Police officer kills neighbour Botham Jean after entering wrong apartment
A police officer who shot and killed her neighbour after going into the wrong apartment could face a manslaughter charge, Dallas police have said.
The officer, who has not been identified, returned home in her uniform before reporting that she had shot a man. She told officers she believed the victim's apartment was her own when she entered it.
The victim was named as 26-year-old Botham Jean, who grew up in St Lucia and was an employee of accounting and consulting firm PwC.
It is not known if anything was said between the officer and Mr Jean before he was shot. Authorities have not said how the officer got into his home or whether the door was open or unlocked.
Emergency crews administered first aid to Mr Jean at the scene but he later died in hospital.
He was described by family and friends as a devout Christian and a talented singer.
His uncle Ignatius Jean said relatives were devastated by his death, calling his nephew a "brilliant" man of "impeccable character".
"You want to think it's fiction...and you have to grapple with the reality," he said.
The officer's blood was drawn to be tested for drugs and alcohol. Police Chief Renee Hall declined to speculate as to the reasons behind the shooting.
It was unclear if the officer was in custody.
Nathan Monan, a friend from Harding University, said Mr Jean was kind to everybody and would often lead people in song during chapel at the private university in Arkansas.
"He lived what he spoke," Monan said, adding that Jean's death has stirred emotions of sadness and anger. "This doesn't make sense to anybody right now."
PwC said in a statement that it was "simply heartbroken to hear of his death."