CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A man is in critical condition after he accidentally discharged his firearm and was struck in the abdomen.
Police said a man in his 70s entered a Madison Street restaurant Monday around 9:25 a.m. As he was moving to sit down on a stool, he dropped a cloth bag that was in his hand to the floor. When the bag dropped, a popping noise was heard by others in the restaurant.
The man sat on the stool and asked for an ambulance to be called because he had been shot. When officers arrived, a customer and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office deputy were holding the man and applying pressure to the gunshot wound to his abdomen.
The man was taken by LifeFlight to Nashville in critical condition. As of 8 a.m. Tuesday the man was still in critical condition.
Police found a 22 caliber revolver inside the cloth bag, strapped into a holster with the hammer forward. When the bag was dropped, the hammer of the revolver hit the floor, causing it to discharge.
There was a distinct chip on the corner of the hammer where it appeared to have hit the floor. The man is a TN carry permit holder.
