Police: Man Accidentally Shoots Girlfriend While Handling Revolver, Then Kills Himself

Police in Fairbanks said a man unintentionally fired a revolver while handling it, striking and killing his girlfriend, and later used a second gun to shoot himself as a friend remained on a 911 call. CloeRae McBrayer, 21, died after being shot by her boyfriend, Landon Lowrance, 22, on Wednesday, September 15, according to authorities and her grieving family. Her relatives said the two had been making plans to become engaged only days before the shooting. The Fairbanks Police Department said in a release that Lowrance pointed the revolver at McBrayer and fired while handling the weapon. The department called the shooting tragic and preventable. A friend of Lowrance quickly contacted 911 and waited on the line with dispatchers while officers responded, police said. According to authorities, a disturbance could be heard in the background during the call. The friend, whose name was not released, attempted to physically step in when Lowrance got hold of another firearm and shot himself, the department said. McBrayer, who was preparing to become a teacher, was already dead when officers reached the scene, police said. Lowrance was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital in critical condition and later died there. Detectives interviewed the caller and do not believe the person was involved in the shootings, police said. Authorities did not immediately say whose residence was the location of the two deaths. The department called the case tragic and preventable and urged the public to follow firearm safety practices at all times. It said weapons must be handled with care and responsibility, and warned against any games or activities involving guns that could endanger someone. McBrayer was born and raised in Alabama and had been discussing an engagement that weekend with Lowrance, according to her mother, Amanda Hooper. "She's the sunshine of the family. She'd love to be the center of attention. She's bubbly, she wants you to talk to everybody. She would sing, she helped everybody," Hooper told Alaska's News Source. Hooper said her daughter had recently been accepted to the University of Alaska Fairbanks to pursue a teaching career and started dating Lowrance after they met through a mutual friend. "I talked to his mom, she seems like a really good family, and they were talking about getting engaged this weekend and then all this," Hooper said. McBrayer's older sister, Lori Hunt, told the outlet, "we were planning their wedding."