Tennessee boy, 4, accidentally kills wife of sheriff's deputy as he shows off his gun to a relative

A 4-year-old boy grabbed a loaded gun at a family cookout and accidentally shot and killed the wife of a Tennessee sheriff's deputy, authorities say.


Josephine G. Fanning, 48, died Saturday at her home about 7 miles south of Lebanon, according to the local sheriff's office.

Investigators say Wilson County Deputy Daniel Fanning was showing his weapons to a relative in a bedroom of his Lebanon home on Saturday when the toddler came in and picked up a gun off the bed.




Tragic: Josephine G. Fanning, 48, was accidentally shot and killed by a 4-year-old during a cookout at her home in Tennessee

Sheriff Robert Bryan said the weapon discharged, hitting Josephine Fanning.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

‘Within seconds this small 4-year-old comes into the room, unbeknownst to the officer, and just picked up the gun and shot her,’ Bryan said.







‘Danny Fanning is going to have to live with it. Our prayers, our thoughts go out to him and the child.’


The child is not related to her or her husband, Bryan said.


He called the shooting a terrible accident.



Her husband: Investigators say Wilson County Deputy Daniel Fanning, the victim's husband, was showing his weapons to a relative in a bedroom of his Lebanon home when the toddler came in and picked up a gun off the bed

The gun was not Fanning's service weapon and the sheriff says the deputy's weapons are normally stored in a safe.


No charges are pending, but the state is continuing to investigate, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm said.


According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tennessee ranks among the highest in the nation for accidental firearm deaths.



Home shooting: No charges are pending, but the state is continuing to investigate, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm said