Deputy showing girlfriend how to use rifle accidentally kills her, Florida cops say

A deputy was cleaning his gun and showing his girlfriend how to use a rifle when he shot and killed her, Florida authorities said.

He was immediately fired from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and is now charged with manslaughter, the agency said Sept. 20.

The evening of Sept. 19, the deputy said he and his girlfriend went home after dinner, then they got out a container of firearm cleaning supplies and started cleaning their guns, according to a news release from the Ocala Police Department.

He said they were dry-firing the guns, which involves pulling the trigger of an unloaded gun. But when he showed her how to use a rifle, he shot her in the head with a loaded round, police said.

He said the shooting was accidental when he called 911 shortly before 11 p.m., according to police. When officers’ arrived at the couple’s Ocala home, they reported finding the woman with a gunshot wound to her forehead and a handgun in her lap. The identity of the woman has not been publicly released.

The eight-year veteran of the sheriff’s office was fired, the agency said.

“Tens of thousands of law enforcement officers do their job commendably every day,” Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said in the release. “But unfortunately, the tragic actions of just one are felt through the entire law enforcement community.”

Ocala is about an 80-mile drive northwest from Orlando.