West Lebanon
Ivan Deutsch was transported to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries following the noon shooting.
Lebanon Police Chief Richard Mello said Deutsch was attempting to unload a pistol when it accidentally discharged in his lap.
Deutsch didn’t have a permit for the gun, Mello said.
The bullet entered the top portion of Deutsch’s leg near his groin area, Mello said. Deutsch was alone inside the vehicle at the time.
Deutsch had been waiting for his girlfriend in a pull-off area near the entrance of the cemetery off Pleasant Street. He isn’t allowed on the premises of his girlfriend’s apartment, which is in the area of the cemetery, so he was waiting to meet up with her, Mello said.
Deutsch’s girlfriend was seen pushing a child in a stroller near the vehicle Deutsch had been sitting in shortly after ambulance personnel brought him to the hospital.
Police interviewed the woman, who wasn’t identified by police.
Deutsch did not have a license for the .380-caliber pistol he was carrying, Mello wrote in a news release that was issued in the hours after the incident.
In New Hampshire, authorized gun owners must have a permit to carry a concealed weapon. No permit is needed to open carry, however.
Carrying a loaded gun inside a vehicle is considered a concealed carry, Mello said, therefore, Deutsch should have had a permit.
When the ambulance arrived, Deutsch was quickly loaded onto a stretcher and taken to the hospital.
An area company towed the SUV to the Lebanon police station.
Several Lebanon police officers responded to the incident.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
—
Correction
Ivan Deutsch accidentally shot himself with a .380 caliber handgun, according to Lebanon police. An earlier version of this story named the wrong type of gun.