U.S. Army Pvt. Danny Carpio, 23, is accused of randomly firing a gun in Queens late Wednesday. One bullet struck 28-year-old Selina Akthel in the head, killing her instantly, said Kevin Ryan, the spokesman for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Akthel's husband and two young children were in the apartment when she was killed.
"Whoever did it destroyed the family of my kids -- my life," her husband, Golam Maola, told CNN affiliate WABC.
Carpio is to be arraigned in Queens Criminal Court Friday on one charge of second-degree manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, Ryan said. Each count carries a maximum 15-year sentence.
"There may be additional charges," Ryan said.
He said Carpio, who had joined the Army about six months ago, was stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, and had been on leave in New York to pick up his wife and return with her to Texas.
Ryan said Carpio had been drinking and was standing outside on the sidewalk with friends when he allegedly fired a gun the air about three or four times. Akthel was "standing at her apartment window" when she was struck, Ryan said.
A police report said Akthel was dead when emergency personnel arrived.
Carpio was being held at a police precinct in Queens and is assisting police in trying to locate the gun, Ryan said.
"As a soldier trained in the safety and handling of weapons both on and off the battlefield, the defendant should have known better than to aimlessly fire a gun in a crowded residential area," District Attorney Brown said in a written statement.
"As a result of this thoughtless action, a young woman is now dead and two little children must face the difficult and heartbreaking chore of adjusting to a life empty of their mother's presence. Sadly, this case is a grim lesson -- especially during this holiday season -- why guns and drinking are a lethal mixture."
