German Man Held as Gun in Guise of Ballpoint Pen Kills Wife

HAMBURG, Germany — A woman died after being shot by a gun disguised as a ballpoint pen that her ex-husband was handling, police said Friday. The man told police he did not know the device was a weapon.

The 54-year-old man remains under investigation for a possible charge of accidental homicide, police said.

The shot was fired Thursday as the man “fiddled with the weapon, which according to his statement he had found on the street while taking a walk and which he had not recognized as a pen gun,” the statement said.