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     Nancy - LibraryLady Supporter Username: Librarylady Post Number: 3800 Registered: 5-2001  |
I read about this in yesterdays S-L, but they wrote that Karla Wiggins was 74 so I assumed it was a different woman. They ran a correcion in today's paper and then I found this. My thoughts are with her. BERNARDS -- David Yun keeps replaying in his mind the last time he talked to Horace Wiggins. It was minutes after Wiggins shot his estranged wife and shortly before he shot and killed himself Sunday. "I'm just his neighbor, but I felt like if ever there was a time that could have been a change to the way things ended, I wish I would have said something. Maybe if I just asked him if he wanted to talk," Yun, 32, said Monday. Yun and his wife, Cristina, were trying to come to terms Monday with a shocking shooting that left Karla Wiggins, 54, in critical condition following emergency surgery Sunday night at Morristown Memorial Hospital. She sustained multiple gunshot wounds inflicted by her husband, in addition to injuries suffered when she tried to flee by jumping from a second-story balcony, authorities said. Yun had run outside his Crabtree Court town house Sunday afternoon when he heard someone -- Karla Wiggins -- yelling, "Help, I'm dying. I'm dying." Karla Wiggins, an assistant principal of Maplewood Middle School, was expected to remain in critical condition through Monday night, hospital spokeswoman Pam Garretson said. The Maplewood district issued a brief written statement Monday afternoon, calling Karla Wiggins "a very competent administrator" and a "real asset to the Maplewood Middle School community." The Cedars of Basking-Ridge, a typically quiet town home development, was transformed Sunday afternoon as it became occupied by more than 50 law enforcement officials, including SWAT team negotiators, police from Bernards and neighboring municipalities, crime scene investigators and detectives from the Major Crimes Squad of the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office. Law enforcement arrived en masse as Horace Wiggins, 75, barricaded himself in his town home at 261 Crabtree Court. Police had received a dozen 911 calls, including Yun's, after residents reported hearing gun shots. To Yun, the Wigginses were wonderful neighbors. Yun said he knew Horace Wiggins better because he was retired and Yun, who does marketing, works from home. Yun said Wiggins was an avid golfer and a gentleman. "He had a really good sense of humor. Not dry at all, just very down-to-earth humor. There was nothing sarcastic or sharp about him. He was a very soft person," Yun said. "They were both two very beautiful people. Very sweet," Yun said. "This is not to sugarcoat something. This is what I've been living with for almost the past six years, and I know them no other way." That perception changed shortly after Yun and his wife returned home 3 p.m. Sunday from visiting friends. Karla Wiggins was at the back door of her town home, but couldn't get inside, Yun said. "I thought that was a little bit strange," he said, explaining that he and his wife did not know the Wigginses were going through a divorce. Karla Wiggins was temporarily living with family and friends after separating from her husband two weeks ago, Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne J. Forrest said. She returned home Sunday to get some personal belongings, police said. Karla Wiggins' sister, Kathleen Ridley of Vaux Hall, had taken her to the town home, Forrest said. Efforts to reach Karla Wiggins' family or colleagues were unsuccessful Monday. "Jokingly, I had said, 'You can't get into your own home.' She just smiled at me," Yun said Monday afternoon, his tone quiet as he recounted what unfolded. As Karla Wiggins was trying to get into the town home's back door, Yun saw Horace Wiggins on the front deck, he said. The couple then went into the town home. At about 4 p.m., he heard a bang that sounded like a large branch cracking, Yun said. Then he heard someone yelling for help, though he said he did not immediately recognize it as Karla Wiggins' voice. "I bolted out the door. I thought someone had fallen off the balcony. I saw Horace as soon as I got out," said Yun, recalling how Horace Wiggins had asked him something like, "Where'd she go?" Assuming Wiggins was talking about an injured person, Yun said he responded, "I don't know. I'm trying to look for her." Yun started running toward a public parking area, where he saw Karla Wiggins' sister, he said. "She asked me if I called 911," Yun said. Another neighbor who lives a few units away from the Wigginses came out onto her balcony and said she was calling 911, Yun said. He added that the neighbor quietly told him, "He has a gun." When Yun looked to his right, he saw Horace Wiggins near the back door area, he said. "He saw me, and he had told me, 'David, go inside.' He said it almost like he was in a daze, like he didn't have any energy. He was almost confused-like. When he spoke to me, he was looking at the ground," Yun said. Yun, who never found the wounded Karla Wiggins, ran back into his house to take his wife and 7-month-old daughter into their basement, where he thought they would be safe from any additional gunshots. They remained downstairs, and away from the windows, for a few hours. Meanwhile, police working outside evacuated their neighbors. By early evening, Yun, who periodically went upstairs to see what was happening from a larger window, called police to see if they needed access to his garage. Realizing the Yuns were still inside, the police sent the SWAT team and an armored truck to their town home to get them out safely, he said. Negotiators had tried for several hours to communicate with Horace Wiggins via his cell phone and by tossing a phone through one of the shot-out windows of the home, authorities said. By 8:35 p.m., the SWAT team entered the residence and found Horace Wiggins dead, in the second-floor master bedroom. A Smith & Wesson .357-caliber Magnum was discovered a few feet from his body. Detectives later learned that Horace Wiggins had contacted a relative and said he shot his wife and intended to shoot himself. "Tragedy is like -- it's just time, right? Time will heal the family and friends, and I think that's going to be no different for us," Yun said. "I'm very sad I'm not going to be able to see Horace." Noting the detached tone of newspaper accounts of the shooting, Yun said, "He's more than just a man. She's more than just a woman. It's more than that." Cross Posted from Education (where nobody goes anymore) | ||
| Jersey_Boy Citizen Username: Jersey_boy Post Number: 1637 Registered: 1-2006  |
I don't want to turn this into a SoapBox thread, but this is why it's dangerous for regular people to keep guns in their home. It could have been different. J.B. | ||
| Just The Aunt Supporter Username: Auntof13 Post Number: 5920 Registered: 1-2004  |
JB- Please read the article. This is not your typical 'gun in the house' story. They were seperated the past two weeks. Ms Wiggins went back to the conod to get herr things and Mr Wiggins ambushed her. (PS there already is a thread about this in Soapbox) | ||
| eb1154 Citizen Username: Eb1154 Post Number: 532 Registered: 5-2001 |
We have dealt with Ms. Wiggins on a couple of occasions this year and she was always very nice to deal with. She is a very nice and professional woman. Our prayers are with her. Eric Burbank | ||
| cody Citizen Username: Cody Post Number: 1108 Registered: 5-2001 |
This is a tragedy for this family. My prayers and best wishes are with Ms. Wiggins. | ||
| Scully Citizen Username: Scully Post Number: 922 Registered: 8-2005 |
JTA, I have to agree with JB. If there hadn't been a gun in the house the results might not have been as serious. Unless you think he went out and got a gun just for this. I wonder if it was registered? I pray for her recovery. | ||
| Duncan Supporter Username: Duncanrogers Post Number: 6897 Registered: 12-2001  |
After reading and re-reading the article I cannot see where it says that the gun was in the home. It seems more like he procured one for this particular event. How does anyone know if there was a gun in the house?? Scully and JB, where are you getting that info?? And leave it to the Maplewood district to issue a statement calling her "competent". Man nothing like kicking a woman when she is down. There are thousands of better ways to communicate the townships response to this tragedy. May she soon know health again and may she someday heal from the terrible memory of that summer day. | ||
| Oregon gal Citizen Username: Oregon_gal Post Number: 86 Registered: 6-2006  |
I don't know Ms. Wiggins but my thoughts are with her. I was especially touched by her neighbors' determination to humanize this event. A community is only as strong as the connections we have with each other as people. It makes me want to be the best neighbor I can be. | ||
| Scully Citizen Username: Scully Post Number: 924 Registered: 8-2005 |
Duncan - I added 'Unless you think he went out and got a gun just for this.' to indicate that I DIDN'T know for sure. | ||
| Just The Aunt Supporter Username: Auntof13 Post Number: 5930 Registered: 1-2004 |
Don't know if anyone else heard this or not, but Mrs Wiggin's condition is improving. As of 12:30pm her condition has been upgraded from critical to serious. | ||
| Me2 Citizen Username: Me2 Post Number: 258 Registered: 6-2003 |
JTA, thanks so much for the update. I have been checking this board constantly hoping for some good news. My son had Ms. Wiggins in Middle School (he is now in college). Yesterday when he heard what happened, he was beside himself. | ||
| Just The Aunt Supporter Username: Auntof13 Post Number: 5936 Registered: 1-2004 |
I only found out because I signed up for 'Google Alerts.' I think it's a very good sign Ms. Wiggin's condition has been upgraded. Hopefully she'll make a full recovery both physically and emotionally. I never had her for a teacher; but from reading the posts on MOL I can tell she is a wonderful person. |
