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Off-duty officer to wife before shooting: ‘I told her I was going to kill her'

Officer John Vaughn’s wife, Traci Mize, shot him during an argument in which he told police he threatened to kill her.  
John Vaughn (Bartow County)

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – An off-duty Kennesaw Police officer was arrested for domestic violence that ended with a gunshot wound to the back.

Officer John Vaughn’s wife, Traci Mize, shot him during an argument in which he told police he threatened to kill her, according to the Bartow County Sheriff’s report.

Police were dispatched to Vaughn and Mize’s Cartersville, Ga., residence for shots fired on Sunday, Oct. 15. But, while they were en route to the scene, they received information that a man had been shot in the back.

When police arrived, they entered the home and gave orders to whoever was in the house to state their location. Mize, who called 911, shouted from the back bedroom where she and her 30-year-old husband, Vaughn, were.

Mize, 30, was found applying pressure to her husband when officers rushed into the room. They told her to step away and lay on the ground with her hands behind her back.

She told police that she thought she shot him in the front, and said that the gun she used—a .40-calibur handgun—was on the bed. Officers later found the gun inside the laundry room, across from the bedroom. According to the police report, it had been placed on top of clothes between the washer and dryer.

At that time, Vaughn, who was bleeding, was at the foot of the bed, holding himself up with his head to the floor. He had been shot in the upper left side of his back. But, there was no exit wound.

While they tended to his wound, Vaughn told officers what had happened leading up to the gunshot wound. He said that he and his wife got into an argument and he grabbed her shirt.

He told police, “I told her I was going to kill her and I grabbed her.”

Vaughn was taken to Kennestone Hospital for treatment.

Ten days later, he was arrested on Wednesday, Oct. 25 and charged with the felony aggravated assault with a gun and misdemeanor, battery-family violence.

ALSO | Wife who shot husband after alleged death threat: 'I love him and he’s not abusive'

Kennesaw Police Department’s command staff issued the following statement:

"The Kennesaw Police Department was notified by Bartow County Sheriff’s Department of a domestic violence situation involving Kennesaw Police Reserve Officer John Vaughn. This incident occurred at Vaughn’s home in Bartow County during his off-duty time. Vaughn received medical treatment for a gunshot wound as a result."

READ | Kennesaw Police Department reacts to off-duty officer shooting

Vaughn was placed on administrative leave from Kennesaw Police Department, pending the investigation.

He is being held at the Bartow County Jail until his bond hearing.

Mize has not been charged with any crime.

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