BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — There will apparently be no charges after a man from Virginia who reportedly had a history in law enforcement accidentally shot his mom in the hip while they were riding in a car.
Morgan County Sheriff Johnnie Walter did not identify the man nor the victim.
He tells the Panhandle News Network the family members were traveling through the area for a graduation Friday.
The call came in from the Cacapon South area.
“It appears that there were four people in the vehicle. They were from Virginia. They were up here for some type of graduation from a college. The gentleman in the back was, I believe, retired or active law enforcement from Virginia,” the sheriff says.
The man was “adjusting his holster, which was on his hip, and somehow the gun went off, went through his pants leg, through the back of the seat into his mother’s hip.”
Walter said last he’d heard the woman was in stable condition after being transported to Winchester Medical Center.
As to whether any charges would be filed, Sheriff Walter said likely not, as all the witnesses agreed it was an ‘accidental’ shooting.
No, there will not (be any charges,” he said. “the two witnesses and the victim said it was accidental,” Walter says.
To Sheriff Walter, though, “It’s negligence. I mean, it’s negligence discharge. There’s no such thing as accidental,” he says. “Gun safety is the utmost importance.”
