Ex-Biden staffer Nation Wood said he accidentally shot girlfriend in shower, charged with death

An ex-security staffer for President Joe Biden charged with killing his girlfriend in San Francisco told police it was a horrific accident.

Nation Wood, 25, was arrested Wednesday 24 hours after he allegedly shot and killed Samantha Emge, 22, a 2025 graduate of San Francisco State University, at the home they shared in the city’s Sunset District.

Wood says on his LinkedIn profile that he was as a part-time security staffer who worked with Biden’s White House Secret Service team starting in 2023.

A photo on his profile shows him smiling with former VP Kamala Harris in front of a presidential jet.

The former White House security staffer told police he accidentally shot Emge through the wall in their apartment while she was showering, according to The San Francisco Standard.

Wood was “dry-firing” his weapon and didn’t realize it was loaded when a bullet pierced the wall and killed Emge while she was showering, The Standard reports.

Dry firing is the act of pulling the trigger on an unloaded firearm to practice shooting without live rounds.

Wood was charged with involuntary manslaughter for killing Emge. That charge is brought when prosecutors believe a killing was unintentional.

Charging documents filed by the San Francisco district attorney say Wood killed Emge “without malice.” He faces up to four years in state prison if convicted.

Wood shot and killed Emge at their apartment near San Francisco’s Ocean Beach on Tuesday, according to police.

Officers arrived at the home at 10:43 p.m. and discovered Wood’s alleged victim suffering from a gunshot wound, cops said. Emge was taken to a hospital where she died.

Wood was booked at San Francisco County Jail and arraigned Friday, according to records kept by the San Francisco Sheriff.

He was being held on $300,000 bail and was required to wear an electronic monitoring device upon release.

He’s been released from custody and has his next hearing on Wednesday, according to court records. Wood’s LinkedIn page identifies him as an “independent pre-event site security advisor.”  

He worked at the White House through July 2025, finishing out his term under President Donald Trump, according to LinkedIn.

The alleged killer was a political science and government major at SFSU, graduating in May 2024, according to LinkedIn.

He posed with Harris and her husband, former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, in front of a presidential jet in 2024, in a post shared to his profile.

Wood smiles in the photo with the VP, Emhoff and others on a tarmac in front a jet engine painted with the telltale blue of U.S. presidential planes.

“Very grateful to have had the opportunity to help the VP with her trip to APEC in San Francisco,” the post says.

The caption is an apparent reference to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, an international summit of world powers held in San Francisco and that attended by Harris.

Emge worked in interior design, according to her LinkedIn profile. One of Emge’s friends said Wood was the victim’s boyfriend, according to The Standard.

The dead woman’s Instagram account shows the two together, with one post showing them smiling and sporting baseball caps.

“Travelled, ate, built a table, and became a real adult in 2025,” Emge captioned the post. The couple visited Yosemite in June, according to her Instagram.

Emge’s friends lamented her death on her profile. Some posters lashed out at Wood. “He didn’t deserve you,” wrote one commenter.

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