COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Coldwater Police say a man accidentally shot himself late Thursday night with a stolen weapon and then lied about the circumstances surrounding the shooting when he was interviewed by police.
Coldwater Public Safety Director Mark Bartell says officers were dispatched to the Community Health Center of Branch County for a man with a gunshot wound.
Bartell says initial statements made by the 24-year-old Coldwater man indicated he was shot in the back yard of his residence on Waterman Avenue by an unknown male.
A female friend who was also at the residence during the incident then drove the man to the hospital.
According to Bartell, officers through interviews were able to determine the man was not being truthful about what was initially reported and found that the man had accidentally shot himself while in possession of a stolen firearm.
Attempts were made to hide the firearm but officers found it hidden on the man’s property.
Bartell says the man suffered extensive injuries to his hand and thigh area. He was initially treated at C.H.C. before being transferred to Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo.
Coldwater Police will forward a report to the Branch County Prosecutor’s Office that will request numerous charges
