Woman Admits To Shooting Husband, Both Arrested

A shooting inside a southwest Oklahoma City home leads to the arrest of the suspect and victim. Police say a woman shot her husband Sunday afternoon and admitted she meant to do it.

According to police, 49-year-old Dara McClendon admitted she wanted to kill her husband, but at the last moment chickened out.

"Female caller called in and said she had just shot her husband," Capt. Ben Weir with the Oklahoma City Police Department said.

That call came in around 2 p.m. Sunday. Police say it happened inside a southwest Oklahoma City home on Southwest 41st Street and May Avenue.

“He was struck in the shoulder, so anytime there's a firearm involved it's very serious it can lead to death,” said Sgt. Dillon Quirk with the Oklahoma City Police Department.

According to court documents, death was the intent. Police say McClendon called police saying she shot her husband, 50-year-old Justin Barber, and hoped he died. 

A neighbor of the couple, who didn’t want to be identified, says she was home at the time of the shooting and saw the husband outside her window.

“It was scary,” she said. “He just looked like panicky, like he didn't know what to do, kind of nervous, just kind of running around.”

Police say Barber drove himself to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the shoulder. McClendon was taken into custody outside of a church just down the street from her home. 

Officers removed her two dogs from the car to search the car and found a .38 special inside on the floorboard. Police say the suspect admitted to using the gun in the shooting. 

Court documents reveal McClendon shot her husband after learning he allegedly drugged a woman and tried to have sex with her. The probable cause affidavit also states McClendon told police her intent was to kill him, but she chickened out at the last moment and shot him in the shoulder instead.

“I have two children and it's scary that a shooting happened right next door and a bullet could have flew right through and probably hit one of us or one of my children,” the neighbor said.

Nobody else was hurt. Barber, whose alias is Justin Leon Walkabout, has a lengthy criminal past. Because of his past felony convictions, police arrested him for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is currently in jail on a $20,000 bond.

Police say the victim did not want to press charges however, McClendon remains behind bars on complaints of assault and battery with a deadly weapon.