Lithia Man Killed in Accidental Shooting, Investigators Say

Updated, 7:51 a.m.:

Officials have identified the Lithia man who was accidentally shot and killed at his home early Thursday.

Taylor J. McKenna, 19, was at home at 10139 Bryant Rd. "socializing with several friends" at around 2 a.m., according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

"At some point an unloaded handgun was being shown to the group and was then reloaded," sheriff's office spokesperson Larry McKinnon wrote in a media release. McKenna, apparently unaware the gun had been reloaded, picked it up and fired one round that struck him in the head. He died at the scene.

It has not yet been determined who owned the gun, McKinnon said.

McKenna's body was taken to the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office, where an official cause of death will be determined.

The investigation continues.

Earlier:

A Lithia man was shot and killed early Thursday morning in what investigators are calling an accidental shooting.

The man and his friend or friends were at a home in the 10000 block of Bryant Road around 2 a.m. and may have been playing with a loaded gun when a round accidentally discharged, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokesman Larry McKinnon said in a news release.

Deputies arrived to find the man dead. His identity has not yet been released.

Homicide investigators and crime scene technicians were at the residence early Thursday morning conducting interviews and processing the scene, officials said.

Stay tuned to Patch for updates to this story.