SC gun store owner who shot and killed man in store arrested

A gun store owner who shot and killed a man inside his Charleston area store has been arrested, local media reports.

Jon Whitley was booked in the Berkeley County Detention Center Monday on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, according to the county website. He is being held on a $15,000 bond.

Whitley is the owner of Coastal Firearms on Cainhoy Road in Charleston. He told sheriff’s deputies he accidentally killed Stefan Mrgan inside the store on Nov. 2 when Whitley mistook his handgun for a BB gun, according to ABC News 4

Mrgan, 36, was shot in the “lower face,” according to an incident report, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

A witness told deputies Whitley, 59, and Mrgan were speaking when the witness heard a “loud bang” and then saw Mrgan fall to the ground bleeding.

In South Carolina, involuntary manslaughter is defined as a homicide caused by criminal negligence, when the suspect acts with a “reckless disregard of the safety of others.” It carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.