Tunbridge
Edith Whitney, of 240 Spring Road, died at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center on Monday night after being listed in critical condition for two days, Vermont State Police said in a news release on Tuesday.
An autopsy is pending, but police said they believe Whitney was struck and killed by a stray bullet while she was outside of her home around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday night.
Her son-in-law, Simon Leong, said Whitney is normally inside watching her favorite shows around that hour, but the power was out at the time.
So Whitney, an avid gardener, decided she would step outside onto the deck and water her flowers. That’s when she was struck by the projectile.
“I heard four or five shots and the next thing I know she was laying on the deck and screaming,” said Leong, who lives next door. “I went over and saw blood on her chest.”
Family members, many of whom live nearby, called 911, and Whitney was airlifted to DHMC, where she underwent emergency surgery.
No one has been charged in connection with the incident, and the investigation is ongoing. On Monday, police said that “subjects in the area when this incident occurred, who were shooting a firearm at the time, have been identified and interviewed.”
A firearm, ammunition and spent ammunition casings were recovered by investigators, they said on Tuesday. No bullets have yet been recovered.
Leong said the bullet that struck his mother-in-law never exited her body.
Following the incident, Leong said he feels less safe in his neighborhood. He questioned whether people who exercise their constitutional right to bear arms have more rights than those who don’t.
“They have the right, but other people’s safety has no right,” a frustrated Leong said. “It is being violated. This poor lady. I am so upset.”
Although the shooting appears accidental, Leong said no one should shoot in a residential area.
“I can understand if you shoot into the hill … but this whole road, there are people living here,” he said.
Less than a quarter-mile from Whitney’s home, at 252 Spring Road, is Tunbridge Firearms, a sporting goods store owned by Bruce Mullen.
Mullen, who sympathized with the family, also expressed frustration this week following Whitney’s death. He said people have been posting on social media that they believe the shots came from Tunbridge Firearms.
Mullen doesn’t have a shooting range open to the public, and he said nobody was shooting on his property when the incident occurred.
“People have such small minds. Here is a family that lost a loved one and people are trying to speculate about where the bullet came from. It blows my mind,” Mullen said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “Just let the police do their investigation.”
The only time Mullen shoots on his property is when he, a family member or a friend wants to test out a firearm or fire a couple of shots. And when someone is shooting on his property, he said, they aim and fire into a tall bank.
In the interview, Mullen stressed the importance of gun safety. He offered a few safety tips, including one he characterized as simple but important: “Respect the gun.”
“Treat every firearm like it is loaded and treat it with respect that it can kill someone,” he said. “When you aim that firearm, you have to know where the projectile is going. It is not hard. Don’t fire your guns without thinking about it.”
Speaking generally, David Cahill, the Windsor County state’s attorney, said there are state laws that can lead to criminal convictions for people who unintentionally shoot and kill someone.
Someone who fatally shoots another out of recklessness or negligence can be charged with involuntary manslaughter, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, he said.
The law “requires that a shooter identify the target and ensure there is a safe background behind the target before pulling the trigger,” Cahill said.
In addition, there is another statute for “negligent use of a gun,” which states that a person who wounds but doesn’t kill another person can face up to five years in prison.
Cahill said he hasn’t worked on any cases recently that would make him think the laws should be revisited. There is roughly only one accidental shooting case in Vermont per year, he said, and they happen most often during hunting season.
In an interview on Tuesday, Whitney’s daughter, Joanne Leong, remembered her mother as a “very loving person” who raised eight children in Tunbridge.
She loved her garden, Wheel of Fortune and “her God, Jehovah,” Joanne Leong said. She was a member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Royalton.
Because Whitney is a Jehovah’s Witness, she couldn’t accept blood transfusions, Simon Leong said.
Whitney was relatively healthy prior to the shooting, her family said. She had a few medical conditions, but was healthy enough to live on her own. Her late husband, Ralph Whitney, was well-known in the area for his work as a New Holland baler repairman.
“(Edith) reached out to people and they loved her for it,” Joanne Leong said. “People in the community were fond of her.”
Anyone with information regarding the shooting, firearms use or target practice in the area of Spring Road should contact state police at 802-234-9933.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.