A 15-year old Jasper, Georgia boy was struck by shrapnel at a Walmart when Pickens County Sheriff Donnie Craig’s pistol accidentally discharged during a “Shop with the Sheriff” event at the store.  The boy’s injuries were minor. 

According to the Sheriff’s office, the gun was in the sheriff’s waistband went it went off.  The bullet struck the floor and hit the boy in a nearby check-out line. The shrapnel that ricocheted was about the size of a pencil eraser, the office announced.

“At the time of the discharge, the weapon was not being handled and the weapon was secured in the waistband,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post. “Sheriff Craig has stated how thankful he is that no one was seriously injured in the incident.”

Source:

Chelsea Prince, “Teen Hit by Ricochet When North Georgia Sheriff’s Gun Goes Off Inside Walmart,” The Atlanta Journal Constitution (December 19, 2019).