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Court docs: 18-year-old charged with reckless homicide in deadly Hope shooting thought he had an airsoft gun

Jesse W. Bragg, 18, was shot in the chest inside a house on Elm Street in Hope on Nov. 26.

HOPE, Indiana — An 18-year-old from Fowler, Indiana, is now facing a reckless homicide charge after a deadly shooting in Hope.

Police responded to a home on Elm Street after a 911 call reporting a person shot shortly before 10 p.m. Officers from the Hope Police Department attempted life-saving measures, but the victim, 18-year-old Jesse Bragg, died at the scene.

Bragg had been shot one time in the chest.

Court documents show officers reported several other people being at the residence at the time of the shooting. They also saw alcohol and what appeared to be marijuana.

Officers took Joseph Kidwell into custody and a Bartholomew County sheriff's detective interviewed him. Kidwell admitted to shooting Bragg in the chest, but said he thought he had an airsoft pistol in his hand when he did it, according to court documents.

Credit: Bartholomew County Sheriff's Office
Joseph Kidwell

Police also interviewed the others who were in the room at the time of the shooting. Investigators said they described Kidwell has having grabbed the pistol, racking the slide, pointing it at Bragg and pulling the trigger.

The prosecutor's office filed charges against Kidwell on Thursday. A date for his initial hearing has not yet been set.

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