A 43-year-old real estate agent reportedly shot by Clayton Sheriff Victor Hill earlier this month has told investigators that the shooting was an accident, the woman’s father told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday.
Gwenevere McCord spoke to Gwinnett County police detective C.J. Flynn for 15 minutes Thursday, the same day doctors removed a tube from her mouth, enabling her to speak for the first time since the May 3 shooting, Ernest McCord said. It is the first time police have heard her side of the story. District Attorney Danny Porter could not be reached for comment, so it’s unclear how McCord’s statement may affect the case against Hill, who is facing a misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct.
“She told him what she had said already to the paramedics, that it was an accident,” Ernest McCord. “The detective asked her if she thought the shooting was done on purpose, but she said ‘no way.’ It was a sigh of relief because I always thought that that was the case.”
Gwenevere McCord’s parents, brother, aunt and 22-year-old son were present during the interview with police.
“It was good we were all there because we were able to hear the same thing at the same time,” Ernest McCord said.
McCord has been in intensive care at Gwinnett Medical Center since the shooting. Except for a brief statement issued several days after the shooting, Hill has said very little.
Documents filed in the Gwinnett County Magistrate Court on Thursday show investigators in the case collected numerous items from Hill, including guns, a backpack and his iPhone, at the scene of the shooting.
The first officer on the scene found Gwenevere McCord “lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to the left side. Hill was kneeling over McCord applying a shirt to her left side,” according to the documents. Hill told 911 dispatchers that he shot her while they were “practicing tactics,” the documents said.
Investigators got permission to take DNA samples from Hill and McCord to compare them with DNA samples taken from the guns found at the home. After investigators took Hill’s phone, they got permission to access his contacts, call logs, Internet activity, photos, videos, text messages and phonebook activity, according to the documents.
Police searched a black Chevrolet Camaro at the home — identified as Hill’s work vehicle — as well as McCord’s white Nissan Altima.
Ernest McCord said Hill has been in regular contact with the family “to show his concern.”
Efforts to reach Hill and his attorney Mike Puglise. The Clayton sheriff’s department spokeswoman Shegale Thurmond did not return calls.
To date, Gwenevere McCord has had three surgeries and several other procedures. She lost a kidney, spleen and part of her large intestine as a result of the shooting, her father said.
“Right now, everybody’s pleased with her progress,” Ernest McCord said. “We’re praying for both families. Our family and the Hill family. It’s a situation that’s devastating for both sides.”
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