Neighbors react after domestic dispute led to woman shot in the face

LAKE PARK, Ga. (WALB) - A man is behind bars today after being charged with shooting his wife in the face.

We spoke to a few people that live in the neighborhood, and they tell me they had no idea what was going on. They just saw a heavy police presence and heard gunshots.

Detectives say it all started with an argument.

On Tuesday, around 5:30 pm, Lowndes County deputies were called to a home on the 5200 block on Golf Drive in Lake Park, about a woman being shot.

“I came outside getting ready to run to the grocery store and I heard a gunshot,” said Kim Cahill, a resident in the neighborhood.

Cahill tells me at first she thought it was her friend shooting at the buzzers behind the outlet mall, even though it sounded very close.

When she got to the store, she heard another gunshot but it sounded farther away.

“When I got home, the neighbors started calling me, asking me if I knew what was going on but I said no. There are about 20 sheriff cars just in town when normally there’s only a couple. So I called the neighbor across the street that is a sheriff from Echols County and she informs me that there has been a shooting down the street,” said Cahill.

According to officials, detectives learned that a couple had an argument that led to both of them each grabbing a gun.

After a struggle began between the two, a round was fired, hitting the ceiling inside the home. A second round was fired and hit the woman in the face.

She was taken to South Georgia Medical Center.

Her husband, Ronnie Caldwell, was charged with aggravated assault and is in custody.

“Everybody started to freak out, my other neighbor on the other side said her neighbor was out in the pool, so she hurried up and got them into the house because they knew it wasn’t right. but you never know what’s going on. We have woods behind us, you don’t know if people are out shooting at snakes or whatever,” said Cahill.

This investigation is ongoing and additional charges may pending.

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