Playing with loaded gun led to Columbus shooting that killed teenager, police say
Recklessly toying with a loaded handgun led to a Columbus shooting Wednesday night that killed a Hamilton, Georgia, teenager, police said Thursday.
Investigators said 20-year-old Elijah Daquon Farral and two friends were dancing around with the weapon before Farral decided he would use it to “scare” Sara Holtrop, who had fallen asleep face-down on a couch.
Detective Sherman Hayes said police believe Farral accidentally pulled the trigger as he approached Holtrop, sending a bullet into her back. Farral and his friends immediately tried to treat her injury and keep her breathing, Hayes said.
They called an ambulance to the home in the 1200 block of Carmel Street at 7:25 p.m.
According to Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan, Holtrop arrived at the Piedmont Columbus Regional emergency room at 7:54 p.m. and was pronounced dead three minutes later. She was 18.
Booked into the Muscogee County Jail at 1:55 a.m. Thursday, Farral faced charges of felony involuntary manslaughter and misdemeanor reckless conduct in a preliminary hearing later that morning.
‘Making videos’
Hayes testified Farral and Holtrop were visiting the home where seven people had gathered Wednesday night, including two children. Holtrop around 5 p.m. had brought Zaxby’s chicken for them to eat, before she dozed off on the couch, he said.
As she slept, Farral and two other guys there started playing with the gun, the detective said.
“All of them admitted having some contact with the gun over the past few days,” Hayes said. “They described it as they were dancing with the gun, making videos, other similar acts.”
Investigators viewed at least one of the videos on a phone, he said: “That video was music playing in the background, dancing and waving the gun in the air.”
Then Farral made a fatal mistake, Hayes said: “At one point in time, he decided that he was going to attempt to scare the victim who was asleep on the couch.... He accidentally pulled the trigger, firing one round.”
Farral later waived his right to remain silent, and requested no attorney before telling police what happened, Hayes said, adding Farral’s account matched what other witnesses recalled. The evidence indicates the shooting was “most likely an accident,” the detective said.
Farral was represented by public defender Robin King, who elicited testimony that Farral had no criminal history and no motive to shoot Holtrop, and that the gun did not belong to him.
She asked Judge Julius Hunter to set a bond that would allow Farral’s release, telling Hunter that Farral is a Carver High School graduate who has lived in Columbus all his life.
“He’s been here. His whole family is here. He has a part-time job. He’s charged with an accident,” she said. “He didn’t flee. He didn’t deny. He didn’t lawyer up. He gave a full statement to law enforcement. It was consistent with all of the witnesses’.”
Sending the case to Muscogee Superior Court, Hunter set Farral’s bonds at $25,000 on the manslaughter charge and $5,000 for reckless conduct, and ordered him to have no contact with other witnesses or with Holtrop’s family if he’s released.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 11:35 AM.