‘I just shot myself.’ Prosecutor’s gun goes off inside Georgia courthouse, deputies say
A prosecutor was showing his gun to a colleague when it went off inside a courthouse in east Georgia this month, according to deputies.
The 42-year-old assistant district attorney, who McClatchy News has declined to name, was injured by the “unintentional discharge,” shooting himself in the upper leg, Effingham County sheriff’s deputies wrote in an incident report. It happened just before 4:30 p.m. April 4 at the old Effingham County Courthouse in Springfield.
He was in a fellow prosecutor’s office when the two struck up a conversation about guns, the report reads. His colleague told him he was thinking of buying a SIG model 320 handgun, to which the ADA replied that he was currently carrying that exact gun. His colleague then asked to see it.
As he took the weapon from its holster, it fired, deputies said. The “very loud and sharp crack” surprised his colleague, who told deputies he initially thought the ADA was “kidding” and had fired a shot at the floor. But that wasn’t the case.
When asked if he shot the floor, the prosecutor said, “I just shot myself,” according to the report.
Another prosecutor rushed from his office down the hall after hearing the gunshot, according to deputies. He offered to call 911 but the ADA who was shot objected, not knowing the extent of his injuries. He collapsed a short time later.
A grayish hue came over his face, prosecutors told deputies, and he began “grunting” and “drooling.” By this time, the third prosecutor had dialed 911 and the emergency responders were on their way.
Investigators arrived to the scene to find “an intermediate sized piece of human tissue and bloodstains” on the floor, as well as “a trail of blood droplets.” The ADA’s gun, which had been cleared and set on a desk, was taken as evidence and later returned.
In an April 6 interview, the ADA told investigators he believed the gun’s trigger “caught a button on his jacket,” causing it to fire. No other injuries were reported.
The Effingham County Sheriff’s Office has since closed the case, and charges aren’t expected, a department spokesperson confirmed to McClatchy News.
Springfield is about 30 miles northwest of Savannah.
This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 6:12 PM with the headline "‘I just shot myself.’ Prosecutor’s gun goes off inside Georgia courthouse, deputies say."