Oceanside police are investigating a shooting early Monday that left a man with a gunshot wound to the chest that may have been accidental and self-inflicted.

A neighbor saw the man exiting his house on Thomas Street near Thunder Drive with a chest injury around 6:41 a.m. Monday and called police, said Oceanside police Lt. Leonard Cosby.

When officers arrived, the victim told them he was removing his gun from his shoulder holster when it accidentally discharged.

The man was taken by ambulance to the Tri City Medical Center and then flown by helicopter to Scripps Hospital. His condition was not known, Cosby said.


Cosby said he had no information on the man’s identity and did not believe he worked in law enforcement. The man’s neighbor told police had had only lived in the home a couple of months, Cosby said.