The couple was home on Laurel Creek near Laurel Arbor with their adult daughter and 50-year-old house guest, Norez Hargrove, Harris County Sheriff's Office deputies say.
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Hargrove was in the living room around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday when the gun he was handling went off.
Deputies say a bullet went through the wall, through a TV, and then struck 48-year-old Gerald Peavy. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
"The projectile penetrated the sheet rock wall from the living room, entered the bedroom, went through the bedroom television, and struck the homeowner while he was lying in bed," Sgt. Ben Beall said.
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Peavy's wife was next to him in bed at the time of the shooting, but she was not hurt.
The daughter called 911 thinking there had been a drive-by shooting after she saw the bullet hole in the wall.
Hargrove told deputies he located a firearm inside the residence after the family went to bed. He assumed the firearm was not loaded, pulled the trigger, and the firearm discharged.
Manslaughter charges are pending against Hargrove from the Harris County District Attorney's Office.