Deborah Lynn Debbie Christner, 28, was killed in the early hours of May 22, 2015, at a house on the east side of Kalamazoo. Investigators say a 12-year-old boy found the key to his grandfather’s gun safe, took a shotgun out, and the firearm discharged while he was handling it. Pellets passed through a wall and struck Christner while she slept; family members say she had been staying at the home as a friend of the family. Police were dispatched around 5:50 a.m. after the boy ran to wake people.

Public safety officials and family described the shooting as accidental and called the boy mentally impaired. Prosecutors later authorized a juvenile misdemeanor charge of careless discharge of a firearm causing death, but the case was dismissed in October 2015 after the boy was found not competent to stand trial. Reports also state Christner was about two months pregnant. Anyone who knew Deborah or has information about the incident is asked to come forward.