Calem Copeland, 24, was killed by a single gunshot at a residence on Johnson Corner Road in Lyons, Georgia, on Sunday, October 23, 2016. A lifelong Toombs County resident and Toombs County High School graduate, Copeland was a U.S. Army veteran who served a tour in Afghanistan and later worked as a security officer at the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Power Plant.

According to the Toombs County Sheriff’s Office, Copeland was at the home of his 29-year-old cousin, Brandon Phillips, and jumped out to scare him in a dimly lit hallway. Phillips, believing an intruder was present, had armed himself with a pistol and startled by Copeland’s prank, fired the shot. Emergency responders found Fallon Williamson rendering aid; deputies assisted until paramedics arrived and Copeland was taken to Meadows Regional Medical Center in Vidalia, where he died.

The Toombs County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation opened a joint inquiry and described the shooting as accidental; investigators did not anticipate any arrests. Did anyone in the area know Calem or have additional details about that night?