A Bend man accidentally shot himself in the leg while cleaning his gun and then crashed his car into a parking lot structure while driving to the hospital. According to Bend Police, at approximately 10:46 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 8, Bend Police responded to a 911 caller reporting that his friend had shot himself and then crashed his car into a pole at the parking garage at St. Charles Bend.
When officers arrived, they found a 2019 silver Subaru Legacy that had hit a pillar and come to rest on the sidewalk near an entrance to The Center, 2200 NE Neff Road. An adult male was laying by the entrance to The Center with a gunshot to his left thigh.
A security guard was rendering aid to the injured man, and officers applied a second tourniquet to stanch the bleeding. He was transferred by ambulance to the St. Charles Bend emergency room.
The man’s friend, who had called 911 and accompanied him to the hospital, reported that the pair had been shooting handguns earlier in the day and returned to the injured man’s apartment in the 1600 block of NE Purcell Boulevard, where they were drinking bourbon and cleaning their guns. The man accidentally depressed the trigger and fired a round into his own left thigh. He then drove himself to the hospital, but lost consciousness and hit the pillar near the entrance of The Center, which is near St. Charles Bend.
St. Charles Bend was placed in a lockout during the incident. Bend Police wish to thank the St. Charles security team for their assistance in this incident.
The case remains under investigation.
