A Singaporean man, who has been identified as Lionel Tan, was killed in a gun range accident in California, US. Tan was evacuated to a hospital with gunshot wounds but he succumbed to his injuries sustained in the January 14 incident.
Cindy Raahauge Shenberger, the range manager, told Californian daily The Press-Enterprise that the cause of the incident was not clear and added that this is the first such incident at the gun range in three decades. The Sheriff's Department said the investigations are going on to find the exact cause.
On Facebook, Gabriel Estrada, a friend of the 26-year-old Tan, described the shooting as a 'freak accident'. "Our sudden loss yesterday of our friend is truly starting to sink in. Freak accidents happen, proving how short life can be," Estrada posted.
According to Tan's Facebook profile, he studied at Tampines Junior College and later moved to the US, where he completed his studies in aerospace engineering. He worked as a project engineer on the Gold Line Connector in Downtown Los Angeles.
"Lionel is survived by his family in Singapore and they are beginning to make the journey here to pick up their son, brother and take him home," Estrada wrote on the GoFundMe page, a crowdfunding website that has been set up by Estrada to raise funds for Tan's funeral and repatriation.
"The Family will be arriving Tuesday and we will begin finalising all of the arrangements. There will be a memorial here in Long Beach with the family mass and service held back in Singapore," the post added.
After receiving the unfortunate death of Tan, many of his friends paid tribute to him on Facebook. "RIP buddy. The nicest gentlemen I could ever met in my army days.. I still can't process the reality that you are really gone from us. Though we haven't spoken much since we left our separate ways for University," wrote Alvin Sia.
"Thanks for all the memories, the late nights at Eastern guardroom, hanging out after camp at LAN-shop playing counterstrikes, and our maiden trip to Sepang to watch out first F1 race together," Sia's post added.
Tan's family also thanked Estrada on Facebook for making all the arrangements. They said they are "forever indebted" to him. In 22 hours, more than $20,000 has been pledged by 279 people on the GoFundMe page.
