A soldier at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, tried to bring his wife a surprise breakfast in bed Friday morning, but as his reward for the romantic gesture, he found himself in the hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest. Police believe the shooting was simply a mistake, but they continue to investigate the circumstances of the shooting.
Here’s what happened. Earlier Friday morning, 28-year-old Zia Segule left the home he shares with his wife Tiffany in Fayetteville. Tiffany stayed in bed, catching some extra sleep.
But at about 10:15 a.m., Zia Segule unexpectedly came back home. He carried a take-out breakfast to surprise his sleeping wife. At least, he thought she was sleeping.
According to police, the soldier did not attempt to sneak into the house. He simply entered through the front door as he normally would. But in the interim between his departure and return, 27-year-old Tiffany had apparently activated the house’s security alarm system.
When Zia Segule walked through the door, the alarm went off.
The police say they still are not sure whether or not Zia attempted to tell his wife that he was home, or if he tried to shut off the alarm. All they say they know for sure is that Tiffany — perhaps nervous due to a series of break-ins in the area recently — pulled out a gun and fired one round sight unseen, through her closed bedroom door.
The shot struck her husband in the chest.
Fayetteville Police Department Spokesperson Antoine Kincaide said that the pistol-packing wife was “doing what she thought was right” and acting in what she thought was self-defense.
“She woke up. She armed herself and she fired a shot through her bedroom door hitting her husband in the chest,” Kincaide recounted.
“Being a female by herself, there are a lot of people out there doing harm, so you have to do what you have to do to protect yourself,” said one understanding neighbor, Jose Estrella. “Even at night, I wake up at night and say ‘Okay, did I just hear something?’ But I wouldn’t open fire just like that.”
The accidental shooting certainly could have been a lot worse, Just before the New Year’s holiday, a toddler in Idaho got his hands on a gun owned by his mother as they shopped in a Walmart, accidentally shooting her to death.
Soldier Zia Segule was apparently doing well despite the shooting at the hands of his wife. His only comment to the media was, “I’m good.” But doctors said he was walking under his own power as well as speaking.
[Image: WTVD Screen Capture]
