Brandon Twp.- Guns and alcohol don’t mix.
A 61-year-old township man shot himself in the leg about 6 p.m., May 20, while cleaning his gun and drinking.
According to police reports, Brandon deputies responded to the man’s home in the 3600 block of Pinoak in the Sashabaw Meadows Mobile Home Park after the man called 9-1-1 and stated he had accidentally discharged his .45 ACP semi-automatic handgun, shooting himself in the leg. He stated was was alone and needed medical attention.
Upon arrival of the deputies, Brandon Fire Department medics were tending to the man’s injury. The deputies observed fresh blood on the man’s left leg, blood on a reclining chair and an approximate 1-foot in diameter pool of slightly coagulated blood on the floor under the recliner. A Colt .45 was laying on the floor next to the right armrest of the recliner and a loaded .380 Colt handgun was sitting on the end table next to the recliner, as well as a fresh mixed alcoholic drink. The man was repeatedly stating he was fine and didn’t need to go to the hospital. safety whatsoever. If you’re drinking, you shouldn’t have the gun in hand, let alone attempt to take it apart.?
Deputies observed the .45 Colt had ‘stovepiped? in the handgun with the spent casing and a new bullet jamming the slide action. A deputy unloaded both firearms. The man was given a preliminary breathalyzer test which had results of .167 percent blood alcohol content approximately 25 minutes after the initial call. Another gun, a .38 Special Smith and Wesson revolver, was found in the coffee table drawer, which the deputy also unloaded. All three firearms were taken for safekeeping, analysis and to be tested for integrated ballistic identification. The man was transported to the hospital for treatment and was in stable condition upon departure.

The man, who said he is licensed to carry a concealed pistol, told the deputies he had been drinking and eating his steak dinner and because his father had previoiusly advised him to not leave firearms loaded, he felt it necessary to get his Colt .45 out of the coffee table drawer and unload it. He was holding the .45 in his right hand when the gun ‘went off? and he shot his left upper leg. The bullet exited his leg and into the floor baseboard.
‘The rule of thumb when cleaning a gun is make sure the weapon is empty and never have your finger on the trigger mantle when attempting to dismantle a weapon,? said Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Greg Glover. ‘He used no gun