FAIRBANKS, AK - A man’s decision to “play” with a loaded firearm turned tragic on September 16 when he accidentally shot his girlfriend inside a home during the late evening hours. ChloeRae McBrayer, 21, succumbed to her wounds, People online reported.
In a press release posted to Facebook, Fairbanks police said dispatchers received a 911 call at approximately 9:12 p.m. on that date. The caller told the operator that his friend had accidentally shot his girlfriend and remained on the line while officers responded. Dispatchers could hear a disturbance in the background.
On arrival, McBrayer was found dead, and a man was “critically injured.” That man, Landon Lowrance, 22, was transported to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital by Fairbanks Fire Department medics, where he later succumbed to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“The investigation determined that Lowrance shot McBrayer with a revolver while playing with the gun and pointing it at her,” the release said. “The caller, a friend of Lowrance’s, immediately contacted 911. While the line was open with dispatch, the caller attempted to physically intervene when Lowrance obtained another firearm and shot himself. The caller was interviewed by detectives and is not believed to have been involved in the shootings.”
The Fairbanks Police news release called the incident both “tragic” and “preventable.”
“The Fairbanks Police Department urges everyone to practice firearms safety at all times. Firearms should always be handled responsibly and safely, and individuals should never participate in games or activities involving firearms that place anyone at risk of injury or death.”
The department also credited the caller for immediately trying to help his friend and showing “courage and concern during a deeply distressing situation.”
McBrayer’s family and friends told KTUU that she was a loving and outgoing “all-American girl.” McBrayer’s mother, Amanda Hooper, called her daughter “the sunshine of the family.”
“She’d love to be the center of attention,” Hooper said of her daughter, noting she had recently been accepted to the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “She’s bubbly, she wants you to talk to everybody. She would sing; she helped everybody.”
She said ChloeRae and Lowrance were considering getting engaged.
“She went up [to Fairbanks] for the weekend one time, and then she came back and was like, ‘Mama, he’s a really good guy,’” Hooper recalled. “I talked to his mom; she seems like a really good family, and they were talking about getting engaged this weekend and then all [of] this.”
Hooper emphasized that she is not angry at Lowrance’s family.
“It was out of their control—there was nothing that they could do about it,” she said. “I’m hurt because I don’t know exactly what happened. I know my daughter loved Landon and I know Landon loved Chloe.”
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