She shot her drunk boyfriend. She says she feared 'things could become physical'

A Gig Harbor woman is accused of shooting her drunken boyfriend after he hit her in the face and tried to take the gun away.

The 50-year-old woman pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and was ordered held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Her boyfriend suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was taken to Tacoma General Hospital.

The shooting happened June 29 in the 11600 block of 140th Avenue Court Northwest.

Charging papers give this account:

The woman said her boyfriend came home drunk, they argued and he fell asleep for awhile outside near a fire pit.

When he woke up, he came inside looking for cigarettes and started turning over chairs and yelling.

The woman got her handgun because she feared “things could become physical” and went to check on her boyfriend. He saw the gun and tried to grab it, hitting the girlfriend in the face.

The woman told police she pushed him away and warned him not to come closer. She pulled the trigger when he kept moving toward her.

After she shot him, the woman called 911, put the gun in a safe place and waited outside for officers to arrive.

Police found the boyfriend lying face down on the living room floor.

He said they were arguing “and then ‘boom!’” records show.

This story was originally published July 5, 2018 at 10:34 AM.