Man who had never handled gun before, unintentionally shot and killed friend, pleads guilty to manslaughter

22-year-old Derrick Dahl, of Apple Valley, Minnesota, had never handled a gun before when he went to his friend's house last summer. Dahl, 22-year-old Ben Hanson, and another friend began fooling around with several guns inside the home. According to police, the home contained a Kimber .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun, a Colt .357 magnum revolver, a Ruger .22 caliber semi-automatic handgun, and several long guns.
The three friends were "just playing around" and "pointing the empty handguns at each other." Dahl told police that he saw his friend take the magazine out of the Kimber handgun, remove a bullet from the chamber and place it in the magazine, and put both the gun and magazine on the counter. Dahl then left the room to look at the long guns. When he came back in the room he picked up the Kimber, cocked it, pointed it at Ben Hanson and pulled the trigger.
But the gun had been reloaded and Hanson was shot in the head. Hanson was taken to the hospital and died the next day of his injuries.
Dhal pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced this week to 90 days in jail, 10 years probation and a stayed prison sentence of four years.