A man who allegedly shot himself in the backside after dropping his .22 revolver while hunting on Thanksgiving Day will be charged with a felony, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation announced in a press release today.
Timothy E. Kelly, a 47-year-old Esperance resident, will be charged with not having a valid pistol permit for the handgun and for hunting deer with .22 caliber rimfire ammunution. The pistol permit violation is a felony.
Kelly was hunting with a famliy member near Sloansville on November 22, the DEC press release states. They had just shot a deer with a legal weapon and were approaching it when Kelly dropped the pistol, which went off, firing one round.
Reports differ about where exactly the round struck Kelly. The Schoharie County Sheriff's Office told the Daily Star and the Schenectady Gazette that Kelly shot himself in the "lower back." The DEC press release, however, uses the term "backside," which implies a wound that's further south.
Either way, the injury seems to have been relatively minor. According to the DEC, Kelly was sent to Albany Medical Center for treatment of "non-life-threatening" injuries. He was soon released, acording to a report in the Daily Star.
Read the full press release from the DEC below:
DEC CHARGES ESPERANCE MAN IN HUNTING RELATED SHOOTING
On December 5, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) police charged Timothy E. Kelly, 47, of Esperance, Schoharie County, with criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, a class C felony, DEC Regional Director Gene Kelly announced today.
The charges stem from an investigation of a Nov. 22 shooting incident in town of Esperance conducted by DEC and the Schoharie County Sheriff’s Office.
“I would like to thank Schoharie County Sheriff Anthony Desmond for his assistance in bringing this case forward,” said Regional Director Kelly. “We encourage anyone with information about suspicious hunting practices to contact our 24-hour dispatch hot line at 1-877-457-5680.”
Timothy Kelly was deer hunting with a relative and while approaching a deer that had been legally shot, Mr. Kelly accidentally dropped a .22 caliber revolver which then discharged one round striking himself in the backside. Mr. Kelly was transported to Albany Medical Center Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Mr. Kelly did not have a valid New York State pistol permit for the unregistered handgun, which is a felony. Mr. Kelly was also charged with hunting deer with .22 caliber rim fire ammunition, which is a violation of the NYS Environmental Conservation Law. The class C felony is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Mr. Kelly is due to appear in Esperance Town Court on January 2, 2013 to answer the charges.
