FRESNO – A man is facing murder charges after he carelessly fired his gun and accidentally shot a grandfather in the head, killing him.
The incident happened in apartments in the area of Marks and Ashlan avenues. Lemont Smith, 30, was reckless and mishandled his firearm, causing it to discharge. The bullet went through a sliding glass door and hit 65-year-old Gerald Perry, of Sanger, in the head, police said.
Perry was sitting on the couch of his granddaughter’s apartment when the bullet hit him. He was taken to Community Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at around 1:20 p.m. on Saturday.
Smith was arrested and booked into the Fresno County Jail after the incident on assault and firearm charges. However, a murder charge was added after Perry died, police said.
Smith has an extensive criminal history, police said.
The gun involved in the shooting has not been recovered.
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