Redmond woman gives first TV interview since shooting ex-husband

By Adam Aaro, KTVZ.COM 

Karen Hankins said Monday she doesn't think she'll ever get over what happened last week, when she says she fatally shot her ex-husband in self-defense. But she wants to share her story to help heal and bring awareness of the dangers of mental illness.  

In her first TV interview, the Redmond woman talked tearfully about how, on a night much like any other, she had to react to a situation not many people could ever dream of facing.

"I dropped the phone and took both hands on the gun, and pulled the trigger. Without even thinking. It wasn't a choice. It was a survival instinct."

Karen and Shane Hankins had been married for more than 10 years. They had two kids together, and most of the time, things were good.

But over the years, Shane began to struggle with depression, and became difficult to live with.

So much, in fact, the couple divorced in August.

After that, Shane became desperate.

"Even the day he died, he sent me a text message that he had had an X-ray done of his heart, and they found me inside. And I couldn't be removed, or he would die.

On the night of Wednesday, Nov. 4, Shane called Karen, wanting to meet.

But with Shane sounding not himself, Karen said no.

"I unplugged the phones and went to bed, thinking that was the end of it," Karen said. "And an hour, or hour and a half later, when I was asleep, he took a taxi and came to the house."

Shane started trying to enter the house by knocking down the door.

"At that point," she said, "I realized that I may have to protect myself, and so I grabbed the revolver."

She called 911 and ushered her two children into the bathroom.

That's when Shane busted through the living room window.

"I said, 'Shane, I have a gun 0 do not come in here," Karen recalled. "Well, he's crawling through the window at that point. He's halfway in. So I shot into the ceiling, thinking I would scare him."

"He said, 'You won't shoot me.' I said, 'Shane, you're not supposed to be here. You're scaring me, please stop. And he says, 'I think you only have one bullet left.' He says, 'You're going to have to kill me to stop me."

After firing another shot, this time into his arm, she says Shane came after her, and she fired the fatal shot.

"I knew what I did the second I did it," Karen said. "I saw the bullet hit his chest. I saw what it did to him. And I was angry. Because he made me do that."

Karen says Shane suffered from depression and mental illness problems that were never properly diagnosed.

"And that's the only way I'm going to survive this," Karen said, "is to realize the man who broke through into my house and tried to kill me was the sickness, and the man that I loved and is the father of my children is now at peace."

A fund has been set up for Karen Hankins through US Bank to help her pay for the expenses from this tragedy. You can donate at any branch.

A funeral for Shane Hankins will be held at Tumalo Community Church on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 1 p.m.