( CNN ) A Georgia police chief who said he accidentally shot and seriously injured his wife while the couple were sleeping in bed has resigned , the Peachtree City Police Department said Wednesday . William McCollom stepped down as chief of police in Peachtree City nearly a week after a prosecutor announced that although the New Year 's Day shooting appeared accidental , McCollom could eventually face a misdemeanor charge accusing him of recklessly taking a gun to bed after drinking alcohol and taking sleeping medication . The shooting in Peachtree City , an upscale community of 35,000 people south of Atlanta , left Margaret McCollom paralyzed below the waist . `` I have had had two families in Peachtree City -- my police family and my personal family . In light of the recent tragedy in my personal family , I need to continue to focus my time and efforts there , '' William McCollom said in a message posted Wednesday on the police department 's Facebook page . Medics and police rushed to the McColloms ' home early on January 1 after the chief called 911 to say he accidentally shot his wife as both were sleeping -- by inadvertently moving a gun that he had taken to bed with him . `` The gun was in the bed , I went to move it , put it to the side , and it went off , '' McCollom says in a recording of the 911 call . Later in the call , the operator asked McCollom , `` Were you asleep also when this happened ? '' `` Yes , '' the chief , 57 at the time , replied . Last week , Scott Ballard , district attorney for a several-county area that includes Peachtree City , said a Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe found the following : . -- McCollom went to bed on New Year 's Eve after consuming alcohol and sleep medication . -- After barking dogs awoke him in the middle of the night , he got up , picked up his Glock 9mm gun from a dresser and checked the house . After finding nothing , he returned to bed , placing the gun under the sheets . -- McCollom woke up to the sound of a gunshot that struck his wife 's right side . A wound on his right hand corroborates his claim that his palm blocked the ejection of a spent shell . -- Forensic analysis of the sheets shows that the gun was fired from under the sheets . Investigators concluded there was no evidence to suggest McCollum intentionally shot his wife , and that he did n't appear to have any motive to harm her , Ballard said . Still , Ballard said he would ask a grand jury on April 15 to indict McCollum on a misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct , `` since the chief took a loaded gun to bed with him after ingesting alcohol and sleep medication . '' Margaret McCollom has been staying at a spinal cord rehabilitation center , being treated for paralysis below the waist and other complications , Ballard said last week . McCollom was named the police chief in October after being interim chief for three months , CNN affiliate WSB reported . Magazines and websites regularly rank Peachtree City as one of the best places to live and raise a family . The community 's trademark : Residents putter around in golf carts on the community 's 90-plus miles of paved pathways . CNN 's Ralph Ellis contributed to this report .
Margaret McCollom says he accidentally shot wife while both were asleep . Shooting left William McCollom paralyzed below the waist . District attorney says he 'll seek misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct .