Girl killed by faulty air rifle

A man described to an inquest yesterday the moment his friend was fatally shot in the eye by his faulty air rifle.

Rachel Davies, 18, was in bed when she was shot dead at a flat in Bury, Greater Manchester, on the morning of December 7, last year.

The pellet lodged in her brain and she died in hospital more than two weeks later.

Her friend David McKeon, 27, who owned the flat and the weapon, told the court he believed it would not fire.

"I just got it to shoot cans for something to do. I thought it could be fixed but I didn't get round to having it repaired. I had a look at it but I didn't try firing it because I'd been told it would not work," Mr McKeon said.

He said he bought the .22 inch air rifle for £60 three weeks prior to the incident from his friend Clint Kirkham, who told him it had never worked.

"No one had a clue it was loaded," Mr McKeon told Rochdale Coroner's Court. Another friend, Stephen Hodgson, knocked on his door and spotted the gun when he came into the bedroom where Rachel was sleeping.

"He asked if he could look at it. He held it up and said 'nice gun'. He looked through the sight of the gun and as he put it down it went off.

"I heard a bang and he said, what have I done?'" Mr McKeon said.

Rachel had woken up seconds before she was shot, he told the court. "I just heard a murmur. She didn't scream. I could see blood coming out of her eye and I tried wiping it and we phoned the ambulance," he said.

All three men were previously cleared of firearms charges in relation to the death. Forensic scientist Andrew Skae told the court he tested the rifle and found it was faulty. It was prone to firing without the trigger being pulled, he said.

"I have never examined a gun so prone to unintentional discharge before. It was in an unusually poor condition," he said.

Rachel's mother Angela told the court her daughter was "loved and cherished" by her family and friends and that the family's lives will never be the same.

Coroner Simon Nelson returned a verdict of accidental death.

He said: "I simply don't know how her void will be filled. I have no doubt that she would have fulfilled her aspirations.

"I understand that the family are behind any action that might bring about a reduction in the presence of these weapons and I can only support you as far as that venture is concerned.