VERO BEACH – A 27-year-old man was flown to Holmes Regional Medical Center after he shot himself in the chest while cleaning his handgun, according to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.
Christoper Logan Clark was on the phone with his wife when the shooting occurred. Investigators don’t know whether the shooting was accidental or intentional.
At around 1:00 p.m. Sunday, deputies arrived at the Vero Beach Kamp campground in reference to a gunshot wound. Fire rescue crews and paramedics treated Clark for the gunshot wound.
Law enforcement officials searched Clark’s trailer where they smelled a strong odor of marijuana and saw a black handgun lying on the floor, according to the report.
Also on the floor were “drops of blood” and a bullet hole similar in size to a large caliber bullet, the report said.
Deputies also observed a bullet hole in the neighboring trailer that lined up with the first bullet hole.
A neighbor was walking around the site when he heard a gunshot. He then saw Clark standing outside his mobile home bleeding from the chest area.
Clark told deputies at the hospital that he and his wife are going through a divorce and were arguing on the phone earlier in the day.
According to Clark, he stated he was going to kill himself to her several times, but did not mean it.
A deputy stated that Clark accidentally shot himself while cleaning his gun and said “he had his thumb on the trigger and accidentally pulled the trigger.”
Police said Clark said he “just wanted to scare her and wanted some attention.” He then ran outside so that one of the neighbors could call 911.
Clark’s wife told deputies she had been arguing with him for the past several weeks. Clark told her this week that he wanted to kill himself. She said he usually says that to get attention so that the two will get back together.
On the day of the gunshot, she was on the phone with Clark when he mentioned again that he wanted to kill himself. She said she “heard a gunshot and the line disconnected,” the report said.
