It Was an Accident, Say Friends of Youth Held in Death of Girlfriend : Shooting: Some say the 17-year-old has a ‘tough’ reputation and only a day before had held a gun to an acquaintance’s head and pulled the trigger.

As friends of a 17-year-old Thousand Oaks boy insisted Thursday that he didn’t mean to kill his girlfriend, the youth remained in custody and investigators said it will be up to prosecutors to decide whether to file charges.

Other residents of the Las Casitas neighborhood said the boy had a “tough” reputation. Only a day before Wednesday’s fatal shooting, they said, the youth had jokingly held an unloaded gun to an acquaintance’s head and pulled the trigger.

“He liked to play too much,” said 21-year-old Alfredo Morales, who said the youth tried to scare him with the gun earlier this week at the condominium complex where the shooting occurred.

Sixteen-year-old Jacqueline Ann Reay died Wednesday afternoon after the boy shot her in the eye with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun at point-blank range, investigators said. On Thursday, they said the gun belonged to the boy’s father and had been taken without permission.

Sheriff’s investigators would not comment on the circumstances surrounding the shooting, saying it would be up to the district attorney’s office to decide what charges, if any, to file against the youth.

Although parents who leave guns within reach of children can be held criminally liable for an accident, sheriff’s officials said it did not appear that the boy’s father had been negligent.

“There’s no indication there’s any culpability on his part,” said Lt. Craig Husband, who supervises the major crimes unit.

Meanwhile, coroner’s officials who performed an autopsy ruled Jacqueline’s death a homicide caused by a penetrating gunshot wound to the head. Without commenting further on the case, Assistant Medical Examiner-Coroner Fred Walker said her death seemed to meet the legal definition of manslaughter.

The state Penal Code defines manslaughter as “the unlawful killing of a human being without malice.”

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In addition to reviewing physical evidence and witness statements, Husband said deputies also are following up on reports that the youth had previously brandished a handgun.

On Tuesday, Morales said, he was watching television at the condo where the shooting occurred when the boy asked him: “What would you do if someone pulled out a gun and pointed it to your head?”

Morales said he then felt the teen-ager press a gun barrel against the side of his head, followed by the question: “What would you do if I pulled the trigger?”

Frightened, Morales asked the youth to put the gun away. Instead, the boy pulled the trigger but the ammunition clip had been removed.

Jacqueline’s friends, who gathered at the condo Thursday, said the couple had been dating about two months and spent most of their time together.

“As soon as they met they liked each other,” said 15-year-old Deanna Doney, at whose home the shooting occurred.

“Jackie didn’t have any big plan in life. She just wanted to marry (the 17-year-old),” Deanna added.

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Deanna said the couple recently spent a week camping with the boy’s family at Lake Tahoe and seemed to be getting along fine. On Wednesday, Jacqueline met up with her boyfriend at Deanna’s house, where she had planned to spend the night.

She was standing in the kitchen when the gun went off.

“He was just waving the gun around and he pointed it at Jackie and it went off,” said 14-year-old Krista Lambert, who did not witness the killing but arrived a short time later.

“It’s not like they were fighting,” she said. “The day before everything was fine. Everyone was happy.”