Police: Teen handling gun at Palm Bay party fatally wounded

J.D. Gallop | Florida Today

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A 19-year-old Palm Bay man was killed when the handgun he was holding at an overnight party went off and wounded him, police report.

The shooting was reported about 4 a.m. Wednesday morning, prompting nearly a dozen police cars to converge on a home on Willard Road off of Heild Road in Palm Bay. Detectives also talked with several witnesses at the gathering to determine what lead up to the incident, officials reported.

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“It appears he may have been playing with his gun, a 9 mm, when it went off. It was apparently during a party,” said Lt. Mike Bandish of the Palm Bay Police Department. Bandish said the self-inflicted injury did not appear intentional.

An investigation is ongoing.

Contact Gallop at 321-242-3642, jdgallop@floridatoday.com and Twitter at @JDGallop