Eighteen-year-old Dakota Wrightsman, a male high school student from Lee's Summit, Missouri, was looking forward to his graduation. On May 13, 2023, just eight days before he was set to graduate, his life was tragically cut short in the basement of his own home. He was with a small group of friends that early Saturday morning when a single gunshot ended the get-together and a young life.
According to court records, the evening took a fateful turn when two of the friends began to
playfully wrestle. During the playful scuffle, a handgun fell out of the pocket of one of their hooded sweatshirts. Another teen, 18-year-old Cooper D. Ashley, who was not involved in the wrestling, picked up the firearm. Witnesses reported that shortly after Ashley picked up the gun, it discharged, striking Wrightsman. The victim's father, who was outside at the time, heard the gunshot and saw his son emerge from the lower level of the residence. Emergency services were called, but life-saving efforts were unsuccessful, and Dakota Wrightsman was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound.
In the immediate aftermath, there was confusion and panic. One witness reported hearing Ashley exclaim, 'What did I do?' and 'I thought it was my airsoft gun.' Ashley was known by his friends to often carry a replica Glock pellet gun. When questioned by detectives, Ashley stated that he had recently used marijuana and had picked up the handgun from the ground while Wrightsman was seated in a bean bag chair, and then it fired. Another witness also mentioned that Ashley had consumed a 'good quantity of alcohol.'
Cooper D. Ashley, also of Lee's Summit, was subsequently arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter in the first degree for recklessly causing the death of Dakota Wrightsman. He was booked into the Jackson County jail and later released after posting bond. The charges are accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The case is set to proceed through the Jackson County Circuit Court.
