By Walter Pacheco
The Orlando Sentinel
Related: Police officers and domestic violence: Two stories
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A domestic dispute in Seminole County came to a violent end this morning when the wife of an Orlando police officer shot him while their two children were awake, deputies said.
Rescue crews transported Orlando police Officer Charles Navicky, 41, to Orlando Regional Medical Center. He is in stable condition, Lt. Dennis Lemma of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said. His wife, Fatima Navicky, 35, is undergoing medical evaluation at Winter Park Hospital.
The officer suffered a gunshot wound to his right arm and a bullet graze to his forehead, police said. It may have been the same bullet.
“Our investigators are at the house right now and reconstructing the events that led to the shooting this morning,” Lemma said.
Agency spokeswoman Kim Cannaday said that Fatima Navicky faces charges of attempted murder and domestic violence.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with [Navicky] and his family during this difficult time,” Sgt. Barbara Jones of the Orlando Police Department said.
Deputies said that sometime around 2:30 a.m., they received a 911 call from a home near Oviedo that was suddenly disconnected. Emergency dispatch operators called the number back and a child answered the phone, saying that his father had been shot.
Lemma said that earlier that evening, a neighbor -- who is also a family relative -- acted as a mediator between the couple. But at some point during the argument, things got out of control.
"[Fatima] walked away from her husband and returned with two fire arms hidden behind her back and shot him,” Lemma said.
Sheriff’s deputies did not release the type of weapon used in the shooting, but did confirm that it was not an Orlando Police Department issued firearm.
Lemma said the couple’s children, who are between the ages of 8 and 14, are staying with relatives.
Orlando police records show that Navicky has been with the Orlando Police Department since August 1993. The couple was married in 2001, according to state marriage license records.
According to Orange County Jail records, Fatima Navicky was arrested in Feb. 2004 on charges of grand theft. She and her two children were walking through the Super Wal-Mart on E. Colonial Drive when a store employee watched her place merchandise into empty Wal-Mart bags. She then strolled into the grocery section and only paid for the grocery items, records show.
She stole about $430 in merchandise, according to the sheriff’s office arrest affidavit.
Court records show that in 2005 she agreed to pre-trial diversion, a program that defendants complete to avoid prosecution.
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