BOOTHBAY, Maine — A 66-year-old Boothbay man was charged with reckless conduct with a firearm Monday evening after allegedly shooting a neighbor in the leg following a dispute.

Thomas Proctor Jr. told deputies that he shot 46-year-old Jeff Hayward, another resident of an apartment building on Hamilton Gardens Road, in the leg following an argument, Lt. Michael Murphy of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday in a release.





Hayward was taken by a friend to Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta, and transferred from there to Maine Medical Center in Portland for treatment of his injury, which Murphy said is not considered life-threatening.

Proctor told police he shot Hayward with a .45-caliber pistol by accident during an argument, when he was trying to shoot the floor. Murphy declined to comment on the nature of the argument.

Deputies seized two firearms at the scene.

Proctor was charged with Class C felony reckless conduct with a firearm and taken to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset, where he remains on $5,000 cash bail pending a court appearance Wednesday.