Virginia teen charged after lover dies in gun-play accident

Virginia Beach detectives allege that 19-year-old Ember McSpadden and 26-year-old Shane Brooks were engaged in a firearms-related foreplay activity when McSpadden repeatedly pulled the trigger of a partially loaded handgun, counting each click. On the final pull, a live round discharged, hitting Brooks in the neck and killing him at the scene on March 5. Officers responding to a 1:09 a.m. call discovered seven guns in the room, including two revolvers on the bed, though the pistol that fired was identified as the weapon used.

Brooks, a lifelong Virginia Beach resident and National Guard staff sergeant with a decade of service, was pronounced dead on site. McSpadden was taken into custody, charged with involuntary manslaughter, and released on bond. At a preliminary hearing, a judge found sufficient evidence to send the charge to a grand jury, and her attorney described the death as an unintended tragedy.