Charges filed against best friend in fatal shooting of St. Vincent College senior

ERIE, Pa. — Charges have been filed against an Erie man in connection with the shooting death of his friend, police announced.

Authorities said 23-year-old Abram Sorek was shot in the head with a handgun in the early-morning hours of April 12.

Upon investigation, police learned the shooting happened after several friends spent the night at a bar.

According to police, the suspect -- now identified as 23-year-old Aladin Jojic -- was playing with a gun and pointed it at Sorek moments before it fired.

In police paperwork obtained by WICU, Erie’s NBC affiliate, Jojic told detectives he was playing with a loaded gun when it went off. Sorek was hit in the head with a bullet and died.

Police said they don’t believe the shooting was intentional.

Sorek, a senior at Saint Vincent College who was a few weeks from graduating at the time of his death, was childhood friends with Jojic, according to investigators.

“He’s been devastated by this. This was his best friend, since they were 5 or 6 years old,” defense attorney Philip Friedman said. “They spent all their time together. He wouldn’t have hurt that kid in a million years.”

Jojic was released from jail on $100,000 bond.

The other people who were inside the home at the time of the shooting are not facing charges at this time.

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