A Montana man who was “buzzed” during a game of “gun tag” was charged with shooting a child dead last week, according to multiple reports.
After initially saying he had only heard the gunshot, Galen Hawk, 26, allegedly confessed to detectives that he shot Lonato Moran-Allen, 3, on Wednesday night, according to reports from the Billings Gazette newspaper and Montana television station KECI.
According to the Gazette, Hawk said he found the boy playing with a Taurus .380 pistol in the hallway and took it away from him. The boy then picked up a toy gun and ran away, pretending to fire over his shoulder at Hawk.
Hawk allegedly said he then fired a single shot into the boy’s shoulder from behind, according to the newspaper. He told deputies he assumed the pistol wasn’t loaded since he carried a magazine in his pocket, the Gazette reported.
Court documents described the incident as a botched game of “gun tag,” according to Montana television station KECI.
The boy was taken to hospital and died that night. The Gazette said investigators later found the pistol at the boy’s home.
Hawk told detectives he was “buzzed” on Mike’s Hard Lemonade, according to the Gazette.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said it believed Hawk was unrelated to the boy but lived in the same home, KECI reported.
