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Man accidentally killed by friend on camping trip
Tony Bridges, Florida Freedom Newspapers
Tuesday November 13th, 2007
Two longtime friends from Panama City Beach, on a weekend camping trip to Gulf County, accidentally set off a pistol Saturday, killing one and wounding the other.
Jayson Decker, 31, died at the campsite. James Cook was treated and released from a local hospital.
Gulf County Sheriff Joe Nugent said the men had set up camp on the bank of the White City Canal earlier in the day. At about sundown, Decker picked up a loaded 9 mm pistol and tossed it to Cook.
Cook caught it, and the gun fired. A single bullet passed through his left hand and struck Decker in the head, killing him. Cook ran to a nearby boat ramp to call for help, Nugent said.
Deputies called a crime scene unit from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to examine the scene. The evidence matches Cook’s account of the shooting, Nugent said.
Nugent declined to provide other details about the shooting.
“We’re still investigating all that,” he said. Robert Decker, Jayson Decker’s father, said Monday the gun did not belong to his son or Cook. They might have taken it along to test fire it as a favor for an acquaintance, he said. Cook could not be reached for comment.
Decker’s father said the two men had been close friends for several years and worked together in the maintenance department at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort on Front Beach Road. They also lived next to each other in trailers in the Lagoon Oaks neighborhood.
“(Jayson) was well-loved by his family and friends,” Decker said. “He enjoyed life and loved hunting, fishing, motorcycles and fast cars.”
He said Cook is distraught over the shooting. “It’s devastating to me and my family, and it’s devastating to him as well because he has to live with this the rest of his life,” he said.
Jayson Decker leaves behind an 11-year-old son, Joel.
Tony Bridges, Florida Freedom Newspapers
Tuesday November 13th, 2007
Two longtime friends from Panama City Beach, on a weekend camping trip to Gulf County, accidentally set off a pistol Saturday, killing one and wounding the other.
Jayson Decker, 31, died at the campsite. James Cook was treated and released from a local hospital.
Gulf County Sheriff Joe Nugent said the men had set up camp on the bank of the White City Canal earlier in the day. At about sundown, Decker picked up a loaded 9 mm pistol and tossed it to Cook.
Cook caught it, and the gun fired. A single bullet passed through his left hand and struck Decker in the head, killing him. Cook ran to a nearby boat ramp to call for help, Nugent said.
Deputies called a crime scene unit from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to examine the scene. The evidence matches Cook’s account of the shooting, Nugent said.
Nugent declined to provide other details about the shooting.
“We’re still investigating all that,” he said. Robert Decker, Jayson Decker’s father, said Monday the gun did not belong to his son or Cook. They might have taken it along to test fire it as a favor for an acquaintance, he said. Cook could not be reached for comment.
Decker’s father said the two men had been close friends for several years and worked together in the maintenance department at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort on Front Beach Road. They also lived next to each other in trailers in the Lagoon Oaks neighborhood.
“(Jayson) was well-loved by his family and friends,” Decker said. “He enjoyed life and loved hunting, fishing, motorcycles and fast cars.”
He said Cook is distraught over the shooting. “It’s devastating to me and my family, and it’s devastating to him as well because he has to live with this the rest of his life,” he said.
Jayson Decker leaves behind an 11-year-old son, Joel.
