MELROSE — It has been one week since an 18-year-old Butte man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound while hanging out with friends in a remote area west of Melrose in Southwest Montana. Now, the young man’s family is sharing his life story in order to bring awareness to gun safety.

"If one good thing can come from this, we’d want to show just how important it is to handle guns safely. All it takes is just one second or one slip of the finger," says Hope Lucier, the older sister of the victim.

Aric Lewis died around 6 p.m. on Aug. 25th from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The Beaverhead County Sheriff says marijuana and alcohol were factors in the incident, and an investigation is ongoing.

Two teens who were present at the time of Aric’s death told his family that the sh

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