Man fatally shoots SD friend in head with gun he didn’t know was loaded, feds say

A man fatally shot his 17-year-old friend in South Dakota with a gun he said he didn’t realize was loaded, federal prosecutors say.

Daeshawn Poor Bear, 19, has now been sentenced to more than three years in prison following the 2024 death of Gary Bear Runner in Pine Ridge, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota.

An attorney for Poor Bear could not immediately be reached by McClatchy News.

In a factual basis statement, Poor Bear said he and several friends were drinking alcohol and smoking THC wax together on the night of the Sept. 2 incident.

Bear Runner threw his gun toward Poor Bear, and the then-18-year-old man picked it up and pointed it toward his friend, according to his statement. Poor Bear then pulled the trigger, and a bullet struck his friend “in the face in between his eyes,” the statement said.

He said he ran to his mother’s home nearby, and he admitted to the shooting before she called 911, court documents show.

“I am... going to jail for life,” Poor Bear was overheard saying during the 911 call, the statement said. “He gave me that gun and I shot him in the head.”

Bear Runner was pronounced dead at the scene, the statement said. Poor Bear said he did not know the gun he fired had ammunition in it.

In January, Poor Bear pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm, court records show.

Facing a maximum sentence of eight years, according to KOTA, Poor Bear instead received 37 months during his June 2 sentencing, according to the records.

According to his obituary, Bear Runner was known as a “fun, loving, comical, intelligent, artistic person.”

“Loved by many, he grew to be a sharing, caring, outgoing young man,” the obituary says. “He had heart for what he loved and believed in and wasn’t afraid to face many obstacles.”

Pine Ridge is about a 95-mile drive southeast from Rapid City.

This story was originally published June 3, 2025 at 9:46 AM with the headline "Man fatally shoots SD friend in head with gun he didn’t know was loaded, feds say."