Friday, December 4, 2009

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Somerset woman admits to shooting herself

SOMERSET, Mass. -- Police have just announced that a woman who was shot Friday evening is not the victim of a home invasion, she in fact shot herself.

Police responded to 62 Midland Road just after 4 p.m. Friday. Jennifer Smith, 33, a nurse who lives in the home with her husband had told police that a man broke through the window of her home, shot her with her own handgun and fled.

After questioning Smith again today, police say she admitted to accidentally shooting herself.

Police spent hours canvassing neighborhoods searching for her attacker, whose face appeared on television screens across the area.

"Within a 24-hour period, we determined there was never a perpetrator who entered the house," said Joseph Ferreira of the Somerset Police Department.

She admitted to Somerset Police that she got spooked in the house, grabbed her gun and accidentally shot herself once in the arm.

"She panicked and wanted to cover up what she had just done and shot two more times in her own home," said Ferreira.

However, before coming clean, dozens of police from numerous agencies shook down the quiet neighborhood.

The search effort continued well into Saturday.

"Probably about 500 man-hours I would guess as well as State Police helicopter and crime lab people. Just an incredible amount of resources used up," said Ferreira.

Ferreira said the department could seek restitution against the woman, but he doesn't regret the effort his officers made on her behalf.

"It's a horrible series of events. It's unfortunate it happened. But we apply the law evenly to everyone," said Ferreira.

Smith has been given a summons to court to face one felony charge of lying to investigators as well as a misdemeanor charge for filing a false police report.

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