Tara Coakley was so well-loved in Boulder, Colorado where she lived. She worked for the District Attorney, and volunteered her time for many just causes. She was involved in  swimming lessons, hiking the beautiful area trails, and loved riding her mountain bike. "Her senseless death is difficult to accept. Her smile kept all of us in a state of peace, and now that peace in not as easy to find", writes her mother Anne Coakley.
On October 26, 1996, Tara was at her apartment in Boulder. Her brother, then a senior at the University of Colorado, and his girlfriend stopped bye to visit and enjoy a pizza. 
The 62 year old man in the apartment next to Tara's was cleaning his guns at the time. As he started to clean his fifth gun, he forgot it was loaded. He's an ex-Marine, and an NRA member, and has had years of safety instruction. This gun was only one out of 17 he kept in a small one bedroom apartment.
The gun fired, and the bullet from the 45 caliber semi-automatic blasted through the common wall and struck Tara in the head. Her bother leapt to here side when he realized what had happened, and his girlfriend quickly called 911. Both thought they had only seconds to live.

Tara never regained consciousness again. She died a few short hours later in the Boulder Community Hospital. Anne Coakley writes: "Our lives will never be the same. The pain lingers and lingers."