OREGON CITY, Ore. – A 9-year-old girl who was accidentally shot in the
face by her mother's boyfriend died at the hospital Sunday night,
police said.

Police said Shayla May Shonneker was in her back yard when she was
shot from inside the house, and it appears to be an accident. Her
mother's boyfriend, 32-year-old Joseph Wolters, was practicing
holstering and unholstering a handgun when it fired Sunday afternoon.
The bullet went through a wall and hit Shonneker, who was about 50
yards away from the house, according to police.

Police said Wolters had recently been hired for an armed security job
with an armored transport company. He told police he was practicing
drawing the gun in preparation for his new job.

Neighbor Cindy Gill said she heard the shot, and the screams that
followed.

"He was trying to start CPR, but he was crying so hard and so
hysterical," Gill said. "He was having trouble keeping it going. He
would stop and say 'breathe baby,' and I said 'you can't stop. You
have to keep going.'"

Shonneker was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Oregon Health &
Science University where she died.

"You'd figure they'd be safe when the kids are outside, but that
wasn't the case. It went off," Gill said. "It's just the most
heart-wrenching pain, and there's nothing you can do to stop their
pain."

No charges have been filed against Wolters at this time. Police said
he is currently a member of the military reserve. He was arrested in
2007 on a U.S. Army Absent Without Leave warrant.

Shonneker was a student at an elementary school in the Gladstone
School District. Police have been in contact with school officials
since Sunday night.