OAKLAND — A 23-year-old woman died Wednesday evening in her West Oakland apartment after an assault rifle she was trying to remove from the house hit the floor and discharged.

Amanda Hunter was killed when a bullet from the weapon hit her in the head, police said Thursday.

Although homicide investigators are handling the case, the death has tentatively been classified as an accident pending further investigation and review by the district attorney's office. However, police arrested the woman's 25-year-old boyfriend, Jonathan Ho, on suspicion of possession of the assault rifle, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and other weapons counts. Some other guns were found in the apartment, police said.

The shooting occurred about 6:27 p.m. Wednesday inside the apartment the two shared in the 800 block of Mead Avenue. Sgt. Todd Crutchfield said the woman was attempting to get the assault rifle out of the residence when it fell to the floor and discharged.

Ho was present at the time of the shooting, police said. He was questioned for several hours before he was booked on the weapon charges. Crutchfield said Ho was extremely distraught over what happened. Ho, who works for a liquor distributor, moved into the apartment six months ago, and Hunter moved in with him in April, Crutchfield said.