A teenager told an inquest he fatally shot his friend with an air rifle at a house party after mistaking the trigger for the safety catch.

Connor Bell, 17, from Tadley, had been drinking with friends at a house in Chineham, near Basingstoke, on 8 November 2025 when he was hit by a pellet fired by Jack Beechy, the Winchester inquest heard.

The pellet entered through his right eye socket, causing an "unsurvivable" brain injury and cardiac arrest. He died at Southampton General Hospital two days later.

Coroner Jason Pegg recorded a conclusion of accidental death, exacerbated by a lack of weapons-handling skills.

The inquest heard Joshua Brown, now 18, had agreed with his parents that only a couple of friends would come round and the air rifle would stay locked in a cupboard.

But he said more friends came than he had told his parents about, and the group drank vodka, cider and beer.

He took out the .177 calibre rifle and it was used to shoot at bottles in the garden from the conservatory.

Beechy, now 18, said he was "a little bit drunk" when Brown asked him to put the rifle away.

He fired off the remaining pellets from the conservatory because he "thought it would be safer", believing the gun was then empty.

Beechy said that as he walked into the kitchen, with Bell standing nearby, he fired the rifle by mistake.

"I tried to put the safety on but it was the wrong trigger," he said. "The safety is directly in front of the trigger."

Brown said Beechy then ran into the lounge and said: "I shot Bell."

Pegg said what was planned as a small gathering had turned into "more of a house party", with friends bringing "copious amounts of alcohol".

He said he was satisfied Brown, who had been shown how to use the rifle by his father, had told his friends how to load and fire it, and how to use the safety catch.

Pegg said there had been a "real risk and a degree of inevitability" of an accident among young people who had been drinking, calling it "a deeply tragic case".

Hampshire police said a 17-year-old boy from Tadley, now 18, had been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent.

He will face no further action following discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service and Bell's family.

In a statement, Bell's family described him as "a much-loved boy, who was very sporty and had a large circle of friends".

They said CPR carried out by his friends at the scene had allowed him to become an organ donor, and he had since been awarded an Order of St John in recognition.

His father, Robert Bell, said his son "never took himself too seriously and had a wicked sense of humour".

The family urged people to remember the dangers of air rifles, saying they should be safely stored and only used by people with the necessary skills and training.