The Shot in the Ceiling

After midnight and intoxicated, the Accused pointed a loaded .20 calibre shotgun at his intimate partner's head and threatened to kill her. She pushed the barrel upward and the gun discharged into the ceiling. He then tried to reload. She seized the weapon, struck him with it, and fled outside. He was charged with attempted murder, discharging a firearm with intent, pointing a firearm, unauthorized possession, careless storage, possession while subject to a prohibition order, assault with a weapon and uttering threats. He denied that he ever intended to kill her, said the gun went off only because she pushed the barrel upward, and argued that stacking eight counts on a few seconds of a single domestic incident punished the same conduct over and over.