Man shoots himself in leg with stranger’s gun during chance encounter at Bellingham park
A man shot himself in the leg with a stranger’s gun in Bellingham, police say.
A man walking through the woods in the area of Bennett Drive and Airport Way around 11 a.m. Friday, June 21 came across another man who was carrying a gun. The first man asked if the gun was real. The man with the gun said it was and let him hold the weapon, according to Megan Peters with the Bellingham Police Department.
The first man shot himself in the leg almost immediately, Peters said. He told police he didn’t know the gun was loaded.
The second man took the gun back and ran off. His location and that of the gun are unknown. While the weapon is a handgun, the exact model has not been identified by authorities. The weapon was described as looking “gaudy and fake” by a woman who was with the injured man, Peters said.
Police arrived at the scene and an ambulance transported the injured man to St. Joseph Medical Center.
Peters said police “wouldn’t mind talking” to the other man involved in the incident, but there is no probable cause for charging him with any crimes at this time.
This story was originally published June 24, 2024 at 3:10 PM.
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