A Florida man shot and killed his pregnant wife this week after mistaking her for an intruder in the middle of the night, according to several news reports citing police officials.
The woman was six months pregnant, and doctors were able to save her baby.
Although authorities called the shooting an accident, they are still investigating the case as a suspicious death, reports said.
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As required by state law, officials are withholding the names of the individuals involved.
The husband called 911 about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday and officers scrambled to the couple’s home in Stuart, NBC News reported citing an incident report from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
When deputies arrived, the victim’s husband was outside the home holding a 2-year-old child and screaming for help.
The man told officers he had accidentally shot his wife and that his “life is over,” accounts said.
Inside, the man’s wife lay wounded in the head.
Detectives found a handgun fitted with a flashlight still beaming on the floor next to the victim, reports said. Another gun was also located in the couple’s bedroom.
The woman was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The second child was uninjured, reports said.
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Sheriff William Snyder gave Tequesta news station WPBF an account of what happened, saying the husband told them he was awakened by a noise in the middle of the night and he grabbed his firearm to investigate.
Not realizing his wife was already out of bed, he fired a single shot in the dark as he encountered her in the hallway.
“Though we do have a good statement from him, we don’t take anything at face value, and we’ll continue investigating, do all of the backgrounds. There’s a lot of investigative steps that we’ll take to make sure that he’s telling the truth,” Snyder told the station.
Earlier in the week, a 15-year-old Alabama girl was seriously wounded under similar circumstances.
The girl said she came home in the middle of the night from a friend’s house when her stepfather mistook her for an intruder and opened fire, according to reports.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office authorities called the shooting accidental, and like the Florida case, no charges have been filed.
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