A deputy from Moses Lake has been charged after he accidentally shot his wife in the chest.

Both the deputy, 29 year old Jose A. Rivera, and his wife claim that the gun accidentally went off after he pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger thinking it was not loaded.

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Rivera admits to dry-firing guns around his house before but claims this was the first time aiming at a person. Investigators listed 4 reasons they think contributed to the shooting, according to reports:

Sleep: The Riveras had a 4-month-old baby at the time and Jose worked a 16-hour call with the Moses Lake Regional Tactical Response Team (TRT) in the 24 hours before the incident. Jose and Sydney both said Jose had about four hours of sleep.

TRT: Court documents indicate Rivera was new to the TRT, actively tried to improve his skills and frequently dry-fired his weapon at home.

New equipment: Jose purchased the new Springfield four days before the shooting and a new holster he ordered for the gun arrived the day of the incident.

Firearms safety: Investigators, and Jose himself, admitted he failed to follow proper firearms safety rules and neither he nor his wife attempted to make any excuses as to why he pointed the weapon at Sydney.

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