Female accidentally shot 'playing with' firearm
Feb. 8—A woman from Lawrence County, Ohio, was transported to a local hospital after messing around with a .38-caliber revolver with her boyfriend Thursday morning, according to police.
The Lawrence County Sheriff's office is investigating a shooting after a woman was shot accidentally Thursday while playing with a gun.
Upon arrival of deputies, Melissa Callicoat, 46, and her 37-year-old boyfriend, Jeffery Leffingwell, of Proctorville, Ohio, advised the sheriff's office they were in in bed "playing with" a .38-caliber revolver around 6:40 a.m. when it accidentally discharged, striking Callicoat in the lower abdomen, according to Lawrence County Sheriff Jeff Lawless.
Lawless expressed the importance of treating all firearms as live weapons ready to discharge.
"A firearm is a deadly weapon, it should never be played with," he said. "Certainly all guns should be treated as if they are loaded at all times. In my 38-year career, I have seen many tragedies with handguns. Most thought they were unloaded and they weren't.
Leffingwell was arrested and placed in the Lawrence County Jail, according to a news release, "for having weapons under Disability ORC 2923.13, an F-3 because he is a convicted felon and cannot be in possession of a firearm."
Callicoat was transported to St. Mary's hospital in Huntington and the incident remains under investigation at this time.
(606) 326-2657 — ajohnson@dailyindependent.com
