Soldier from Spring killed in accidental shooting, Texas Army National Guard says

BRACKETTVILLE, Texas (KTRK) -- A soldier from Spring was killed in what the Texas Army National Guard said was a non-mission-related incident.

Spc. Dajuan Lester Townes, 19, died on Monday in Brackettville in South Texas.

According to the Army Times, Townes was sitting in a car at Fort Clark Springs when he handed his personal gun to another soldier in the backseat, and it went off.

Townes was supporting "Operation Lone Star," which is Gov. Greg Abbott's border protection program.

He's the second soldier working that program to die in an accidental shooting this year.

Townes was an Army horizontal construction engineer. He joined the Texas Army National Guard in October 2019.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses.