An Oklahoma man was doing target practice on Thursday, Christmas Day, with a handgun he had bought himself when he fatally shot a woman who was sitting with two children on a neighboring front porch, the authorities said.
The man, Cody Wayne Adams, 33, was charged with first-degree manslaughter after the woman, who lived less than half a mile away, collapsed and died after she was shot once while sitting with family members in Comanche, Okla., about 96 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
Mr. Adams’s lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment on Sunday.
Emergency medical workers were sent to the woman’s house around 3:16 p.m. on Thursday, the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on social media. The workers provided CPR to the victim, Sandra Phelps, before she was pronounced dead at 3:53 p.m., according to a probable cause affidavit.
The shooting happened while Ms. Phelps was with two adult family members on a covered front porch and they heard gunshots nearby, the affidavit said.
Ms. Phelps was sitting on a love seat with a child in her left arm. Another child was in a stroller in front of her.
Ms. Phelps said that someone had gotten a new gun for Christmas, then shortly after said “ouch” and collapsed, the affidavit said.
The affidavit said Ms. Phelps had been struck once in her right arm and the bullet entered her chest just below her armpit. The authorities did not provide her age.
Investigators interviewed people in the area, learned there were several homes where people fired guns and checked the residences, the affidavit said.
All but one of the homes was found to have “suitable shooting backstops or firing locations,” according to the affidavit.
The outlier was the house where Mr. Adams lived, the affidavit said.
Investigators had been told that Mr. Adams had gotten a Glock .45 handgun for Christmas and his neighbors said they had heard him shooting that afternoon.
Mr. Adams told investigators he had bought himself the gun as a Christmas gift a couple of days earlier and showed them a Red Bull energy drink can that he had been shooting at in his backyard.
From the vantage point of where Mr. Adams had been shooting, there was a clear line to where Ms. Phelps had been shot, the affidavit said. An investigator told Mr. Adams that he may have fatally shot Ms. Phelps and Mr. Adams became “visibly upset and began to cry.”
Mr. Adams allowed officers to search his house, the affidavit said, and went to the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office to be interviewed with a lawyer.
Mr. Adams said he had used Winchester .45-caliber ammunition and that his first loaded magazine had about eight rounds and the second had about 10 rounds.
In the interview, a police captain told Mr. Adams that the evidence suggested that Mr. Adams had fatally shot Ms. Phelps and the captain asked Mr. Adams if he had anything to say, the affidavit said. “I’m sorry,” Mr. Adams responded.
Mr. Adams was released from police custody after posting $100,000 bond on Friday, according to court records. He is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 25.
If convicted of first-degree manslaughter, he could face at least four years in prison.
Amanda Holpuch covers breaking news and other topics.
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