Police are searching for a 19-year-old man they say accidentally shot and killed his friend Friday night.

According to authorities, Quincy Melvin of East Orange was showing 17-year-old Antwanette Smith his handgun when he shot and killed her inside her East Orange home. Smith?s mother, Jacqueline Johnson, says she heard a shot fired inside and ran through her home to see Smith fall to her knees. Johnson says Melvin fled the scene with the gun after firing the shot and has not been seen since.

Johnson says Smith was heading to college in the fall and was an exceptional student. She hopes to work with lawmakers to achieve more restrictions on handgun ownership.

Police ask anyone with information about the shooting or Melvin?s whereabouts to call the Essex County Prosecutor's Office at 877-TIPS4EC or the East Orange Police Department at 877-847-7432.