Fond du Lac woman shoots man over bummed cigarette

Sharon Roznik | Fond du Lac Reporter

FOND DU LAC - A Fond du Lac woman had a little too much to drink, police say, when she shot her friend for bumming a cigarette.

Elizabeth Hawkey, 56, is charged with first-degree reckless endangerment of safety using a dangerous weapon, pointing a firearm at another, possessing a firearm while intoxicated, battery and disorderly conduct.

She appeared in court Friday, where Fond du Lac County Circuit Court Judge Robert Wirtz ordered a $1,000 cash bond, with conditions Hawkey stay sober, stay away from her wounded friend and not possess a firearm.

Officers responded about 4 a.m. on Aug. 8 to the 100 block of Western Avenue, where they were met by a 41-year-old man on the sidewalk, who had a gunshot wound to the leg.

The man said he had only known Hawkey a couple weeks and occasionally stayed with her at her apartment, located next door to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office. That night, the two of them were in Hawkey's bedroom, she on the bed and he sitting in her wheelchair, while they watched a movie.

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The man said they started talking and at some point he said to her: "I'm gonna steal a cigarette," and went into the bottom drawer of the nightstand. According to court records, Hawkey then told him: "Put that cigarette back or I'm going to shoot you."

The man said she had threatened to shoot him before when she was drinking, but this time she "kinda looked serious," so he put the cigarette down in the ashtray.

Hawkey then pulled a gun out of the top drawer of the nightstand and the man said he wheeled back a little, told her to put the gun away, and then heard a "pow" and realized he'd been shot.

He managed to get the gun and a cell phone away from Hawkey and walked outside to the bridge on Western Avenue. Hopping on one foot, he managed to stash the gun under some mulch on the walking path and called 911.

He told police he hid the gun because it looked like Hawkey was ready to shoot him again, because after he was shot, she was still pointing the gun at him, court records say.

Paramedics took both Hawkey and the shooting victim to St. Agnes Hospital, where she was treated for intoxication and the man for his gunshot wound, which police say was not life-threatening.

Hawkey told police she was mad at the man for stealing and he hadn't been doing the dishes.

She will appear in court next on Aug. 16 for a preliminary hearing.



