A prank between friends turned tragic ths past Friday and ended with a high school student being shot and killed.
Eighteen-year-old Premila Lal was returning to her parents’ Colorado home with her younger cousin Friday evening. The two entered in the back door and hid in a closet, planning to scare Premila’s 15-year-old brother and family friend 21-year-old Nerrek Galley.
When Lal and her cousin jumped out, Galley, who was armed, shot and killed the teen.
Authorities say it appears the shooting death was accidental.
Police were called to a home just east of McIntosh Lake, Colo., on Friday night, and by the time they arrived, the woman had been taken to the hospital. Cmdr. Jeff Satur says Galley, of Orem, Utah, was arrested "for actions unrelated to the shooting."
Satur also tells the Longmont Times-Call that investigators are looking into whether the victim had been hiding in a closet and was shot by Galley when she jumped out and startled him.
Galley is suspected of child abuse, reckless endangerment and permitting a juvenile to have a firearm. Satur says the man allegedly allowed Lal's 15-year-old brother to have a handgun without the permission of the boy's parents.
Lal's parents said the 18-year-old was a high school track star and not a prankster, rather a teen beyond her years.
— Newsy and The Associated Press contributed
