Riverton stepfather who shot, killed 18-year-old stepson arrested, facing manslaughter charges

RIVERTON, Utah (ABC4) — The man who allegedly shot and killed his 18-year-old stepson in Riverton Tuesday has been booked into Salt Lake County Jail, and he is facing charges of manslaughter.

According to jail records, Joseph Lee, 46, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on manslaughter charges on Wednesday. Riverton Police Department Chief Shane Taylor told ABC4.com that detectives concluded that the “totality of evidence” warranted the charge.

Riverton Police said Tuesday that around 3 p.m., police responded to reports of a shooting. Joseph Lee reportedly shot his 18-year-old stepson with a Glock 9mm at their residence in Riverton. Initially, police described the shooting as “accidental.”

The 18-year-old was quickly transported to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead.

The victim of the shooting has been identified by family as Haven Alexander McBride. Family is also organizing a GoFundMe to raise money for funerary services.

Rachel McBride, the victim’s aunt on his biological father’s side of the family, sent ABC4.com a statement, which can be read below.

Haven Alexander McBride was a kind, hardworking young man. He was always eager to help. a dedicated big brother to his siblings. He enjoyed camping and being outdoors. He had a goofy sense of humor and could always make you laugh. He graduated with honors from Mountain Ridge High School just last week. He was excited to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was looking forward to the rest of his life. We were excited to watch him live it.  He was taken prematurely from this life. His loss will be felt to all those who knew him. His family is heartbroken!”

Rachel McBride

---

What do police documents say happened?

According to Chief Taylor, after reviewing the evidence, detectives decided to charge Lee with manslaughter even though they had originally said that the shooting was accidental. He also told ABC4.com that Lee is a U.S. Green Beret Veteran.

According to the probable cause statement obtained by ABC4.com, Lee told police when they interviewed him that he was teaching his daughter how to use and operate firearms at the time of the shooting. He had two guns that he was showing her, one that was loaded and one that was not, which he called a “dummy gun.”

Police said that the “dummy gun” was nearly identical to the other handgun, and it was fully operable and could still fire live ammunition.

He told police that he mistakenly picked up the loaded gun and pulled the trigger. The gun fired, and the bullet hit the victim, who was sitting directly opposite Lee, in the head.

Through a search warrant, police obtained video from the home of the entire incident. According to charging documents, the video showed Lee sitting on the ground and the victim looking at the gun in Lee’s hand, as Lee described to police.

Police said that in the video, as the victim moved to sit down, the gun fired, and “the victim is seen dropping to the floor and is motionless.”

Reportedly, the video shows that Lee waited several minutes before performing CPR.

The probable cause statement also detailed why police decided to charge Lee with manslaughter. According to Utah code, manslaughter occurs when someone “recklessly” causes the death of another person.

Lee told police that he served in the United States Army as a Green Beret, and police stated that he had “extensive training in the operation and safe handling of firearms.” Army guidelines tell officers to use the acronym THINK when it comes to handling firearms, which police cited in their report:

• Treat every weapon as if it is loaded.
• Handle every weapon with care.
• Identify the target before you fire.
• Never point the muzzle at anything you don’t intend to shoot.
• Keep your weapon on safe and your finger off the trigger until you intend to fire.

The arresting officer wrote that he believed that Lee handled his firearm in a reckless manner, despite his training and experience, and caused the death of another person.

What to know about gun safety

ABC4.com spoke to a gun safety expert, Dave Larson, the store manager of Doug’s Shootn’ Sports, who said that there are other alternatives to live firearms when it comes to teaching someone how to shoot a gun.

“We got a blue gun here which is commonly used for training, and you can teach people about their proper grip stance and trigger placement, but there are some things you can’t teach with a blue gun, and you need to teach with a real gun,” Larsen said.

Larsen said that some people do practice in their homes, but there is a safe way to do it.

“Always point your gun in a safe direction, always keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot and then treat every gun as if it’s loaded,” Larsen said.

The Army’s THINK guidelines are also important to always keep in mind. Never point a gun at something unless you intend to shoot it.