Man shoots himself, wife in church after discussion on shootings

Group of elderly eating early Thanksgiving meal

A group of around 20 elderly people were gathered in a Tennessee church for an early Thanksgiving meal when one man accidentally shot his hand gun, injuring himself and his wife, reports The Washington Post.

While sitting down to eat, the parishioners started discussing gun safety in wake of the Texas church shooting earlier this month. This is when the 81-year-old man reached into his holster and grabbed his .38-caliber Ruger handgun, removing the magazine and clearing the chamber in order to show the others. When he was done with the demonstration, he put the magazine back into the gun and put the gun back in its holster.

Later, when a fellow church-goer asked to see the weapon after missing it the first time, the man went to grab the gun and accidentally pulled the trigger. The stray bullet wet across the palm of the man, and through the abdomen and right forearm of his wife who was sitting in a wheelchair next to him.

The man and his wife were flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in critical condition, but have since been declared stabilized. Their names have not yet been released.


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