BELLINGHAM, Wash. — The sadness of the last few hours seemed etched on Terry Bornemann's face as he talked outside the Bellingham home where he brought up his son.
"You knew he lived life fully," Bornemann said. "But you just don't expect this."
Aaron Bornemann, music DJ, lover of life, shot dead at 23 while he and friends played with a loaded handgun.
"There's no way of making any sense out of any of this," Bornemann said.
Bellingham police said Aaron Bornemann and three other men were inside a house in the 1200 block of Grant Street. They unloaded a .22-caliber semi-automatic handgun and were playing with it. But at some point, the gun was reloaded, possibly by Aaron.
Twenty-one-year-old Masen Jon Potter told police he didn't know that when picked up the gun and pointed it at Aaron's head.
"But unfortunately even though he's taken responsibility for his actions, he took the life of another human being because of his actions," said Bellingham police Lt. Bob VanderYacht. "And that is why he has been arrested."
During his brief court appearance, Potter wiped away a tear as the details of the allegation of first-degree manslaughter were read aloud. His bail was set at $100,000.
"Aaron's dead," said Bornemann, "and we've got another person whose life is ruined. It's ridiculous."
Bornemann, who grew up in a hunting family in Michigan, blames the country's pervasive gun culture, which he says makes it too easy for anyone to purchase a handgun.
Potter's arraignment is set for April 10.
KIRO
