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WEST JORDAN — A West Jordan woman was shot in the leg during a domestic violence incident with her husband in their home on Thursday.
Nelson Edgardo Rodriguez, 38, was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of discharge of a firearm, aggravated assault, domestic violence in the presence of a child and damaging a phone.
Police were called about 10 p.m. Thursday on a report of an assault at 7426 S. Sunset Maple Drive. They arrived to find a 36-year-old woman who had been shot in the calf, West Jordan police officer Ramon Ramirez said. The woman initially would not tell police who shot her, according to a police booking affidavit, and then claimed it was an accident.
Officers found Rodriguez inside the home and arrested him without incident. His wife eventually told investigators that when Rodriguez arrived at home that evening, "he threatened to kill her" and she tried to call 911, the affidavit states. Rodriguez pulled the phone away from her and then "produced a handgun which had been tucked in the small of his back and shot (his wife) in her leg. Nelson stated 'Why did things have to happen this way?' Nelson then put his hands around (his wife's) throat," according to the affidavit.
When Rodriguez was questioned, he allegedly said he and his wife were arguing "and things got out of control." Rodriguez claimed he had retrieved a handgun from his safe to remove from the residence, but it fell out of his pocket and discharged when it hit the ground, and his wife was shot in the leg, the affidavit states.
The woman was taken to a local hospital where police said she was "stable." The couple's 2-year-old child was in the home at the time of the shooting.
Domestic violence resources
Help for people in abusive relationships can be found by contacting:
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition: Utah's confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic violence hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
- YWCA Women in Jeopardy program: 801-537-8600
- Utah's statewide child abuse and neglect hotline: 1-855-323-DCFS (3237)
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
