Woman Accused Of Shooting Firearms Instructor In The Face

A Vermont woman is accused of shooting her firearms instructor in the face during her second lesson, police say.

Veronica Lewis, 31, allegedly fired three shots at Darryl Montague on Monday, striking the 48-year-old man twice in the jaw and once in the abdomen, according to CBS News.

The attack happened at Montague's home in Westford, where he runs a licensed firearms company called Vermont Target Sports.

"[The] victim's mother at some point in time looked out the window and saw her son, the victim, on the ground covered in blood," said T.J. Donovan, Chittenden County state's attorney, according to WCAX.

Lewis lives in Hundred Acre Homestead, described on its website as a "licensed therapeutic community residence." She previously lived in New York City, where she had a lengthy criminal record, according to prosecutors.

The shooting range in Vermont where the attack took place.

On the day of the shooting, Lewis told the residence director that she needed a ride to the train station so that she could attend a job interview at a Five Guys hamburger restaurant, according to the Burlington Free Press. Instead, she went to the shooting lesson.

Following the shooting, police say they found a .22-caliber handgun in Lewis' backpack with three rounds fired and three others live.

Whether the attack will be deemed premeditated remains to be seen. In addition to the handgun, authorities discovered a large hammer in Lewis' possession.

"The planning for the trip, the presence in the defendant's bag of a ball peen hammer, which certainly supported the inference of an intent to do something," Judge Sam Hoar said, according to the Free Press. "A ball peen hammer is not something one normally takes to a meeting with a shooting instructor, unless one has some other purpose."

Montague remains in critical condition. Lewis has pleaded not guilty to attempted first-degree murder.