Fatal shot fired accidentally, soldier told police
A Fort Carson soldier accused of killing a
19-year-old woman told police that the shooting was an accident and happened
when he tried to uncock his gun, according to an arrest affidavit.
Army Spc. Thomas Woolly, 24, was charged
Wednesday with manslaughter in the death of Lisa Baumann.
The shooting
happened about 3 a.m. May 10 in an apartment at 4116 Westmeadow
Drive.
Woolly told Colorado Springs police that he had his
.45-caliber pistol out because two men were fighting over a woman. One of the men
accused the other of having an affair with his wife, and Woolly said the accuser
was trying to get into the apartment .
When tensions
seemed to die down, Woolly told police that he tried to uncock his gun.
He pulled the trigger with his thumb on the hammer and
while he was trying to let the hammer down slowly, it slipped. The gun fired and
the bullet grazed Woolly's knee and hit Baumann in the neck.
Wooly said his hands were sweaty and he was holding a
drink in his free hand.
Woolly told police that although he was drinking
a bit that night, alcohol wasn't a factor in the shooting. He said he had half a
beer and a "couple sips" of a whiskey and Coke, according to the court
documents.
The soldier said he had purchased the gun four or five
months earlier and estimated he had shot 500 rounds with the gun. According to
court documents, "he considers himself to be proficient with firearms in
general."
Under Colorado law, a person is guilty of
manslaughter when he or she "recklessly causes the death of another person."
The Class 4 felony is punishable by two to six years in
prison.
Lance Benzel contributed to this
story.
