Killeen Police Department

Patrick Edward Myers

A Fort Hood soldier pleaded guilty Thursday to involuntary manslaughter -- admitting he accidentally shot his friend while trying to scare away the hiccups. 

Spc. Patrick Edward Myers, of Spartanburg, S.C., was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in military prison for fatally shooting 22-year-old Pfc. Isaac Lawrence Young, of Ash Grove, Mo., in the face in September while they were watching a football game at an apartment in Killeen, Texas. 

Myers was also busted to private and will receive a bad-conduct discharge, the Associated Press reported.

Police said three men were inside the apartment on Sunday, Sept. 23, watching a football game and drinking alcohol when one of the men produced a handgun, handled it in an "unsafe manner," and shot the victim in the face.

An arrest affidavit obtained by the Associated Press in September said Myers apparently pointed a gun at the victim's head to scare him and stop the hiccups.

Myers said he thought the gun had dummy rounds when it was discharged. 

The case was tried in military court on the Central Texas Army post because the both victim and suspect were soldiers. Myers has been in the Bell County Jail on a $1 million bond. 

A teacher at Palo Alto Middle School in Killeen, Texas, has been placed on paid leave while the Killeen Independent School District reviews a report that he taped a student’s mouth shut, according to The Associated Press.

Enesto Ortiz claims his 11-year-old son had three pieces of duct tape put on his mouth by teacher Clarence Williams, according to the AP. The incident allegedly happened Oct. 23.

The boy’s mouth, Ortiz says, became swollen and some skin came off when the tape was removed. A school nurse had to help remove the duct tape, AP reported.

The tape was left over the student’s mouth for 45 minutes, Ortiz claims.

AP’s request for details on what prompted the alleged incident went unanswered by school officials.

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Killeen Police Department

Patrick Edward Myers

A 22-year-old Fort Hood, Texas, soldier was shot in the face and died after what prosecutors say was an attempt by a fellow soldier to cure the victim’s hiccups.

Patrick Edward Myers, of Spartansburg, S.C., was charged with manslaughter in the case and remains in the Bell County Jail on $1 million bond, according to a news release from the Killeen, Texas, police.

Police say three men were inside a Killeen residence Sunday night watching  a football game and drinking when one of the men produced a handgun, handled it in an “unsafe manner,” and shot the victim in the face.

An arrest affidavit obtained by the Associated Press said Myers apparently pointed a gun at the victim’s head to scare him and stop the hiccups. Myers allegedly thought the gun had dummy rounds when it discharged.

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The victim was being taken by ambulance to an airfield for transport to a hospital when he died.

After a review by the Bell County District Attorney, Myers was charged with manslaughter.

A Fort Hood spokesman on Tuesday declined to release the name of the victim, saying relatives had to be notified.

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