A Florida woman inadvertently killed her boyfriend when she "playfully" shot him with a gun she wasn't aware had been loaded.

Justin Holt, 22, and his girlfriend Erin Steele, 20, were visiting a friend this past Sunday when another friend arrived with a pistol that was passed around the group.

Authorities in Boca Raton say the four had spent the day "dry firing" the empty gun at each other before moving on to other things.

At some point, the gun's owner, Joshua Henry, loaded the gun and set it on a counter.

Steele, unaware the gun had been loaded by Henry, picked it up and resumed the "game" by pointing the weapon at Holt's chest and firing it.

Holt was rushed to the Delray Medical Center around 11 p.m., but was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.

Holt's family, who knew Steele well, called the incident and accident and said they did not harbor ill-will towards her.

"We have a lot of compassion for her because she's got to live with that, no matter what she does, for the rest of her life," Holt's grandfather told the Sun-Sentinel.

Police have yet to charge anyone with a crime, but their investigation continues.

[photos via Shutterstock, Sun-Sentinel]