US woman fatally shot by boyfriend 'playing' with gun days before engagement; he later shoots himself

A 21-year-old woman was fatally shot by her boyfriend in Alaska while he was handling a revolver, before he later shot himself with another firearm, The New York Post reported.CloeRae McBrayer was killed by Landon Lowrance, 22, last Wednesday, just days before the couple had planned to get engaged, according to her family.The Fairbanks Police Department said Lowrance pointed the revolver at McBrayer while playing with it and fired. McBrayer was pronounced dead at the scene when officers arrived.911 call led police to sceneA friend of Lowrance's called 911 after the shooting and remained on the phone with dispatchers as police responded.Police said a disturbance could be heard in the background during the call. The friend then tried to intervene after Lowrance obtained another firearm and shot himself.Lowrance was found critically injured and taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, where he later died.Police said the caller was questioned by detectives and is not believed to have been involved in either shooting. Authorities have not disclosed whose home the incident took place at.Family remembers woman who planned to become teacherMcBrayer was studying towards a career in teaching and had recently been accepted to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, according to her family.Her mother, Amanda Hooper, described her daughter as an outgoing and caring person who had been raised in Alabama."She's the sunshine of the family. She'd love to be the center of attention. She's bubbly, she wants you to talk to everybody. She would sing, she helped everybody," Hooper told Alaska's News Source.Hooper said McBrayer and Lowrance had met through a mutual friend and were planning to get engaged that weekend."I talked to his mom, she seems like a really good family, and they were talking about getting engaged this weekend and then all this," she said.McBrayer's older sister, Lori Hunt, told the outlet: "We were planning their wedding."Police urge firearm safetyFairbanks police described the deaths as a "tragic and preventable loss of life" and urged people to follow basic firearm safety practices."Firearms should always be handled responsibly and safely, and individuals should never participate in games or activities involving firearms that place anyone at risk of injury or death," the department said.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.