A rural Udall man was injured Sunday afternoon after a shotgun he was using fired unexpectedly and hit the man in the leg and foot, undersheriff Bill Mueller said.
Andrew C. Dill, 19, was outside with an older brother when the incident occurred around 5 p.m. Dill was said to have been chambering a shell when the gun discharged.
"I’d say he’s very fortunate it wasn’t worse than it was," Mueller said. "There was a lot of bleeding but he hit the fleshy parts of his leg and foot."
Dill was listed in fair condition Monday at Wesley Medical Center, according to a spokesperson. He was transported directly to Wichita following the incident.
Mueller said investigators will examine the gun to see if there was some sort of mechanical malfunction that caused it to fire unexpectedly. The incident also could have been a simple case of operator error, he said.
Investigators have yet to have much time to interview Dill but did talk to the brother that was with him when the shot was fired.
"I know it scared his brother to death," Mueller said. "We were able to talk to him quite a bit more than we’ve talked to the victim, so far."
The incident occurred at 1540 K-15 Highway, according to the report.
