A Florida man apparently thinking there was an intruder in his home fatally shot his pregnant wife in the early morning hours of Wedne...
A Florida man apparently thinking there was an intruder in his home fatally shot his pregnant wife in the early morning hours of Wednesday just before first responders managed to save the baby.
Martin County Sheriff’s deputies received a 911 call at around 1am from a ‘highly agitated man’ in his thirties who said he accidentally shot his wife in their home in Stuart.
The couple has not been identified as of Thursday afternoon.
Sheriff William Snyder told Treasure Coast Newspapers on Thursday that when investigators arrived, they found a pregnant woman in critical condition with a gunshot wound who was breathing.
A man fatally shot his pregnant wife in the early hours of Wednesday morning after apparently mistaking her for an intruder, according to investigators in Martin County, Florida
Sheriff's deputies managed to rush the woman to the hospital. She did not survive, but doctors did save the baby
Police placed yellow tape around the home which is on the 4700 block of Southeast Bollard Avenue in Stuart, Florida
The woman was rushed to a nearby hospital, but she did not survive, WPEC-TV reported.
The baby is currently in critical condition. The couple's toddler was found unharmed in the home.
According to investigators, the husband said he was asleep in his bedroom when he was awakened by the sound of someone he thought was coming into his home.
‘He became alarmed for his safety, he kept a handgun close by, and he reached over, he said, to pat for his wife, and felt her, he thought, but it turned out it was the dog,’ Snyder said.
The sheriff said the room was dimly lit, which made it hard for the husband to realize that he was not patting his wife.
‘He saw a figure and he fired one round and then discovered he had shot his wife,’ Snyder said.
The sheriff said that it appeared his wife was returning to the bedroom.
‘This is all his testimony,’ Snyder said.
The investigation is ongoing. Authorities said there is no prior indication of any domestic violence or abuse.
A young toddler was found unharmed in the home. Sheriff's deputies are investigating
‘We treat every death by gunshot as suspicious,’ he said.
‘We take nothing for granted and we believe nothing on face value.’
Snyder added: ‘We’ve got a lot of investigative steps.’
Police placed yellow tape around the home which is on the 4700 block of Southeast Bollard Avenue in Stuart.
Public records indicate that the property is owned by Rupp Marine LLC, a business that specializes in sport fishing and marine hardware.
A woman who answered the phone at Rupp Marine told DailyMail.com that she had no information and promptly hung up.
‘It’s crazy because we didn’t hear or see anything,’ a neighbor, 61-year-old Ronald Sama, said.
‘It was surreal. We were like, what are you saying, how could this happen?’
A deputy knocked on Sama’s door at 6:30am on Wednesday and started asking questions about what happened.
Sama lives across the street from the home where the shooting took place.
He said he did not personally know the couple except to occasionally wave and say hello.
He said he would see the woman with a baby in a carriage.
‘She seemed so sweet,’ Sama said.
‘We never heard any kind of disturbances from over there. We’re all pretty devastated.’
Snyder warned that gun owners need to demonstrate extra care.
‘Having a firearm (with) ready access is a big responsibility, and if you have a gun and you anticipate using it, you have to be extremely careful,’ Snyder said.
‘There’s a high imperative that you be extremely careful.’
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