A theatre professor whose husband is currently battling cancer was shot and killed by her roommate who mistakenly thought she was an intruder breaking into their Georgia home Monday evening, authorities said.
Erica Anderson, a 41-year-old lecturer at Columbus State University, was fatally shot at the residence in Columbus, Ga., Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan told WTVM.
She had just recently joined the school’s Department of Theatre & Dance for the fall semester as a lecturer in costume while also supervising its costume shop, according to a GoFundMe organized by her family.
Anderson returned to the Georgia home, where she was renting a room and living with an unidentified roommate, around midnight after visiting her husband and children in Indiana.
Her roommate, though, had been on high alert for days after receiving repeated terroristic threats from her own son, including promises to physically harm the woman and burn her house down, Bryan said.
The slumbering roommate grabbed her pistol when she heard the door open late at night and walked out into the hallway.
She opened fire, missing Anderson the first time before fatally striking her with a second round, Bryan said.
Bryan said the tragedy was quickly ruled an accidental death.
“You have to think about the roommate that shot her. I’m sure she’s devastated as anyone would be under the circumstances,” Bryan told the outlet.
Columbus State University President Stuart Rayfield released a statement celebrating the indelible mark Anderson was able to leave during her short stint at the school and storied career in the theatre industry.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to her family and friends, as well as the students she impacted,” Rayfield wrote.
Before joining the staff at CSU, Anderson taught the same subject at Southern Utah University and the University of Florida. She also worked in theaters and opera houses all around the country, including the Sarasota Opera and Indiana Repertory Theatre, according to the university.
Anderson is survived by her husband, who is currently undergoing cancer treatments, and their three children, according to the fundraiser.
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