Fooling around with a firearm proved deadly for a man who was fatally wounded after a gun went off inside a Corona home on Sunday, law enforcement sources said.
The victim, Perez Villa Rufino, 24, of 48th Avenue in Corona, was shot in the chest inside a location in the vicinity of 45th and National streets at 7:45 p.m. Sunday night.
Sources familiar with the investigation said Rufino and a second individual, 29-year-old Christian Penaloza of National Street, were engaged in horseplay with the gun when it suddenly went off and struck Rufino.
Officers from the 110th Precinct and EMS units were called to the scene. Paramedics brought Rufino to Elmhurst Hospital, where he died of his injuries on Monday.
Following an investigation, Penaloza was charged with criminally negligent homicide; additional charges may be pending.
Editor’s note: An earlier version, based on preliminary information that the NYPD provided, erroneously identified the victim as a 28-year-old male. We regret any confusion which may have resulted.
