The Missouri suspect is accused of firing once as the woman held her dog on a bed.
HILLSBORO, Mo. — A woman survived a gunshot wound after a man who lived with her allegedly became angry about her barking dog, threatened her with a knife and fired one round inside their Jefferson County home.
The May 3 shooting led to felony charges against Frank Forshee, 65, of Hillsboro, who is being held without bond. Authorities say the case began as a domestic dispute inside a shared home and grew into a law enforcement search after Forshee left the property. The woman was taken to a hospital after the shooting, and local reports said she was treated and later released.
The woman was in a room that served as both a living room and her bedroom when the argument unfolded, according to a probable cause statement described in reports. Investigators said her dog was barking, and Forshee became upset that the animal would not stop. The room was part of a home in the 6900 block of Klondike Road near Hillsboro, about 40 miles southwest of St. Louis. Forshee, the woman and another man lived at the residence. The other man later told investigators that Forshee had been acting erratically in the days before the shooting and had appeared to be dealing with drug use and mental health issues.
Authorities said the confrontation did not start with the shot. The male resident told deputies that Forshee had threatened the woman with a gun the night before and fired a round into the floor. On the day of the shooting, investigators said, Forshee argued with the woman about the dog, threatened her with a small silver pocket knife and then went back to his bedroom. He returned with what witnesses described as a dark .22-caliber revolver with a wooden handle, believed to be a Heritage gun. The woman was sitting on her bed and holding the dog when the firearm discharged, striking her in the abdomen.
Deputies said the bullet traveled through the woman’s body, entering the right side of her abdomen and exiting into her left calf. She and the other resident got out of the home and called 911. The sheriff’s office said deputies responded to a report of a shooting tied to a domestic assault. The woman’s name has not been released, and public reports do not describe the extent of her long-term injuries. The sheriff’s office said she was transported for medical treatment. Local radio reports later said she had been treated and released, but authorities have not provided a full medical update.
A neighbor’s account became part of the case. Investigators said the neighbor reported that Forshee walked onto the neighbor’s property while holding a gun that matched the description from the home. According to the affidavit, Forshee told the neighbor he had been holding the firearm during the argument with the woman and had tried to hit the dog with the gun when a round went off. That statement became one of the key pieces linking the household argument, the dog and the gunshot. Investigators also said they searched the home and found that the crime scene and evidence matched the witness accounts.
The woman’s escape from the home shifted the case from an indoor assault investigation to a search for an armed man. Authorities said Forshee left after the shooting and hid in a wooded area near the Klondike Road property. Deputies, detectives and members of the Jefferson County SWAT team spent hours looking for him. During the search, detectives learned that Forshee had contacted a family member and made comments that he would not go to prison and might harm himself. Negotiators then made contact by cellphone. Investigators said Forshee sent messages saying he would make the news and that law enforcement should come find him.
Detectives continued the phone contact until Forshee surrendered. Sheriff Dave Marshak said investigators developed a rapport with him and convinced him to give up peacefully. He was taken into custody May 4 without incident, one day after the shooting. Authorities said he was later taken to an area hospital for a medical procedure unrelated to the case. Forshee was booked into the Jefferson County Jail on May 7. The delay between arrest and booking was tied to that medical issue, according to local reports based on the sheriff’s office account.
Prosecutors charged Forshee with first-degree domestic assault causing serious physical injury, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a firearm. The domestic assault count centers on the allegation that he shot the woman during the argument. The armed criminal action charge is tied to the alleged use of a firearm in the assault. The unlawful possession count reflects prosecutors’ claim that he was not legally allowed to have the gun. Authorities have not publicly detailed the full basis for that count in the reports reviewed. It was not immediately clear whether Forshee had an attorney or had entered a plea.
The case also left several unanswered questions about the moments before and after the shot. Authorities have not said whether the dog was struck or injured. They have not released the full neighbor interview, the complete cellphone messages or any body camera footage from the search and surrender. The account available so far comes from the sheriff’s office, the probable cause statement and local reports describing the filed charges. Those records put the woman at the center of a household dispute that, according to investigators, moved from barking to threats to gunfire within the home.
The woman’s name and updated condition had not been released, and the next major step was expected to come through court filings or a scheduled hearing. Forshee remained jailed without bond as the criminal case continued in Jefferson County.
Author note: Last updated June 1, 2026.