A 4-year old boy shot and killed Wilson County Deputy Daniel Fanning's wife Josephine, inside his home on Saturday, the Huffington Post reported. The deputy was inside showing his weapons collection to a relative when the officer's wife and nephew entered the room. The child grabbed one of his loaded guns off the bed and fired a single shot, hitting the deputy's 48-year-old wife, Josephine.
She was pronounced dead at the scene, news reports said. The gun used was not the officer's service nor was he on duty at the time of the incident, The Tennessean reported.
"Split second, we're talking about seconds for that kid to walk in that room unbeknownst to them, grab that gun and it goes off," said Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan told local news. "It's a sad, sad set of circumstances."
The 4-year-old, whose name has yet been released picked up the firearm in the Lebanon home and fired one bullet, hitting Josephine. The officer proceeded to desperately perform CPR in repeated failed attempts to revive the love of his life, whom he wed last year.
Daniel Fanning typically kept his weapons in a secure gun safe, Bryan said.
Daniel Fanning, a nine-year veteran at the department, is a school resource officer at Sam Houston Elementary School.
"It would take a blind judge not to see how much he loved his wife," said neighbor Melvin Roberts, reported by the New York Daily News.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation continues to investigate the incident. Preliminary findings point to a "horrific accident," Cynthia Williams of WSMV-Channel 4 News said.
