Park Ridge police have arrested a Chicago man who allegedly shot a 21-year-old friend in the neck and who police say lied to investigators about what happened.

Ramel Solaqa, 21, of the 2800 block of West Jerome Street, was charged Feb. 3 with reckless conduct stemming from the shooting of a Skokie man that occurred earlier that day on Higgins Road in Park Ridge.

Deputy Police Chief Lou Jogmen said an investigation determined that Solaqa, a front-seat passenger inside a car that was headed west on the 1400 block of Higgins Road, was holding a revolver and "manipulating it in a way that it accidentally discharged into the neck of his friend, who was driving."

Solaqa, who police say had a valid concealed-carry permit for the gun, then switched seats with the driver and drove west on Higgins in search of medical aid for his friend, Jogmen said.

"In the process, he threw his gun into the forest preserve," the deputy police chief said.

Solaqa eventually drove his friend to Presence Resurrection Medical Center, which is in the opposite direction on Chicago's Northwest Side, police said. The victim was later transferred via private ambulance to Presence St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, as Resurrection could not treat his gunshot would, according to police.

His injuries were described by police as not life-threatening.

Authorities from Chicago and the Illinois State Police determined the man had been wounded in Park Ridge and contacted the agency around 3:15 a.m., which is believed to about an hour after the incident occurred, Jogmen said.

Initially, both men told police that the shooting occurred when an unknown man approached their car at a traffic light near Mr. K's Garden and Materials Center and demanded money from the front-seat passenger, police said.

Jogmen said inconsistencies in their stories, combined with evidence at the scene, led investigators to question the men again, and both admitted that the shooting had been accidental and had not involved a robbery attempt.

"Their second version of what happened matches the physical evidence much better," Jogmen said.

Why the men allegedly made up the robbery story is not clear, he said.

An email message left with Solaqa was not immediately returned. A person who answered the phone at a number listed for Solaqa hung up after a reporter identified herself.

The handgun that was reportedly used was identified as a Taurus revolver and was recovered Saturday by local Community Emergency Response Team volunteers in the forest preserve along Higgins Road, west of Dee Road, Jogmen said.

Solaqa is not expected to face additional criminal charges in connection with the shooting because police believe it was accidental and because the victim was not interested in pursuing charges against his friend, Jogmen said.

jjohnson@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter: @Jen_Tribune