TONOPAH, AZ — The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office arrested Romeo Ruiz Friday after he admitted to shooting his wife with a gun he was prohibited to own.
Ruiz called MCSO stating his wife was shot in the hand, stomach, and chest and needed assistance, according to officials.
When deputies arrived, they provided life-saving measures for the victim and transported her to the hospital.
MCSO detectives followed up with the victim at the hospital to speak with her about the shooting.
She told deputies she was moving things in her room when she collapsed and heard a loud bang.
She noticed that she was bleeding and her husband entered the room. He put her in his car to take her to the hospital and called 9-1-1 on the way.
Deputies say the couple ended up stopping at the TA travel center in Tonopah to wait for help.
Ruiz had a different story according to the detectives. He said that he was arguing with his wife in a dark room and grabbed a rifle, pointed it at his head and asked his wife to hold the other end of it. He said he urged her to pull the trigger but she couldn't.
He put the rifle on the bed afterwards and fought over it with his wife. When he went to pull the curtain open, he said the rifle went off and he noticed his wife was bleeding.
Ruiz later admitted that he shot his wife and was a prohibited to own a weapon.
Ruiz was charged with 1 count of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and 1 count of possession of a weapon by prohibited person.
His wife remains in stable condition at the hospital.
