Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, was 13 years old when she accidentally knocked over a gun, which fired and killed her father in the head.
The full extent of the 1990 incident, which Nesheiwat had only partially disclosed, was revealed in a New York Times report on Friday.
According to the newspaper, she cited the tragic incident as an inspiration to pursue a career in medicine, but she did not mention her direct role.
“When I was 13 years old, I helplessly watched my dear father die in an accident with blood spurting everywhere,” her upcoming memoir begins. “I could not save his life. This marked the beginning of my personal journey to become a physician.
The Times reported that Nesheiwat does not explain how her father, a 44-year-old chemist, died in the subsequent 260 pages.
According to police records obtained by the Times, in their Florida family home in February 1990, a teenage Nesheiwat was looking for scissors kept in a tacklebox on a shelf above her father’s bed one early morning.
She knocked the container over, revealing a.380 caliber handgun that discharged and shot him in the head while he slept. He died the following day in an Orlando hospital.
“Something fell out of it, and there was a loud noise,” she told officers. “I saw blood on my father’s ear.” Police described it as a “freak accident.” She called police after going to get a towel and ice for her father’s head.
Nesheiwat has cited her father’s death and her mother’s career in pediatric nursing as two key motivators for her decision to pursue medicine as a career.
She did not respond to messages left by the Times. Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
“As she says in her book, she became a physician because of her dad’s tragic accidental death,” the Trump transition team told the newspaper.
“She became a physician to save lives, and President Trump nominated Dr. Nesheiwat as our next Surgeon General because of her commitment to the lives of her fellow Americans. She and her family miss their father and hope that he is proud of them.
Nesheiwat’s background in practical medicine, including work in urgent care clinics in New York and New Jersey, earned her Trump’s endorsement for the position. Her older sister, Julia, is a former homeland security adviser to the president-elect.
Julia’s husband is House Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL), who Trump has announced will be his national security adviser.
Her younger sister, Jaclyn, is a former fashion model who married Scott Stapp, the lead singer of the hard rock band Creed.
Nesheiwat, like several of Trump’s planned nominees and appointees, has previously contributed to Fox News.
“Dr. Nesheiwat will play a pivotal role in MAKING AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!,” Trump wrote in a statement announcing her appointment to lead the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
Earlier this year, Dr. Vivek Murthy, the current surgeon general, declared gun violence a public health crisis.
It remains to be seen whether Nesheiwat will campaign on the same issue if she is confirmed.