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The female victim, a resident of a home in North Stafford, said she was not sure what happened, but that she was bleeding profusely from her stomach around 12 a.m. Tuesday, April 30, the county sheriff's office said. Arriving officers noticed a bullet-sized hole in the wall that directly lined up to where the victim was standing in her kitchen when she was struck.
As the victim was taken to a nearby hospital, officers launched their investigation.
Deputies made contact with a neighbor, Derek Avery-Craft, to ask if he'd heard gunshots. As fate would have it, he was the one who fired the shot, the sheriff's office said.
Avery-Craft had pulled the trigger of a handgun without checking to see if there was a round in the chamber, police said. The bullet traveled through his garage and approximately 200 feet through the yards and a thicket of trees between the homes.
The bullet continued through the siding, drywall and backsplash in the victim’s kitchen before striking a can the victim was holding and entering her torso, police said.
Avery-Craft was charged with felony reckless handling of a firearm. He was held at Rappahannock Regional Jail on a $10,000 secured bond.
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