A 19-year-old Beverly, Massachusetts, man has been held without bail following fatal shooting that his attorney says was accidental.
Justice Galarza has been charged in the shooting death of 21-year-old Christian Merced, of Miami, Florida.
Police responded to an apartment on Ropes Street at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday and found Merced, who was visiting family members in the area, suffering a gunshot wound to the chest.
Galarza initially fled the scene but later turned himself in to police, who recovered the weapon around some nearby railroad tracks.
His attorney, Michael Phelan, says the shooting appears accidental. Galarza told witnesses that he and Merced, who friends described as close friends, had been "messing around" with the handgun when it went off, the Salem News reports.
His next court date is May 10.
