Christopher Dornblaser

505-5436/@YDDornblaser

Police say a Red Lion man, 78, accidentally shot his wife early Saturday morning.

His wife was sent to York Hospital and is in stable condition, according to police.

Police are investigating the shooting as accidental.

A 78-year-old Red Lion woman was sent to the hospital after her husband accidentally shot her early Saturday morning, police said,

According to state police, Joan Reichard was shot in the chest by her husband, also 78, in their home in the 300 block of West Maple Street at about 3:30 a.m.

State police spokesman Trooper Brent Miller said Reichard was in the bathroom when her husband shot her with a small handgun.

"Something startled him, woke him up," he said. The injuries were non-life threatening.

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Miller said Reichard's husband has medical issues that might have factored into it. He did not go into specifics of the medical issues.

According to a release from state police, Reichard's husband called 911 and told police he had accidentally shot his wife, believing she was an intruder. Reichard and her husband were the only people in the home at the time, Miller said.

Miller said investigators are not leaning toward charging the husband, whose name was not released.

"It's being investigated as an accidental shooting at this point," he said.

Miller said state police will defer to the York County District Attorney's Office to determine if any charges will be filed.

— Reach Christopher Dornblaser at cdornblaser@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter at @YDDornblaser.