ATLANTA, May 7 (UPI) -- A Georgia sheriff was arrested and hit with formal charges Wednesday for allegedly opening fire on a real estate agent inside a model home last weekend, authorities said.
Clayton County, Ga., Sheriff Victor Hill, 50, was charged with reckless misconduct for shooting Gwenevere McCord, 43, inside a model home that her agency owns. Reckless misconduct, a misdemeanor, is so far the only count against Hill.
Hill was released on $2,950 bail Wednesday, officials said.
The New York Daily News reported Wednesday that Hill claimed he had been conducting "police training exercises in the home" when he accidentally shot McCord in the stomach -- although the home's location is near Lawrenceville, far from his jurisdiction.
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Investigators said Hill previously declined to give police an account of what happened inside the model home and what prompted the shooting. District Attorney Danny Porter, however, said he has fundamental questions about the sheriff's version of events
McCord remains hospitalized with critical injuries, officials said.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Hill turned over two handguns, a cellphone and the clothes he was wearing at the time of the shooting to investigators.
Hill was first elected sheriff in Clayton County a decade ago, was voted out of office in 2008 and voted back in four years later. Prior to his re-election, Hill was charged with 27 counts of corruption but was subsequently acquitted.
Investigators continue to try and piece together what happened inside the home in the moments leading to the gunfire. Police said Hill was not cooperative with officers at the scene and gave a 911 dispatcher information that is contradicted by evidence in the home, authorities said.
The victim's father has said Hill and McCord are friends, and that he believes the shooting was nothing more than a "freak accident."
McCord has not yet been able to speak with investigators due to her severe injuries.
"Gwenevere McCord, who is very dear to me, was critically injured in this accident. Please understand that for the past 48 hours, I have been entirely focused on Gwenevere and her family," Hill said in a statement Tuesday. "I will continue to pray unceasingly for her recovery. I ask you all to please pray for Gwenevere and her family throughout this most difficult time."
