Deputy's wife killed after 4-year-old discharges gun - WSMV Channel 4

The wife of a Wilson County sheriff's deputy died Saturday after a 4-year-old found a loaded pistol and discharged the weapon.

The shooting occurred during a family gathering at Deputy Daniel Fanning's residence in the 6700 block of S.E. Tater Peeler Road.

When deputies arrived, they found the victim, Josephine G. Fanning, 48, dead at the scene from a single gunshot wound.

Authorities said the deputy was present at the time of the shooting and is a relative of the 4-year-old child.

"It's a sad, sad set of circumstances," said Sheriff Robert Bryan.

Bryan said Daniel Fanning was showing people his guns when the child grabbed the weapon, which Bryan said was not the deputy's service weapon.

"Nobody is immune to this - nobody. It doesn't matter if you are a law enforcement officer. these things can happen in seconds," Bryan said.

Daniel Fanning is a school resource officer at Sam Houston Elementary School in Lebanon. School officials there said the family is in their prayers.

Josephine and Daniel Fanning had only been married for about a year.

"It would take a blind judge not to see how much he loved his wife," said neighbor Melvin Roberts.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into the circumstances of the shooting. Bryan said preliminary findings indicate it was a horrific accident.

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