Londonderry Fish & Game Club President Rick Olson announced that on Saturday, June 11, a 52-year old man accidentally shot himself in the thigh at approximately 12:20 p.m. during a special training class at the club.
The man was in the process of re-holstering his weapon when the incident happened. The unidentified man was said to be new to firearms and relatively inexperienced.
Londonderry and Litchfield Police and emergency personnel responded and the man was transported to Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, where he was treated and released.
“Irrespective of one’s experience level with firearms, there are four cardinal rules that must be strictly followed when handling firearms – treat every firearm as if it is loaded, never let the muzzle of a firearm cover anything you do not want to shoot, keep your finger off the trigger until the firearm is on target and ready to shoot, and, know the target and what is beyond,” Olson said.
“In this case, the individual did not adhere to keeping his finger off the trigger when not on target and we bear witness to that sobering consequence today,” Olson added.
The Londonderry Fish & Game Club Board of Directors and officers will be examining the incident this week.