NATCHEZ — A Natchez man shot and killed his wife early Tuesday morning, mistaking her for an intruder.

Police Chief Mike Mullins said Glenn and Deborah Mizell woke to the sound of their barking dog.

Glenn went to investigate, taking a pistol with him.

Mullins said as Glenn patrolled the house, he was unaware that his wife had left the bedroom and gone into the kitchen.

“He mistook her for an intruder,” Mullins said.

When Glenn saw Deborah’s figure in the dark he fired his gun once, striking her in the chest.

Mullins said Deborah, 49, died at the scene.

The shooting occurred shortly before 4 a.m.

“From our preliminary investigation it appears to be an accidental shooting,” he said.

Just last week, the Mizell’s neighbors were the victims of a burglary. A string of burglaries has also plagued the downtown area.

As police continue to investigate Mizell’s death, their friends and family are pained and grieving.

The street in front of the Mizell’s home on Jefferson Davis Boulevard was clogged Tuesday with the cars of friends and family who have gathered to console each other.

Just two doors down at the home of Martha Salters­—the victim of the Thursday burglary— a handful of Mizell’s friends gathered to talk about their friend.

Salters said the break-in at her residence left Deborah in fear.

“She was absolutely petrified about what was going on in the neighborhood,” she said.

Salters said on the same night that her home and three vehicles were burglarized, the thief unscrewed the floodlights on the Mizell’s home.

“The whole thing left her scared and very anxious,” she said.

But while Salters deals with the grief of the loss of her friend, she looks to fond memories of her friend to consol herself.

“I could not have had a better friend,” she said.

When one of Mizell’s friends remarked that she was given the gift of gab, the room broke into laughter.

Mizell’s friend Julie Reid echoed the sentiment.

“She knew everyone,” she said. “If you called her she had to put you on hold 18 times because everyone was always calling her.”

Deborah is survived by her husband, her daughter Amanda and two grandsons.

She was employed by Natchez Regional Medical Center.