18-year-old charged with negligent manslaughter in shooting at St. Augustine hotel, police say

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – An 18-year-old man was arrested on a charge of negligent manslaughter with a firearm in connection with a deadly shooting Thursday night at the Voco St. Augustine hotel, the St. Augustine Police Department said.

According to the Police Department, about 7 p.m. Thursday, officers responded to the hotel on Anastasia Boulevard and spoke with a witness, who said she was in a hotel room with her boyfriend, 20-year-old Nieem Nelson-Bailey, and two of his friends. She told police that one of the friends “started playing with a gun and pointed it at her boyfriend when then the gun went off, shooting her boyfriend,” the Police Department said.

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Police said that the two friends ran out of the hotel room, and the suspect, identified as 18-year-old Alexander Reece Johnson, was taken into custody shortly after the shooting and was arrested on a charge of negligent manslaughter with a firearm.

As of Friday afternoon, he was being held in the St. Johns County jail, according to jail records.

According to police, the other friend, who officers identified as a person of interest, turned himself in to the Police Department about 10 p.m. Thursday.

The investigation continues.