Airman ID’d as victim in AK-47 shooting near Wyoming base

An airman has been arrested by police in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of another airman, the Air Force said Tuesday.

Senior Airman Joshua Aragon, a security forces specialist at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, died in the off-base, off-duty shooting incident that took place early on the morning of Aug. 16, the 90th Missile Wing said in a statement.

Aragon was assigned to the 790th Missile Security Forces Squadron, part of the 90th Missile Wing, and joined the Air Force in 2022.

Airman 1st Class Jadan Orr, who is assigned to the 90th Missile Security Forces Squadron, was arrested after the shooting by the Cheyenne Police Department and charged by the Laramie County District Attorney’s Office.

Cheyenne Police said in a post on social media that Orr, 20, was drinking alcohol at an apartment most of the night with several friends. According to the police, at about 3:30 a.m. Orr and two of those friends went into a bedroom where he picked up an AK-47 rifle.

Orr began manipulating the rifle, charged it, and fired through the wall into the living room, striking a 23-year-old male victim — later identified as Aragon — in the torso, police said.

Police officers responded and found people there trying to render aid to Aragon, police said. Emergency medical personnel arrived but declared Aragon dead on the scene.

Orr was arrested and initially charged with voluntary manslaughter, before the charges were reduced to involuntary manslaughter. He is still being held on a $500,000 bond, the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office said.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Senior Airman Aragon,” wing commander Col. Terry Holmes said. “He was a valued member of our defender team, and his passing leaves a tremendous void. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and fellow airmen as we grieve this heartbreaking loss.”

The wing said it is fully cooperating with the Cheyenne Police Department’s investigation, and would not release any further information.

This is the second fatal shooting of an F.E. Warren airman in less than a month, following the July 20 death of Brayden Lovan, who was in the 90th Security Forces Group.

Lovan’s death led to another airman’s arrest on charges of making a false official statement, obstruction of justice, and involuntary manslaughter. It also prompted the service to suspend the use of the Sig Sauer M18, which was the type of pistol that fired the shot that killed Lovan.