- Tennessee high school graduate Lily Basil was accidentally shot and killed
- 18-year-old Matthew Roufail believed his AR-15 style rifle was not loaded
- Roufail was charged with murder and released on $150,000 bond
A teenage girl who had just graduated from high school was accidentally shot and killed by an 18-year-old boy after the shooter thought his AR-15-style rifle had discharged.
Lily Basil had recently graduated from Page High School in Franklin, Tennessee, when she was killed by 18-year-old Matthew Roufail, who has admitted to the shooting.
Roufail was charged with murder and his bail was set at $150,000.
He told police that he shot Basil with a .22 caliber rifle on Saturday evening, but that it was not intentional.
The gun was recovered from the trunk of a vehicle where Basil and Roufail had gathered.
Lily Basil, 18, a high school graduate from Tennessee, was accidentally shot and killed Saturday
Matthew Roufail, also 18, believed his AR-15-style rifle was not loaded at the time
After the shooting, Basil was rushed to the hospital with a gunshot wound to her right shoulder.
She was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
The high school she attended now offers grief counseling sessions for students.
“The Page High family mourns the loss of Lily Basil, a 2024 graduate. Lily was a light; she was kind, sweet and extremely respectful,” Page High School principal Dr. wrote. Katie Hill said in a statement.
“Her smile lit up every room she entered.”
Lily Basil is seen with some of her relatives
Lily had just graduated from Page High School in Franklin, Tennessee, on Friday
“Although she was newer to the Page community, she quickly embraced the Patriot spirit and was a friend to everyone she met.
“Page faculty, staff and students will miss Lily dearly, and we want to honor her memory by sharing her light.”
School leaders said the community plans to honor the teen by lighting a candle or turning on the porch light on Friday evening.
Community members like Lisa Welsh are already planning to participate.
“We honor her and only the light she had within herself and what she could have shared with the rest of the world. Also her family and friends who were exterminated,” Welsh said Newschannel5.
Friends Sophia Debruler and Avery Jett, both left, paid tribute online to Lily Basil, right
School leaders said the community plans to honor Lily by lighting a candle in her memory on Friday evening or by turning on the porch light
Friends paid tribute to their friend on social media.
“Lily, thank you for becoming one of our best friends over the past two years. we are honored to have met you, you brought us so many laughs and memories that we will cherish forever. you are deeply loved and missed, fly high pookie,” Sophia Debruler wrote.
‘My love for you, Lily, will always be dear to me. Beautiful memories were made that will last a lifetime,” said Dena Sherman-Truhn.