Man discussing mass shootings, showing off gun at church shot himself and his wife

An 80-year-old Tennessee man was showing off his gun during a discussion on church shootings on Thursday when he pulled the trigger and accidentally shot himself and his wife.

The man has not been named by police, but has been identified by multiple media outlets as being in his 80s. He was at the First United Methodist Church in Tellico Plains, which is about 70 miles southwest of Knoxville.

The group was discussing guns in churches at a Thanksgiving luncheon, when the man pulled out his .380 caliber Ruger pistol and said, “I carry my handgun everywhere,” the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

He removed the gun’s magazine, cleared the chamber and showed the gun off, WATE reported. When he got the gun back, the man put the magazine in and apparently loaded the pistol before placing it back in its holster.

But someone else wanted to see the gun. So he pulled it back out and said, “With this loaded indicator, I can tell that it’s not loaded,” the News Sentinel reported. He then pulled the trigger.

The round that fired sliced the palm of his hand and struck his wife in the abdomen, the paper reported. Both were rushed to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He is not expected to face charges.