A Gujarati woman was critically injured in what the police described as an “accidental shooting” at Maggio’s Grocery in Bossier City, United States, earlier this month. The incident occurred during what was reportedly a business meeting at the store. The woman’s husband has been arrested in connection with the shooting.
On Tuesday, Sharad Gajera, 40, turned himself in to police following the issuance of an arrest warrant against him for illegal use of a weapon, the Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate reported. The shooting took place on April 4 and resulted in critical injuries to his wife, 30-year-old Jigisha “Soniya” Gajera, originally from Gujarat, The Times of India reported.
According to witnesses, the shooting happened behind the store counter when the owner, Vince Maggio, who also serves as a city councilman, was meeting with the couple, KTBS reported. They were reportedly discussing a potential purchase of the business at the time of the shooting.
Despite the circumstances, police have stated that the discharge of the weapon appears to have been accidental. Soniya sustained severe facial injuries. A fundraiser organised by family friend Nik Patel revealed that the bullet passed through her jaw, causing extensive damage, including the loss of part of her nose and several teeth.
“While simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time, Soniya was involved in a devastating gunshot accident,” the GoFundMe says. She was immediately rushed to Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport, where medical teams worked through critical hours to save her life. While she survived, her injuries are described as “life-changing.”
Bossier City police spokesperson Shawn Poudrier stated that police suspect it was done with one of Maggio’s guns.
“You know, Vince is known to keep weapons in his store. I think he’s known around the neighbourhood or whatever. He was speaking to a customer, and somehow or another, the gentleman picked up the gun or grabbed the gun,” he told The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate.
“I know he keeps a handgun in there, and I know he’s got a shotgun in there. But I’ll tell you, I saw the pictures, it looks like it was bird shot or something,” he added.
Poudrier said the delay in issuing the arrest warrant was due to the time required to obtain search warrants, review surveillance footage, and conduct interviews. He noted that once sufficient evidence was gathered, authorities acted promptly.
“That one took a little while. And I don’t know why it took a little while, unless, you know, getting the search warrants back took longer than expected, or going through video footage took longer than expected. But, I mean, yeah, that makes it look weird, but once I knew, we immediately put it out,” he added.
No court date has been set yet for Gajera. The investigation is underway, and Bossier City police are urging anyone with additional information to come forward.