Senator’s Aide Mistakenly Shot by Spouse

Karin Miranda Pipkin, a state Senate aide, remained in critical condition Wednesday after being shot six times by her husband, a former high-ranking Wilson Administration official who mistakenly took her for an intruder, police said.

The victim’s husband, political consultant Robert Pipkin, was awakened by the burglar alarm in the second-story bedroom of the couple’s East Sacramento home about 11 p.m. Tuesday, said Michael Heenan, a Sacramento police spokesman. Pipkin found nothing amiss, reset the alarm and went to the bathroom. But he did not know that his wife, who is chief of staff for Sen. Tom Campbell (R-Stanford), apparently also had been awakened and had gone downstairs, police said.

Still thinking his wife was in bed, Robert Pipkin, who had been a high-ranking official in the state Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, heard the alarm again, retrieved his 9-millimeter handgun and telephoned 911. Then, police said, he heard someone walking upstairs and saw the bedroom door open. Afraid to turn on the lights or make any noise, Robert Pipkin started shooting, police said.

Karin Pipkin, 39, was taken to UC Davis Medical Center. She is expected to survive the shooting, which police regard as an accident.