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By Anders Anglesey
U.S. News Reporter
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A Florida deputy was fatally shot by his roommate, also an officer, after they played an online video game with friends, according to police.
The Brevard County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) shared an update following the death of Deputy Austin Walsh, 23, who was shot dead while he was off duty early Saturday morning.
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According to The Gun Violence Archive, a database that collects information about shootings from across the U.S., found 104 people were shot dead in Florida since November 1, 2022.
The FBI found 43 police officers had been accidentally killed in the U.S. between January 1 and September 30, 2022.
In a BCSO update video shared on Facebook on Sunday, Sheriff Wayne Ivey explained the "accidental" shooting happened in Palm Bay and that fellow deputy Andrew Lawson had allegedly fired the shot.
When Palm Bay police arrived at the home, they found Lawson "distraught" and Walsh's body. The officers determined he had been shot once and died instantly.
Ivey said: "This is one of the toughest days in my career because this afternoon I have to stand here and talk about the loss of one of my deputies, who I love so much, as the result of the reckless actions of another one of our deputies who I also love."
Police learned Lawson and Austin, who were friends, had been playing video games together just before the shooting happened.
Ivey added: "He (Lawson) revealed, he and Austin had taken a break from playing an online game with a number of their friends and were just, kind of, standing around, talking.
"Lawson was holding a handgun, which he believed he had unloaded, and at one point in their conversation Lawson, thinking that the gun was unloaded, jokingly pointed the gun at Austin's direction and pulled the trigger."
The sheriff continued: "Austin and Andrew were the best of friends and Andrew is completely devastated over what happened.
"Even with that, there's no excuse for this tragic avoidable death."
Newsweek has contacted the BCSO for comment.
In July, a police officer shot a deputy while she was fending off a dog attack in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Jordan Hurst shot the dog that had gotten a hold of his colleague Lydia Driver but ended up accidentally shooting the deputy's leg. After hearing her yelp, Hurst asked Driver: "Are you OK?"
Driver then responded: "No, you shot me."
"Oh god," Hurst said, before he started to wrap a Velcro tourniquet around her leg to stop the bleeding.
Driver was later taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville for emergency treatment. She has since undergone rehabilitation.
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