Police Say Man Accidentally Shot Co-Worker

Police say a gun fell out of a sock into an employee's hand, then accidentally discharged

Police say a woman's co-worker accidentally shot her Friday morning at a thrift store in Chicago's South Side Washington Heights neighborhood.

Police initially said 54-year-old Maria Carmen Dominguez was fatally shot in the chest when she and the male co-worker were sorting through clothing in a back room, and when he shook a sock from the sorting pile, a gun fell onto the floor and discharged.

But police now say the .22 caliber handgun fell into the man's hand and then fired. However, they're still considering it accidental.

It happened around 10 a.m. inside Unique Thrift Store in the 9300 block of South Ashland Avenue.

"It's tragic," Dominguez's husband, Victor Campos, said. "We don't know what we are going to do."

"So sad, so sad," said Barbara Paradise, a regular customer at the store. "It breaks my heart. That's why I came back, because I knew her."
 
Campos said Dominguez worked for the company for 25 years.

"I can't believe it," Campos said. "We have a 17-year-old daughter. She's in high school, and she doesn't know what is going on."

Dominguez leaves behind two children, a son in his 30s and a 17-year-old daughter.

The Department of Labor said they are investigating this incident as an accident.
 

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