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The 35-year-old middle school science teacher was working on his handgun at his home an hour north of Albany when something incomprehensible happened: A bullet discharged, striking his wife.

Ashley Rosenbrock, 34, was rushed to a hospital in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where she died on Thursday.

By Saturday, the New York State Police had completed an autopsy and said the shooting in the small town of Corinth had occurred while Eric Rosenbrock was “performing maintenance” on a legally-owned handgun. The investigation is continuing, but the police said the death appeared to be the result of an accidental discharge.

Neighbors watched the distraught father of three being led into a car shortly after the shooting.

“He looked like he was shaken very bad,” said Rita Mosher, 74, a next-door neighbor. “I can’t imagine what he’s going through. He’s got to feel horrible. I’m more worried about the children.”