A 79-year-old man accidentally shot his leg Monday night in the Washington Heights neighborhood on the South Side.

The man told investigators he was in his backyard in the 9900 block of South Vincennes Avenue about 10:20 p.m. when he accidentally shot himself, Chicago police said.

He originally told officers he was approached by someone who shot him multiple times, police said. The man later admitted that the gunshots were self-inflicted.

He was treated at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said. Area South detectives are not pursuing charges.