Bellingham man arrested after accidental shooting; ‘didn’t know gun was loaded’
Bellingham police arrested a man suspected of shooting a person in the head in what may have been an accidental non-fatal shooting.
The man who called 911, Cristian Lara-Guzman, 18, said on the phone, “so my friend, he has a gun and I didn’t know there’s one in the chamber. I didn’t know there’s one in the chamber,” according to the court documents.
Police responded around 7:05 p.m. May 18 in the 4200 block of Creston Way. They arrived to find an unresponsive person with a gunshot wound to the head, who was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center by the Bellingham Fire Department, according to Lt. Claudia Murphy with the Bellingham Police Department. He remains in critical condition.
Police interviewed two other people at the residence.
Guzman was arrested at the scene and has been charged with first-degree assault, a class A felony that has a maximum sentence of life in prison. He also has been charged with first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, a class B felony.
Bail has been set for $1 million with an arraignment hearing scheduled for May 30.
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