While a man was cutting down a tree on Shelter Island this past Friday, his gun accidentally went off in his pocket and he sustained a gunshot wound to his upper thigh, according to emergency responders.
At 2:17 p.m. Friday, according to a Juneau Police Department bulletin, a call came in reporting a man had suffered an accidental gunshot wound on Shelter Island, which is about 15 miles northwest of Juneau. Capital City Fire/Rescue Assistant Chief Tod Chambers said one JPD officer and two CCFR responders took a Temsco helicopter over to the island to pick the man up.
The 62-year-old man had suffered a gunshot wound to his upper thigh, Chambers confirmed. JPD Lt. Krag Campbell said the man had been cutting a tree when his gun, a .357 revolver, went off. Campbell said the gun appears to have been “carried loose in a pocket” when it went off. Campbell said the gun belonged to the man, and he believes the man lives on the island. Someone who was with the man called for help, Campbell said.
The man was taken to Bartlett Regional Hospital, and Chambers said the whole trip went smoothly.
“It actually went fairly quickly,” Chambers said. “They were only on the ground for 20 minutes, with a six-minute flight each way.”
BRH spokesperson Katie Bausler said the man was stabilized at the hospital and was then medevaced to Harborview Hospital in Seattle. A Harborview spokesperson did not have an update on the man’s status as of Monday afternoon.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
