Man pleads no contest in friend’s shooting death

Man believed handgun was unloaded

HUDSON, Wis. — A River Falls man has pleaded no contest in the shooting death of a friend last year.

Twenty-seven-year-old Anthony Velure entered his plea Friday in St. Croix County to homicide by dangerous weapon or explosive.

Velure was accused of shooting 24-year-old Joshua Kurer at Kurer’s River Falls apartment on June 27, 2011.

According to the complaint, Velure told police he believed a handgun was unloaded when he pointed it at Kurer and pulled the trigger twice. When Velure pulled the trigger the second time, the gun fired, fatally wounding Kurer.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported the complaint said Velure told police he and Kurer served in the military together and had pointed unloaded guns at each other and pulled the trigger at least half a dozen times.