Oconee County Man Says He Accidentally Shot Himself in Leg

A 36-year-old Oconee County man was treated at St. Mary's Hospital last Tuesday evening, April 16, after apparently accidentally shooting himself in the leg.

The man told the deputy, who had responded to the hospital around 7:30 p.m., that as he was removing a .22 caliber revolver from the front pocket of his pants to place on a shelf in the living room of his home, the weapon discharged once.  The man was struck in the left leg below the calf muscle, according to the deputy's report.  The path of the bullet was visible, just under the skin, the deputy wrote, and the bullet lodged in the shin bone.

Though no one witnessed the incident, "the angle of the bullet path was consistent with a weapon being fired accidentally in a downward motion," the deputy noted.

Deputies were unable to locate the gun at the North Burson Avenue residence, according to the report.