Woman shoots husband dead as he tried to give her gun safety lesson as their two young children slept upstairs
A woman has been arrested after she shot and killed her husband as he gave her a gun safety lesson in their home outside Philadelphia.
Michele Wanko, 42, told police that she and William Wanko, 42, had been 'casually drinking' vodka and lemonade for more than six hours when Mr Wanko took her into the basement to show her how to use his guns about 4am on Saturday.
Their two young sons, age 2 and 5, were sleeping upstairs when Mrs Wanko racked the slide on a semi-automatic pistol and shot her husband in the chest, police say.
'I can't believe you shot me!' Mr Wanko said before he collapsed, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Mrs Wanko was arrested on charges of involuntary manslaughter after her husband died at a nearby hospital. She was released on bail Saturday night.
Police said it appears the shooting was accidental.
'Why, after six-and-a-half hours of drinking, would you go down and handle a gun, especially with someone who never shot a weapon before?' Parkside Police Chief John Egan told the Inquirer.
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'The real big common denominator is the alcohol and it ended up costing him his life.'
Mr Wanko has owned several guns for years and kept them in a safe in his basement, according to police.
Deadly mix: Police Chief John Egan said William Wanko died because he and his wife mixed firearms and alcohol
In the early hours of Saturday morning, he took his wife to the basement to show her how the use the weapons 'in case a burglar ever broke into the house.'
Mr Wanko took several weapons out of the safe and showed her how to operate them.
Mrs Wanko says she picked up a pistol and operated the slide like her husband had shown her when it suddenly fired, according to police.
In her frantic rush to call 911, she awoke her five-year-old.
Both children are in the care of family while Mrs Wanko faces the felony charges.