Juneau police are investigating what they are calling an accidental shooting near Lemon Creek this afternoon.
Police say a 25-year-old Juneau man suffered life-threatening injuries after he put a .22-caliber rifle in his mouth and pulled the trigger “to find out if it was loaded.”
The man, who was not immediately identified, was at an apartment complex on Glacier Highway about 2:20 p.m. and was preparing to go out to a shooting range with a group of adults, police said.
Four adults and an infant were in the home at the time when the victim began handling the rifle, police said. Another adult expressed concern about the infant being in the area and asked him to be careful because the gun might be loaded, according to police.
“The man joked that there was one way to find out if it was loaded and, at that point, he reportedly put the rifle in his mouth and pulled the trigger,” police said in a statement.
Police arriving on the scene and found the man unresponsive with life-threatening injuries. He was rushed to Bartlett Regional Hospital and was being prepared Friday evening for a medevac to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Police say it does not appear drugs or alcohol was involved in the shooting.
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