A Pennsylvania woman has been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a 21-year-old man during an evening of socializing in a bedroom, according to prosecutors. The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office says 20-year-old Denajah Bailey faces charges including third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, possessing an instrument of crime, and recklessly endangering another person in the death of Xavier Jeffers. Investigators allege the incident happened on May 20 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, inside Bailey’s bedroom, where Bailey, Jeffers, and Amaury Sahad were handling a firearm that prosecutors say Sahad had illegally obtained. According to authorities, the group was passing the gun around when Bailey gained possession of it and pointed it at Jeffers while they sat on her bed. Prosecutors say she pulled the trigger, striking Jeffers in the head.
Court documents reviewed by investigators also indicate that a fourth person was watching part of the interaction through a FaceTime call with Jeffers. That witness allegedly saw the friends passing the weapon around and pretending to shoot at one another before hearing a gunshot. The call reportedly ended abruptly when the phone fell to the floor, and a voice was heard asking, “What did you do?” Authorities say someone then called 911 to report what was described as an accidental shooting.
When police arrived, they found Jeffers with a gunshot wound to the head. Officers recovered a loaded Glock 43X handgun from the bedroom and later determined it had been reported stolen in Philadelphia months earlier. Investigators also say Bailey admitted to pulling the trigger multiple times earlier in the evening, including once while pointing the gun at herself, though the weapon did not fire at those times.
The case has led to criminal charges as authorities continue to piece together the sequence of events that turned a casual gathering into a deadly shooting. Prosecutors say the evidence suggests the firearm was handled recklessly before the fatal shot was fired. Bailey now faces serious felony charges as the investigation into Jeffers’ death moves forward.
