SAN ANGELO, Texas — A 23-year-old man is being charged with manslaughter after he pulled the trigger on a gun he says he assumed wasn't loaded and shot a woman, killing her.
Tom Green County court documents state the incident happened Monday in the 5900 block of Willeke Drive. San Angelo Police Department officers responded to a call about a shooting victim. Officers found the victim, Samantha Ibarra, with a gunshot wound. She was taken by ambulance to Shannon Medical Center, where she died from her injury.
A witness to the incident, Jesse Rios, told police that he and 23-year-old Benjamin Isais Ibarra had been in the bedroom of the home "reviewing and handling his AR-15 rifle", which was equipped with a laser/light attachment they were testing after "receiving a fresh battery." Rios said Benjamin Ibarra was given the gun and Ibarra "proceeded to conduct a mock clearing of the home."
Ibarra went into the living room, aimed at Samantha Ibarra and pulled the trigger. Rios told police the rifle didn't have a magazine when the single round was fired - it was chambered in the rifle and unaccounted for. He told police after Samantha Ibarra was shot, he and Benjamin Ibarra "conducted life-saving measures and called for emergency assistance."
According to the court documents, Rios said he didn't believe Benjamin Ibarra shot Samantha Ibarra intentionally.
Another witness told police she was in the home at the time of the shooting. She said she responded to the sound of the shot and saw Rios "conducting lifesaving measures on the victim who was not breathing." She said she saw a black rifle on the floor near Samantha, but didn't know who it belonged to. The witness told police while she was in the room, she saw Benjamin crying and heard him say he shot her. That witness called 911.
When police spoke to Benjamin, he told them he assumed the rifle was unloaded when he received it from Rios. He said he was not able to see Samantha during the mock clearing of the home, and pulled the trigger of the rifle because he thought it was unloaded.
Benjamin told police that he and Rios continued CPR until first responders got to the home. Documents state Benjamin said he "knew better and cited his experience as a former member of the United States Marine Corps." He told them he, Rios and Samantha had been at the gun range together earlier in the day and during their time there, he instructed Samantha on the firearm safety measures he had overlooked.
Benjamin Ibarra was arrested and charged with manslaughter. He was booked into the Tom Green County Jail just before midnight on a $100,000 bond.
