Marion County sheriff's detective Beth Schindel, who was accidentally shot by a fellow officer May 22 inside the agency's office in Jasper, Tennessee, is recovering after surgeries to repair injuries from being struck in the leg by a bullet from an AR-15.
The bullet, a .223-caliber round, struck detective Beth Schindel in the thigh, shattering her femur, Sheriff Ronnie "Bo" Burnett said Monday. Schindel was identified as the victim in the shooting the next day.
"I visited Mary Beth yesterday," Burnett said, "she's in therapy at Siskin and doing good, she's got a great attitude.
"She's going through therapy," he said. "In therapy you've got to meet certain parameters before they can release you, and she's worked hard because she wants to go home.
"She hopes to get out of there in a couple of weeks," the sheriff said.
Initial reports on the incident indicated the other officer, a fellow detective, dropped a magazine out of an AR-15 rifle while he was unloading it and was clearing the chamber when the weapon accidentally discharged. The bullet hit Schindel in the leg, shattering her femur. Chattanooga police said they cleared the way for the Marion County ambulance bound for Erlanger hospital with an escort of Marion County officers.
Burnett said the two officers had worked together for the last five years.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident. Agency spokesman Josh DeVine said Monday that the case "remains open and ongoing, and beyond that, we have no additional detail to provide at this time."
Fellow officers, meanwhile have established a GoFundMe page to help her out with expenses and joined forces to take care of some things at home she won't be physically capable of after she's released from the hospital, Burnett said.
Schindel, a 21-year law enforcement veteran and the department's child abuse and sex crimes investigator, could miss months of work while she recovers, according to officials and information on the GoFundMe page. No stranger to medical battles, Schindel also is an ovarian cancer survivor.
Burnett said fellow officers have mowed Schindel's large yard - somewhere between three and four acres of grass - and built a wheelchair ramp to make it easier for her to get around at home after she's released.
"She's a single mom with a big place down there that takes a lot of her time," Burnett said. Schindel's fellow officers plan to keep the yard mowed and help take care of the property for the rest of the summer so she can focus on getting better.
Meanwhile, the officer at the other end of the AR-15 also has been recovering from the incident, Burnett said.
"His therapy? He's the one that's been mowing the yard and he's the one that got everybody together about 10 days ago to build her a wheelchair ramp at her house," the sheriff said. "He goes and sees her and calls her every day. That's his therapy."
Schindel "holds no ill will towards him," and views the incident "as an accident and that's the way she's going to look at it," Burnett said.
Schindel's daughter, Kristi Atkins, thanked her mother's supporters last week in a Facebook post, remarking that the detective "is still in great spirits considering what she's been through "
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.