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Bond Revoked For Suspect In Death Of Teen At Cottage Hill Party

Bond has been revoked for the 19-year old charged in the April fatal shooting of a 16-year-old at a party at a Cottage Hill home.

Ethan Alexander O’Brien, 19, is back in the Escambia County Jail charged with second-degree negligent manslaughter after Escambia County Judge John Simon revoked his $300,000 bond. He was also charged with tampering with evidence and improper exhibition of a firearm. Court hearing paperwork does not indicate whY bond was revoked.

O’brien is due back in court in September.

The investigation determined that during a large gathering at the residence, O’Brien (pictured) was showing off his firearm at which time it accidentally discharged hitting 16-year-old Bryson Allen. O’Brien fled the scene before deputies arrived,” the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said.

The incident happened about 11:30 p.m. Friday, April 12 at a home in the 600 block of Wishbone Road. Allen was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Emergency dispatchers received one call from someone who told them she heard a gunshot from her neighbor’s house and someone screaming “help me”. Another caller reported that they heard one gunshot and two vehicles leaving, and people were knocking on other residents’ doors.

Another caller reported that there was a male that had a gunshot wound to his stomach and leg. Another 911 call reported that a 16-year-old male had been shot in the chest and was not breathing.

Deputies arrived on the scene and found a male on the ground with a gunshot wound to the chest. Deputies unsuccessfully performed CPR and used an AED in an attempt to revive Allen, who was pronounced deceased by Escambia County EMS.

A 17-year-old witness told deputies that O’Brien pulled his gun from his trunk, and he had it out trying to shoot it, the report states. O’Brien then held the gun up midway and shot it. The witness told deputies that she did not feel that O’Brien was trying to shoot the victim on purpose.

Another witness, a 17-year-old male, said he heard a gunshot and screaming about five minutes after arriving at the home. He said O’Brien pointed the gun. “He believes he was messing around with the gun, and he felt that he didn’t shoot it on purpose,” the report states.

Another 17-year-old witness told deputies that she had invited a few friends over to her house and she was inside when the incident occurred. She heard a gunshot and went outside to find Allen on the ground and asked who was responsible.

“Do you want us to get in trouble, and he said I gots to leave,” she indicated O’Brien said. She continues that before the incident O’Brien showed her the gun that was in his trunk, and she asked to shoot it. She said she did not fire what she described to investigators as a “big gun”.

Allen grabbed his side after being shot and said, “You just shot me bro” before falling to the ground, an additional 17-year-old witness told law enforcement. He said O’Brien had an “AR style” rifle and he was playing with before the shooting.

Pictured top: The scene on Wishbone Road in Cottage Hill late Friday night, April 12, after a teen was shot and killed. Pictured below: Crime scene still surrounded the home the following Saturday morning.  NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.