A Rochester man may face criminal charges after he accidentally fired his handgun Wednesday afternoon in the Sunbird’s parking lot, shooting himself in the hand and his wife in the leg, while he was trying to put his loaded handgun into a new holster.
Both the 40-year-old man and his wife, whose names have not been released by police, were initially transported to Providence Centralia Hospital shortly after noon Wednesday, according to Chehalis police. The man’s wife, a 35-year-old Rochester-area woman, was later transported to Harborview Medical Center. She likely has a broken leg.
The man and his wife went to the Sunbird Shopping Center so he could purchase a new holster for his 9 mm semiautomatic Kel Tec handgun, said Chehalis police Sgt. Gary Wilson. After purchasing it, the couple returned to the parking lot, his wife was sitting in the car and he was standing up next to the driver’s side door when he attempted to put the handgun in the holster.
The handgun accidentally fired, and the bullet traveled through his hand and into his wife’s thigh, Wilson said. The man has had his concealed pistol license for several years.
The case is still under investigation and it is not clear if there will be criminal charges filed against the man, Wilson said.
“It’s an unfortunate accidental discharge,” Wilson said. “He shouldn’t have been handling that weapon in a parking lot where people were walking around. That wasn’t the time or place to do that.”
