A central Iowa man is facing charges after police say his daughter was shot to death, apparently by accident. Police were called to an apartment in Ankeny late Friday afternoon on the report of a person who was shot. Officers found a young woman, 18-year-old Emily Hazelbaker, dead from a single gunshot wound.
Her father, 51-year-old Scott Hazelbaker, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and felony assault by intentionally pointing a weapon. Both charges are punishable by up to five years in prison. A release from Ankeny police suggests the shooting was an accident and Scott Hazelbaker pointed the handgun at his daughter and pulled the trigger without knowing a bullet was loaded in the gun.
The handgun was recovered from the scene and police say one other person was in the apartment at the time of the shooting. Emily Hazelbaker graduated from Southeast Polk High School in 2012, was enrolled in Des Moines Area Community College, and was living in the apartment with both her boyfriend and her father.