British veteran dead after friends ‘took turns shooting each other’ with helmets on

Aaron Prout (right) was shot and killed during the game with Sean O’Donnell (left) (Picture: Facebook)

A former Royal Marine is dead after playing a ‘game’ consisting of shooting at his friend’s head while wearing bulletproof Kevlar helmets.

Sean O’Donnell, 37, and Aaron Prout, 34, were taking turns shooting at each other’s heads with rifles in Houston, Texas.

But Aaron, a former Royal Marine, was shot and killed. O’Donnell has since been arrested in relation to his murder.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said Aaron was taken to the hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

He added: ‘It’s hard to believe two so-called friends would take turns shooting at each other wearing a Kevlar helmet, inside a house in a residential neighbourhood, while using a rifle.’

Hard to believe two, so-called friends, would take turns shooting at each other wearing a kevlar helmet, inside a house in a residential neighborhood, while using a rifle. On 8/17/25, Pct 4 deputies responded to a call for service at the 23700 blk of Pennington Hills Drive. Upon arrival, units found an adult male who sustained what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head. He was transported to a hospital, but subsequently died from his injuries. The victim was identified as Aaron Prout (34) from the United Kingdom, who resided in Harris County. The homeowner was identified as Sean Odonnell (10-22-87). On 8/28/25, @HCSOTexas detectives charged Odonnell with the alleged Murder of Aaron Prout and booked in the Harris County Jail. VCAT assisted with the arrest. Kudos to HCSO CSI Ward, Detectives Craig, Davis, and Sgt. Miller?s team. Incident initially came in as a possible suicide, but things weren?t adding up. With thorough follow-up investigation, the truth was ultimately revealed.
Aaron died from his injuries in hospital (Picture: Facebook)

One of Aaron’s relatives posted a touching tribute online, writing that he had been a Royal Marine for a decade before moving to Texas.

‘The passing of Aaron has left me totally heartbroken. This was the worst news I have ever received,’ they wrote.

‘Aaron was a very caring and wonderful person and was always there for his friends. He lived his life to the absolute fullest. He had a brilliant job and was starting his own business. His passion was target shooting, and he had won many tournaments.’

The two men had reportedly been wearing Kevlar helmets during the ‘game’, which are military and police-grade.

They’re intended to protect against shrapnel during battle and handguns – but aren’t foolproof, especially when it comes to rifles.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *