A Georgia preschool teacher’s assistant is behind bars after police say she shot and killed her high school sweetheart on Wednesday, then claimed the gun unintentionally discharged.

WSB-TV reports that the incident occurred on Wednesday night inside the Griffin home of 24-year-old Mary Katherine Higdon and her boyfriend, 23-year-old Steven Freeman, off of Sunnybrook Drive. Higdon is accused of shooting Freeman in the chest at around 10:40 p.m. Officers arrived after responding to a gunshot call and rushed Freeman to the Spalding Regional Hospital, where he passed away from his injuries.

According to investigators, Higdon, who once worked at St. George’s Episcopal School in Milner, reportedly said she didn’t mean to shoot Freeman. Yet, evidence suggests otherwise, authorities indicated.

Mary Katherine Higdon is accused of murdering her long time boyfriend. She told Griffin police it was an accident, but they say the evidence says otherwise. At 6, how many times police were called to the home over this past year and what a neighbor says the couple was known for pic.twitter.com/x0aQqt84Wl

— Lauren Pozen WSB (@LaurenPozenWSB) August 3, 2018

Although the lead detective couldn’t go into much detail on the shooting since they continue to investigate, they arrested Higdon shortly after the incident. Authorities said they smelled alcohol on her breath when they arrived and heard her mumble that she “never kept a round in the chamber.”

A neighbor said she saw Higdon outside with officers after the incident, crying over the ordeal.

“She was out on the porch with the police officers and she said, she was crying, ‘I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t mean to do it,’” neighbor Jeanette Head said.

Head stated that she had heard the couple arguing in the past but never expected a shooting to happen.  Police had been out the couple’s home five times within the past year, with one call being for a domestic disturbance and the other calls being animal issues.

Both Higdon and Freeman attended Spalding High School in Griffin, where they met and became high school sweethearts.

Higdon is facing charges of murder and “possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.”

Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.

[Feature Photo: Mary Higdon and Steven Freeman/Handout]