Iowa Woman Shoots Father of Her Child, With Baby Just Feet Away

Domestic violence is one awful thing -- committing the crime and letting it escalate in front of children, let alone an infant, is another. That type of trauma can, and likely will, last a lifetime for children involved in situations like this.

It's even more shocking when situations as such happen in Iowa, yet, they do.

An Iowa woman is being charged with a barrage of crimes after she shot the father of her eight-month-old baby last week. The child was laying on a bed just feet away when the gun was fired.

The woman is 25-year-old Zakiya Muhammad, and her charges are as follows: willful injury-causing serious injury, domestic abuse assault with a weapon, and child endangerment.

According to online court records obtained by WHO13, "She and the father of her child, Eric Ridgner, had been arguing for hours at their residence in the 900 block of Kenyon Avenue when the incident happened."

The criminal complaint stated that both of the individuals admitted to pushing and hitting one another during the aforementioned argument.

WHO13 details what happened at one point during the dispute: "Ridgner poured a cup of water on Muhammad while in the bedroom and she grabbed her gun from a shelf, chambered a bullet, and fired a shot in his direction.

The complaint said the bullet went through Ridgner’s right arm and right leg, causing serious injuries. The couple’s baby was in the same room at the time of the shooting, just a few feet away laying on the bed."

Muhammad claims that her decision to fire the gun didn't come from a place of wanting to kill Ridgner, but solely to defend herself. She told investigators that it was a 'warning shot.'

She was booked into the jail at 1:56 AM on Wednesday of this week, ultimately being freed on bond. Her preliminary court hearing is scheduled for Friday, September 23rd.

The Des Moines-based news station continues, elaborating on the status of Ridgner: "(He) has not been charged for his actions during the argument but is facing a charge for possession of a controlled substance. Police say they didn’t know if he was armed as well and while patting him down in the ambulance before transporting him to the hospital, a small bag of marijuana was found in his right pocket."