MIAMI – A teenager is charged with manslaughter after he accidentally shot his friend while they “were simulating a rap video" last month in a South Florida apartment, police said.
Jonathan Batista, 18, and his friend Brian Shakur Meridor, also 18, were staying at an apartment in Hialeah with another friend, the Miami Herald reported. On Oct. 22, Batista shot Meridor in the chest while they were acting out the rap video, police said.
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When police arrived at the apartment, the other man was applying pressure to the wound on Meridor's chest, a police report said.
Batista is scheduled for arraignment on Nov. 20.
An arrest report written by Hialeah Detective Wilber Gonzalez said Batista “spontaneously” told an officer that “he didn’t mean to shoot the victim and that the gun wasn’t supposed to work.”
The report did not say what song or video the teens were “simulating,” the Herald reported.
The gun belonged to 18-year-old Andres Otaiza, who rented the apartment. He was charged with possession of a stolen firearm because the gun had been reported stolen from a car in Broward County in December, the police report said.
“We are all shaken by the tragic incident that occurred last week and our hearts go out to the family of the young man who lost his life in this horrific accident,” Batista’s defense lawyer, Eric Matheny, told the newspaper.
“Jonathan and his family offer their deepest condolences. We are prepared to address the criminal charges against him and ask that the privacy of the Batista family be respected during this very difficult time.”
Batista is free on bond while awaiting trial.