Vermont Police: Prank Turns Deadly After Man Shoots Friend

MANCHESTER, Vt. -- Police say a Vermont man who believed he was holding an air gun shot his sleeping friend dead in bed with a .22-caliber rifle.

Manchester police told WCAX-TV that the two friends were staying at another friend's home Thursday. Police say 23-year-old Nicholas Bell of Manchester was hoping to play a prank on his friend and wake him up with an air gun.

But authorities say Bell ended up firing a shot from a loaded rifle into the chest of 24-year-old Jeffrey Charbonneau of Manchester, and he died.

Bell was arrested on a manslaughter charge and is being held at the Rutland jail. Jail officials did not know if he had an attorney.