,” police wrote.

Hammond said he saw the bullet in his friend’s forehead and started yelling that he was sorry. He said that he had taken a loaded magazine out of the gun, but hadn’t checked the chamber.

Apisa was taken to the hospital by the friends he was riding with, and Hammond packed some belongings and left.

He turned himself in on Friday, the same day medical investigators pronounced Apisa dead.

Hammond’s girlfriend, who was in the home when she heard a single gunshot, told police she could not think of any reason Hammond would shoot Apisa and believed it was an accident.

Apisa’s family told detectives that the two had been close friends for several years. His mother said she’d treated Hammond like a son and had spoken to him on the phone hours before the shooting.

Court documents show a judge on Sunday ordered Hammond be released from custody. He must wear a GPS monitor and must check in weekly with the court’s pretrial services division.