Gwendolyn Smith, 17, was shot dead by her former bowling coach inside her home before he turned the gun on himself.
A 17-year-old Michigan girl was fatally shot by her former high school bowling coach, who then died by suicide in a shocking murder-suicide, authorities said.
Gwendolyn Smith, a recent Bedford High School graduate, was found dead inside her stepfather’s home in Bedford Township on June 14. Police say she was shot multiple times by Ryne Leist, 38, a former volunteer coach with the school’s bowling club.
Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough confirmed Leist died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, while Smith’s death was ruled a homicide.
“Gwendolyn did not consider the relation between the two of them to be romantic,” the sheriff said, though the motive remains unclear.
Leist had passed all volunteer background checks, officials said.
Superintendent Carl Shultz remembered Gwen as “an extraordinary young woman” and has launched a GoFundMe that raised over $18,000.
“This tragic and unnecessary loss cannot be explained,” Shultz said. “It has shaken our entire Bedford community.”