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| Soldier guilty of shooting friend | Soldier guilty of shooting friend |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A British soldier has been convicted of manslaughter after shooting a colleague in the head while "playing" with a gun on a military base in Iraq in 2007. | A British soldier has been convicted of manslaughter after shooting a colleague in the head while "playing" with a gun on a military base in Iraq in 2007. |
| Aaron Kendrick, 20, of Fourth Battalion The Rifles, had told the court martial in Wiltshire that he had not realised the weapon was loaded. | Aaron Kendrick, 20, of Fourth Battalion The Rifles, had told the court martial in Wiltshire that he had not realised the weapon was loaded. |
| His friend, 23-year-old Fijian Edward Vakabua, died instantly after Kendrick shot him as he lay on his bunk. | His friend, 23-year-old Fijian Edward Vakabua, died instantly after Kendrick shot him as he lay on his bunk. |
| Kendrick, who had denied the charge, will be sentenced next week. | Kendrick, who had denied the charge, will be sentenced next week. |
| An investigation was launched following the incident and in April Rifleman Kendrick was charged by the Army Prosecuting Authority. | |
| Kendrick admited negligently discharging an L96 sniper rifle on 6 July 2007 but denied manslaughter. | |
| The soldier said he was playing with a sniper rifle he was not trained to use, believing it to be broken and unloaded. | |
| But he told the hearing at Bulford military court he had not pointed the gun at his colleague. | |
| He said he had squeezed the trigger" and there was a bang. | |
| Kendrick claimed sniper L/Cpl Frankie Taylor, the soldier he believed the L96 rifle he fired belonged to, had let him play with it and left the room after seeing him pick it up and cock it. | |
| He described having "playful banter" with him about being able to cock his weapon faster than him. | |
| But prosecutor Col Nigel Jones said this was "a cock and bull story" and L/Cpl Taylor said he was not in the room when Kendrick picked up the rifle. | |
| Rifleman Vakabua, known as "Vaka", from Suva, Fiji, was serving in the Mortar Platoon attached to 7 Platoon, B Company. | |
| The MoD described him as a "quiet, shy and pleasant character". | |
| Capt Will Peltor, Rifleman Vakabua's platoon commander, said he was "a proud son of Fiji" whose death had hurt all of his colleagues deeply. |