According to Springfield Police Division Chief Stephen Moody, Wade accidentally was shot in the upper torso.
Brian Aaron Lee Hill, 26, also of Springfield, was charged Wednesday afternoon with improperly furnishing firearms to a minor and involuntary manslaughter, both of which are felonies.
Hill sold a pistol to Wade, knowing he was a minor, Moody said. About 10 to 15 minutes after Wade purchased the gun, it went off in his hands as Wade and his friend were driving in a vehicle, the chief said.
“We certainly believe he did not mean to harm himself,” said Moody.
A final ruling on Wade’s death has still not been released from the Clark County Coroner’s Office.
Wade was a student in the culinary arts program at Springfield-Clark Career Technology Center.
“It’s a loss for the culinary arts program,” Rick Smith, CTC superintendent, said Wednesday.
“It’s a shame. He was a young man with so much potential and so much to look forward to,” said Smith. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.”
It is the second death in Wade’s family in a matter of months. His brother, Thomas R. Wade Jr., died unexpectedly in February.
Wade’s survivors include his mother, Lee Wade, father and step-mother, Thomas and Lanett Wade of South Charleston and two brothers Levi Eugene Wade of Springfield and Braydon Lincoln Wade of South Charleston.
Funeral arrangements are pending at Jones-Kenney-Zechman Funeral Home in Springfield.
About the same time Wade arrived at the hospital, another shooting victim from an incident on North Western Avenue was brought to the emergency room by medic. That incident was not related to Wade’s death.
Both shootings remain under investigation.
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