A 19-year-old woman is facing charges for accidentally killing her casual partner during a dangerous game with weapons. Investigators revealed that during an encounter in a Virginia Beach apartment, Ember McSpadden pulled the trigger of a handgun that had only one bullet inside.

She reportedly counted the clicks and pulled the trigger three times before the weapon finally fired, hitting 26-year-old Army veteran Shane Brooks, 26, in the neck, according to the New York Post.

The fatal incident took place during the early morning hours of March 3 at Brooks’ apartment on Virginia Beach Boulevard. Following months of initial investigation, the case took a definitive legal step forward on Friday, August 14, 2026, during a preliminary hearing.

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A Virginia Beach judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence to certify the involuntary manslaughter charge against McSpadden, officially sending the case to a grand jury.

According to court documents, McSpadden told detectives that the two were using guns and knives as a part of consensual, rough foreplay.

Police noted that Brooks actually handed her the weapon right before the shooting, which detectives described as a tragic game of Russian roulette.

Officers who searched the room later recovered a total of seven weapons from the scene.

While a detective described their relationship as “friends with benefits,” Brooks’ family stated they did not know McSpadden and emphasized that the two were not actively dating.

McSpadden has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and is currently waiting for her case to move forward in court.

McSpadden’s lawyer released a statement on her behalf, saying: “This incident is a tragedy that my client deeply regrets, as evidenced by her emotional reaction during our hearing today.”

Brooks’ mother, Penny, talked about the loss and what it’s like being in the courtroom: “We’d do anything to have him back, but, yeah, it’s just a lot to process being in there.”

“We just want justice for Shane,” she said.

Under Virginia law, involuntary manslaughter is classified as a Class 5 felony, which carries specific statutory guidelines if a jury finds the defendant guilty at trial.

A conviction carries a mandatory prison sentence ranging from a minimum of one year to a maximum of 10 years, though the court or jury retains the discretion to use alternative sentencing to reduce this confinement to a local jail term of up to 12 months.

Additionally, the court may impose a maximum financial penalty of up to $2,500, which can be ordered either in place of or in combination with the period of incarceration.