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Tenn. man accidentally shoots self, wife in church while discussing church shootings

Posted at 6:42 AM, Nov 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-17 09:24:39-05

A Tennessee man accidentally shot himself and his wife in church while the two discussed the recent church shootings, USA Today reports.

According to USA Today, it happened at the First United Methodist Church in Tellico Plains on Thursday afternoon.

USA Today reports the group of elder members were talking about the shootings, when a man in his 80s pulled out a .380 caliber Ruger handgun and said, "I carry my handgun everywhere."

The man allegedly removed the magazine, cleared the chamber and showed the gun off to the men. Then, he put the mag back in and put the gun in his holster.

According to USA Today, another member of the church walked up and asked to see it, so he pulled it back out and said the gun wasn't loaded. He then pulled the trigger, forgetting he re-chambered the weapon.

The bullet went through the man's palm and then into his wife's abdomen. Both were flown to the University of Tennessee medical center, according to USA Today, and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.