A woman accidentally killed her husband during a vodka fueled gun lesson, according to a statement by police in Pennsylvania.
The fun evening for one Pennsylvania couple turned deadly when the woman accidentally shot and killed her husband.
Last Friday, around 9:00 pm, Michael Wanka, 43, and Michele Wanka, 42, were casually drinking vodka and lemonade together in their home located on West Roland Road in Parkside, Pennsylvania. Around 3:30 am, police said the couple entered the basement of the home so that Michael could show his wife how to use a semi-automatic pistol. The couple entered into a work room where several weapons were kept in a safe.
“Michael took a number of guns out, and was showing her how the guns worked. He took the magazine out, making sure it was safe, and showed his wife how to pull the slide back,” Parkside Police Chief John Egan said.
As Michael reached into a safe to take out another firearm, police said Michele grabbed another gun and pulled the slide back, as her husband had instructed.
“When she let go of the slide, the gun went off,” the police chief said. Michael was shot in his upper chest. At that point, police said, the couple’s children, who are two-years-old and 5-years-old, were asleep upstairs.
Police said that the 5-year-old, was awakened by the desperate cries of his mother when she called police. The woman told police that the last words her husband said was “I cannot believe you shot me.”
Police arrived at the home around 4:00 a.m. Michael was taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Michele was charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and possession of a murder weapon. She was arraigned in the Chester City jail and released on bail of $250,000. Her two children are staying with relatives.
“The lesson people need to take away from this incident is that vodka and guns don’t mix very well and are extremely dangerous. The couple showed poor judgment by going for their guns after drinking vodka for six hours,” Samantha Flick, 37, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania told the media after learning about the shooting incident.
Neighbours described the family as “good people” who always did things with their children and were highly respected throughout the neighbourhood. However, the police chief said that police were called to the home last year during a domestic dispute. No one was charged during that incident.