This is a truly devastating tale.
Sophie Taylor, the 16-year-old girlfriend of gamekeeper Calum Murray, 18, was accidentally killed as her boyfriend's gun went off as he was cleaning it. The accident was so devasting, that Murray reportedly killed himself immediately after it happened.
The tragic events were apparently witnessed by another couple who were with Taylor and Murray in a cottage on the Glenavon estate near Tomintoul, the highest point in the Scottish highlands.
From the Press and Journal:
Mr. McPherson [a local] said the young couple were with another young couple when the incident happened.
He added: "The story around the village is that there were two couples there and the two males were cleaning their guns and the gun went off in the house and killed Sophie, at which point Calum got up and went out to the front porch and shot himself.
According to MSNBC, no one else is being sought in connection with the shooting.
"The only saving grace is apparently there was the other couple there who witnessed the whole thing. There will be no conjecture with this one. It's all sorted out," McPherson told the P&J.
Both families are devastated. Taylor's parents released a statement saying, "We are devastated at the loss of our beautiful daughter Sophie, who will be greatly missed by us, her brother and her grandparents as well as her many friends."
The Scottish Gamekeeper's Association also expressed "widespread shock and sadness" over the tragedy, according to the Herald Scotland.