An Ypsilanti woman is dead after her husband mistook her for an intruder and shot her in their home at 2 a.m. Thursday morning.
According to Derrick Jackson, the director of community engagement for Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office, the man woke up to what he thought was a home intrusion.
“He wakes up,” said Jackson, “thinking that he hears someone in the home, breaking into the home. He grabs his weapon and then sees, what he believes is, an introducer and pulls the trigger. Unfortunately, he mistakenly shot his wife and she subsequently died from the gunshot wound.”
The incident happened in the West Willow neighborhood in Ypsilanti. The couples two children, a two-year-old and a four-year-old, were in the home at the time, but asleep.
Jackson confirms that it isn’t rare to see home invasions in the area, but it hasn’t been a frequent occurrence.
“Historically, yes, there have been break-ins in the neighborhood. There’s not, at this point, anything that’s like a rash of them, or anything alarming. But it’s not uncommon to have a home invasion in that particular part of the county.”
Jackson said that they don’t think foul play was involved, but the department is still going to take a deep look at the situation.
“It seems like, at this point, it was a tragic accident. But we will continue to do the investigation.”
The husband is to be released from custody as the investigation is ongoing.