By . Helen Pow . PUBLISHED: . 09:44 EST, 4 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:56 EST, 4 December 2013 . Tragic: Police said Erin Steele, 20, picked up a firearm thinking it wasn't loaded and it went off, shooting her boyfriend Justin Holt, pictured, in the chest at their friend's Boca Raton apartment. He later died in hospital . A 22-year-old Florida man has died after he was shot in the chest by his girlfriend in a tragic accident. Police said Erin Steele, 20, picked up a firearm thinking it wasn't loaded and it went off, shooting her boyfriend Justin Holt in the chest at their friend's Boca Raton apartment. He later passed away in hospital. A chilling 911 call, in which the owner of the gun and another friend frantically beg for help, was released by Boca Raton police Tuesday. 'Please help me, ma'am!' a man shouted at the start of the call, according to the Sun Sentinel. 'There was an accident; there was a very bad accident. Someone picked up my firearm by mistake, ma'am, and someone got shot. Please, please come.' According to WPBF, Joshua Henry, 23, brought a pistol over to another friend's apartment where the group was hanging out and they all practiced dry shooting it. When they were finished playing, Henry reloaded the gun and put it on the counter, according to Boca Raton police. Later, Steele picked up the gun, pointed it at Holt and fired, hitting him in the chest. Officers arrived at the Boca Raton apartment within minutes of the 911 call and Holt was rushed to Delray Medical Center where he died soon after, according to police. Steele has not been charged in connection with the shooting, and his family say they believe it was an accident and feel sad for her. They told police they don't want her to face charges. 'We have a lot of compassion for her . because she's got to live with that, no matter what she does, for the . rest of her life,' Holt's grandfather, 82-year-old Michael DiFiore, told . the Sun Sentinel. According to friends and family, Holt and Steele were very much in love. They had started dating almost immediately after being introduced about a year ago and were nearly inseparable. On Thanksgiving, Steele and Holt ate dinner at DiFiore's house with Holt's family. Justin Holt's mother Maria, 56, said her son was a family guy who just wanted to find a girl and settle down. And Steele was that girl. 'They met and then that was it, they were together,' Maria Holt said. 'From day one — day one — he was in love with her.' Playing around: Joshua Henry, 23, brought a pistol over to another friend's apartment, pictured, where the group was hanging out and they all practiced dry shooting it . In the 911 call, Holt's friends are breathless and sobbing and the phone is passed from the gun's owner, Henry, 23, to a woman who said she was the owner of the apartment. The dispatcher repeatedly told the group to calm down and asked for their address, but they were too distracted to answer. They said Holt was coughing up blood and were unable to tell if he was breathing. 'Ma'am, the kid's dying,' the man said breathlessly. 'Please help ma'am, please.' Sirens can be heard at the end of the call and the man told the dispatcher he was trying to flag officers down. 'Right here, right here!' he shouted before begging again, this time to police, 'Please, please help me.' 'It was a stupid accident,' DiFiore said. 'It never should have happened.' 'He was my whole life,' the young man's mother said.
Police said Erin Steele, 20, picked up a firearm thinking it wasn't loaded and it went off, shooting her boyfriend Justin Holt in the chest at their friend's Boca Raton apartment .
He later died in hospital .
A chilling 911 call, in which the owner of the gun and another friend frantically beg for help, was released by Boca Raton police Tuesday .
Steele has not been charged .
The couple had been dating about a year and were 'very much in love' friends and family said .
By . Helen Pow . PUBLISHED: . 09:44 EST, 4 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:56 EST, 4 December 2013 . Tragic: Police said Erin Steele, 20, picked up a firearm thinking it wasn't loaded and it went off, shooting her boyfriend Justin Holt, pictured, in the chest at their friend's Boca Raton apartment. He later died in hospital . A 22-year-old Florida man has died after he was shot in the chest by his girlfriend in a tragic accident. Police said Erin Steele, 20, picked up a firearm thinking it wasn't loaded and it went off, shooting her boyfriend Justin Holt in the chest at their friend's Boca Raton apartment. He later passed away in hospital. A chilling 911 call, in which the owner of the gun and another friend frantically beg for help, was released by Boca Raton police Tuesday. 'Please help me, ma'am!' a man shouted at the start of the call, according to the Sun Sentinel. 'There was an accident; there was a very bad accident. Someone picked up my firearm by mistake, ma'am, and someone got shot. Please, please come.' According to WPBF, Joshua Henry, 23, brought a pistol over to another friend's apartment where the group was hanging out and they all practiced dry shooting it. When they were finished playing, Henry reloaded the gun and put it on the counter, according to Boca Raton police. Later, Steele picked up the gun, pointed it at Holt and fired, hitting him in the chest. Officers arrived at the Boca Raton apartment within minutes of the 911 call and Holt was rushed to Delray Medical Center where he died soon after, according to police. Steele has not been charged in connection with the shooting, and his family say they believe it was an accident and feel sad for her. They told police they don't want her to face charges. 'We have a lot of compassion for her . because she's got to live with that, no matter what she does, for the . rest of her life,' Holt's grandfather, 82-year-old Michael DiFiore, told . the Sun Sentinel. According to friends and family, Holt and Steele were very much in love. They had started dating almost immediately after being introduced about a year ago and were nearly inseparable. On Thanksgiving, Steele and Holt ate dinner at DiFiore's house with Holt's family. Justin Holt's mother Maria, 56, said her son was a family guy who just wanted to find a girl and settle down. And Steele was that girl. 'They met and then that was it, they were together,' Maria Holt said. 'From day one — day one — he was in love with her.' Playing around: Joshua Henry, 23, brought a pistol over to another friend's apartment, pictured, where the group was hanging out and they all practiced dry shooting it . In the 911 call, Holt's friends are breathless and sobbing and the phone is passed from the gun's owner, Henry, 23, to a woman who said she was the owner of the apartment. The dispatcher repeatedly told the group to calm down and asked for their address, but they were too distracted to answer. They said Holt was coughing up blood and were unable to tell if he was breathing. 'Ma'am, the kid's dying,' the man said breathlessly. 'Please help ma'am, please.' Sirens can be heard at the end of the call and the man told the dispatcher he was trying to flag officers down. 'Right here, right here!' he shouted before begging again, this time to police, 'Please, please help me.' 'It was a stupid accident,' DiFiore said. 'It never should have happened.' 'He was my whole life,' the young man's mother said.
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