Actress Carlether Foley Dies After Neighbor Accidentally Discharges Gun

Aspiring actress Carlether Foley is dead after she was shot in the head by a stray bullet accidentally fired by her neighbor. The 36-year-old actress, whose credits include Blood and Water, Choose This Day and Behind Closed Doors, was found unresponsive in her Atlanta apartment by her 17-year-old son on Saturday, Sept. 25, according to Gwinnett County police.

Foley was killed as her neighbor, 22-year-old Maxwell Williamson, was cleaning his gun, according to ABC13. Foley was sleeping in her apartment when the gun fired off one round, which shot through an adjacent wall and into her apartment where she was sleeping. Williamson told police he forgot there was a bullet in the chamber of the gun, and Gwinnett police spokeswoman Hideshi Valle confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Williamson left a note on Foley’s door apologizing for the damage caused by the stray bullet, unaware that she had been struck.

Carlether Foley, an aspiring Atlanta actress, was shot in the head by a stray bullet her neighbor unintentionally fired while cleaning his gun. Foley's body was found by her 17-year-old son; the neighbor was charged with "reckless conduct." #gapol https://t.co/FXyEdys0Bs

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) October 5, 2021

Foley was later found unresponsive by her teenage son, who found her unresponsive on her bed. When authorities arrived at the scene, they found a bullet hole in the wall of the apartment. Williamson was arrested and booked into the Gwinnett County Jail on Sunday, Sept. 26 on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, according to online jail records. He is being held without bond.

“I’ve never experienced the hurt, the pain that I’m feeling. I don’t know what to do,” Foley’s mother, Jacquline Foley, said. “You had no right to take my baby from me. You had no business taking her life away from her child. He’s 17 years old. This is his last year in school. You have hurt my family. You have took my baby.”

Foley’s son, who is now staying with his grandmother, told ABC13, “It don’t feel real. I found my mama by myself. I just don’t get it. I don’t understand.” George Foley, the actress’ brother, added that the family is “not doing well. This has really hit us. It hit the whole, whole family. We just can’t believe it.”

Foley’s family is now working to bring her body back to southeast Texas for a funeral service. They have since created a GoFundMe page to cover expenses, including memorial costs. The family said that any additional funds raised will go to Foley’s son’s future educational expenses. The page, which remembers Foley as “an extraordinary mother, daughter, sister, cousin and friend to so many and touched the lives of everyone around her,” has raised more than $21,000.