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Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. Surgeon General, shot and killed her father when she was a teenager. According to The New York Times, the accidental shooting occurred when Nesheiwat was 13 years old.
Nesheiwat told police that she went into her father's bedroom to get scissors from his tacklebox while he was sleeping. As she reached for the box, it fell over, and the contents spilled out.
"Something fell out of it, and there was a loud noise," she told officers, as detailed in a 1990 police report. "I saw blood on my father's ear."
Investigators determined that her father's .380 caliber handgun fell out of the box and discharged and shot him in the head. The coroner ruled his death an "accidental shooting."
The Times report noted that the traumatic incident led Nesheiwat to pursue a career in medicine and become a doctor.
Dr. Nesheiwat currently works as a medical director at CityMD, overseeing a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. She specializes in emergency and family medicine, having completed her medical education and residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, with an ER rotation at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Dr. Nesheiwat is known for her advocacy in preventive medicine and public health, emphasizing the importance of affordable, quality healthcare. However, her views on certain health policies have sparked debate. While she supports vaccines, she has expressed skepticism about some COVID-19 vaccine guidelines, suggesting that for many, especially young people, the risks might outweigh the benefits, although she acknowledges these risks are negligible for most.