Oconee County Man Shoots, Wounds Self and a Relative with Single Bullet

A Watkinsville man and his Athens relative were treated at an area hospital Saturday night, July 13, after both were wounded by a single gun shot.

The wife of the 26-year-old who'd been holding the .22 caliber pistol told Oconee County Sheriff's deputies that the weapon accidentally discharged inside their Moreland Drive home about 11:45 p.m.

She said her husband was seated while holding the gun in his right hand when it fired.  The bullet passed through her husband's left hand and lodged in the right forearm of a 21-year-old family member seated across from her husband, according to the deputy's report. 

"She was adamant that it was an accident," the deputy wrote. 

The gun, an Iver Johnson TP22, was located inside of the residence and secured and investigators were called to the scene.

Chief Deputy Lee Weems said that the investigation determined the shooting was accidental. 

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