SEQUIM — A Port Angeles man was treated and discharged from Olympic Medical Center on Sunday after he was shot by a fellow hunter.
Thomas Hull, 46, was hunting off Palo Alto Road with Joseph Sotomayor, 45, also of Port Angeles, and the two were unloading their rifles at about 5:30 p.m. after finishing hunting, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Sotomayor was unloading his rifle when it discharged.
The bullet traveled through the passenger seat, the center console and through the driver’s seat and broke into fragments, the news release said.
Not life-threatening
Several fragments hit Hull’s leg, and none of the injuries were life-threatening, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Sotomayer then drove Hull to an area near the 700 block of Louella Road where they could get cell phone reception, and the pair called 9-1-1.
The shooting was an accident, Clallam County Sheriff’s Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron said in the news release.
“Both men were acquainted with firearms, and they were trying to be careful and follow proper safety procedures by clearing their weapons before getting into a vehicle,” he wrote in the news release.
“Still, a firearm accidentally discharged, and someone was injured.
“Thankfully, a much worse outcome did not occur, but the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind everyone that every safety precaution must be taken at all times when dealing with firearms.”
