Columbus police investigating Whisperwood shooting death, may have been accidental
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A 20-year-old Auburn, Ala., man was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound to the head late Sunday night in a vehicle parked at the Whisperwood apartment complex, Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan said.
Octavious Towels was reportedly playing with a .357 revolver when it discharged and he was shot on the right side of the head. Towels' brother lived at the apartment complex on Flat Rock Road, Bryan said.
"The brother said he had been playing with the gun," he said.
The death has been ruled accidental by the coroner's office, but Towels body is being sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab in Decatur for an autopsy, Bryan said. The weapon had a .410 shotgun shell in it when it discharged, Bryan said.
The death is being investigated by the Columbus Police Department's Robbery/Assault Division as a case of accidental self-inflicted injury, Maj. J.D. Hawk said.
This story was originally published July 9, 2018 at 10:24 AM.