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A US soldier has admitted involuntary manslaughter after shooting his friend accidentally while trying to scare away his hiccups.
Officials at Fort Hood, Texas, said Spc Patrick Myers, of Spartanburg, South Carolina, was sentenced by a military court to three and a half years in a military prison.
He was also demoted to private and will receive a bad-conduct discharge.
Myers fatally shot Pfc Isaac Young, 22, in September while they were watching a football game at a Killeen apartment.
Myers told police he thought the weapon had dummy rounds and was trying to scare his friend so his hiccups would stop.
Press Association
