Bend man accidentally shoots himself in the leg, then drives to hospital, passes out, crashes into pillar

He and friend had gone shooting, were drinking bourbon and cleaning guns

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A man who was cleaning his gun when he accidentally shot himself in the leg drove himself to the hospital Tuesday night, but lost consciousness and crashed into a pillar at a parking structure near St. Charles Bend, police said. The incident prompted a brief lockout at the hospital.

Officers responded around 10:45 p.m. Tuesday to a 911 caller reporting his friend had shot himself, then crashed his car into a pole near the northeast Bend hospital, Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller said.

Officers found the car had hit a pillar and came to rest on a sidewalk near an entrance to The Center on Neff Road, Miller said.

The man, whom police did not identify, was found lying by the entrance to The Center with a gunshot wound to his left thigh. A security guard was rendering aid to the man, and officers applied a second tourniquet to stanch the bleeding before he was taken by ambulance to the ER at the nearby hospital.

Miller said the man’s friend, who accompanied him to the hospital and called 911, told officers the pair had been shooting handguns earlier in the day and returned to the injured man’s apartment on NE Purcell Boulevard.

He said they were drinking bourbon and cleaning their guns when the man accidentally depressed the trigger and fired a round into his own left thigh. Miller said he then drove himself to the hospital, but lost consciousness and hit the pillar near the entrance to The Center.

St. Charles was placed in a lockout for less than an hour during the incident, officials said.

Miller said the investigation of the incident is continuing.

She also said Bend Police wanted to thank the St. Charles security team for their assistance in the incident.