Deschutes County

Deputies say his pistol dislodged from holster, fired a round

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A Redmond man scouting for mountain bike riding trails on BLM land northwest of Redmond was seriously injured Sunday afternoon when his pistol fell out of his holster and fired a round, striking him in the lower leg, Deschutes County sheriff's deputies said.

County 911 dispatchers got a call around 1:30 p.m. from a man reporting that his hiking partner, Chad Gatley, 24, had accidentally shot himself in the lower leg, Lt. Mike Biondi said.

Several deputies and Redmond Fire Department medics responded to the area. GPS coordinates showed Gatley was on top of a butte on BLM property about 3/4 of a mile east of Buckhorn Road, near a motorcycle riding area, Biondi said.

Medics found Gatley and began to treat him as deputies helped them bring Gatley down the butte by wheeled litter to a waiting ambulance, the lieutenant said. He was taken to St. Charles Bend with serious injuries.

Biondi said an investigation found that Gatley was legally carrying a .40-caliber pistol in a holster as he and friends were hiking and scouting mountain bike riding trails.

"Gatley had been scouting in a ravine and was climbing back out when his pistol dislodged from the holster and fired one round, striking him in the lower leg," Biondi said in a news release.

"He wasn’t really sure how it came out," the lieutenant told NewsChannel 21, "but I guess far enough to get something into the trigger guard to touch one off."