Wife kills husband during shooting lesson

FORT LEWIS, Wash., April 13 (UPI) -- A Fort Lewis, Wash., woman fatally shot her husband as he was teaching her how to use a gun, Thurston County sheriff's officials say.

Eric J. Autio, 25, a soldier at Fort Lewis, died instantly Sunday when his wife shot him in the head with a semi-automatic handgun, said sheriff's Lt. Chris Mealy. The shooting was believed to be accidental, Mealy said.

The couple, who had just moved from the Midwest four days earlier, had been out with friends drinking, Mealy told KOMO-TV in Seattle. When the couple returned home, Autio decided to teach his wife how to handle a weapon, Mealy said.

The wife, age 25, whose name was not released, was placed under Army medical care Sunday, Mealy said.