An Oceanside man cleaning his handgun in an upstairs apartment accidentally fired the weapon, sending a bullet into the apartment below and critically injuring a woman, police said Wednesday.
The gun owner called 911 just before 11 p.m. Tuesday to report the shooting at the apartment complex at 1320 Bush Street, Oceanside Police spokesman Tom Bussey said.
Responding officers arrived on the scene quickly and found the gun owner administrating first aid to the victim, a Huntington Beach woman who was house sitting at her daughter’s apartment, Bussey said. The woman was sitting on a couch watching television when the gunshot came through the ceiling and struck her in the leg, causing a life-threatening injury.
Officers took over first aid for the woman who was unconscious and barely breathing when fire units and paramedics took her to an ambulance, Bussey said. She was rushed to a nearby trauma center and admitted to the critical care unit.
Detectives from the police department’s crimes of violence unit are investigating the shooting and believe it was accidental, Bussey said. The shooter is not in custody.
—City News Service