During their investigation, officers were told that just after 3 p.m. Saturday, Subha Katel, 43, saw a handgun holstered in the waistband of a cousin, Subash Katel, who was with other relatives visiting from Pennsylvania, according to Fairfield Municipal Court documents. They were in town to visit Tika’s mother, who is ill, according to court documents.
Subash Katel was seated in the living room and “in a matter of seconds, Subha Katel saw the gun and grabbed the gun from the holster. As she was grabbing the gun … Subha Katel asked Subash Katel if the gun was a toy or real,” according to the court documents.
As Subha Katel asked if the gun was real, she allegedly pulled the trigger and fired the weapon, police said. Subha Katel said she was trying to hand the gun back to Subash Katel when it “went off,” and she was uncertain if she actually handed it back to her cousin or she dropped it.
Tika Katel, 57, was struck by a bullet in the left side of his head. He was transported to Mercy Health-Fairfield Hospital by an ambulance, and then transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. He died Monday, according to the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office.
Subha Katel told police she had never seen a real gun before, and only saw a toy gun once nearly a decade ago.
Family members called 911. The calls were frantic, and family members were crying and screaming for help, according to audio of the calls reviewed by this news organization.
One said, “My dad’s been shot.”
Another said, “I think it was an accident.”