ROME TWP., MI – There might have been an intruder because Gregory Hunt had his gun ready, said Hunt's mother, Carol.

She believes he slipped on a set of stairs in his garage, where she had stumbled before, lost his balance and the .38-caliber weapon fired. A bullet hit a major artery in his leg, and the situation escalated quickly. There was no way he could survive, Carol Hunt said Friday, Oct. 17.

Alone at his home northwest of Adrian, Gregory Hunt, 41, died Wednesday in what police called an "accidental shooting."

Carol Hunt, who had been in contact with authorities, called it a "freak, stupid" accident, a "really bad" mishap that killed a skilled marksman, accomplished hunter and Cambridge Township police officer.

"He was a really good guy, really good friend, good son," Carol Hunt said before a surge of emotion compelled her to end the conversation.

Gregory Hunt, a sergeant with the township police department, graduated from Napoleon High School, according to his obituary, and served four years in the U.S. Navy, his mother said. He was a nuclear weapons technician stationed for a time in the Mediterranean, she said, before he earned a degree from Kalamazoo Valley Community College and worked for 14 years in Cambridge Township.

Hunting and fishing were his passions. "He's got a bunch of big buck head stuffings and antlers, got a house full," said his father, Charles Hunt of Napoleon.

Gregory Hunt lived by himself in the country, belonged to the National Rifle Association, served as a police firearms instructor, and took part in the Governor's Match, a shooting competition in Jackson, his obituary stated. As a boy he was involved with the Jackson County Outdoor Club, his mother said.

"He was real big on taking care of his guns and other people's guns. He was really into weaponry," said Charles Hunt, who had little information about the circumstances of his son's death.

He's had "1,000 different thoughts" about what might have occurred. "You don't know how bad I wish I knew what happened."

The Lenawee County Sheriff's Office released a brief statement Thursday, and Sheriff Jack Welsh was unavailable Friday to answer further questions. Cambridge Township police Chief Larry Wibbeler did not return a message left Friday at his department.

An investigation was continuing and detectives were awaiting autopsy and lab results before they could make a final determination, according to the sheriff's office statement.

Charles Hunt said someone was sent to his son's home when Gregory Hunt did not arrive for a shift scheduled to begin at noon Wednesday.

Gregory Hunt was a "real good police officer" who got along well with the chief, Charles Hunt said.

About a month ago, Gregory Hunt returned from a fishing trip with his chief in the Ludington area, Carol Hunt said.

"He was never, ever depressed. He was just really happy," she said.

Her son was fun, she said. "He had a quiet side, too, a private side."