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Letter to the editor

Man cleaning handgun accidentally shoots self

By COLLEEN JENKINS
Published July 24, 2004

CITRUS HILLS - A man accidentally shot himself Friday afternoon while cleaning his handgun and had to be flown to Tampa General Hospital.

Multiple Citrus County sheriff's deputies sped to the home at 345 E Samuel Court about 2:25 p.m. upon hearing reports of a gunshot victim.

But they quickly learned no crime had occurred.

Eugene Bright, 65, was alone in the small white shed behind his home cleaning guns. He had just finished cleaning a shotgun and had moved on to a .38-caliber revolver went it discharged, sheriff's spokeswoman Gail Tierney said.

The bullet went through Bright's upper left chest and exited his body at the left shoulder blade, Tierney said.

The gun was still wet with cleaning solution when deputies arrived, she said.

"He didn't know it was loaded," Sgt. Jason Shephard said at the scene.

Though Bright was conscious and able to tell law enforcement workers what had happened, emergency medical service workers decided to airlift him as a safety precaution, Tierney said. They didn't have to go far to get Bright to the helicopter: A large grassy field across the street from his white stucco home served as the landing pad.

A woman who answered the door at Bright's home said his wife did not want to comment on the accident. She was inside the house when the gun discharged and was unhurt.

Approximately 15,000 unintentional gunshot wounds are treated each year in U.S. emergency rooms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tierney had a safety recommendation for those who decide to clean their guns.

"It's a very good idea to check first that they are not loaded," she said.

- Staff researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

[Last modified July 24, 2004, 01:08:19]