Man attending gun safety class shot by instructor

LANCASTER, Ohio, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- An Ohio gun safety teacher accidentally shot a student in the arm when he apparently didn't realize the gun he was handling was loaded, police said.

Terry J. Dunlap Sr., 73, Saturday was teaching a group of 25 people a daylong course in gun safety to satisfy one of the state's requirements to obtain a concealed carry permit when the .38-caliber handgun he was using went off. The bullet ricocheted off his desk and struck student Michael Piemonte in the right arm, The Columbus Dispatch said.

Piemonte, 26, was attending the class with his wife, Allison, who was seated next to him when the gun went off.

"It could have easily hit her," he said.

Piemonte said it's "my guess" Dunlap didn't realize the gun was loaded. A police report filed after the incident classified the incident as an accidental shooting. No charges were filed.

Lucky for Piemonte, several other students in the class worked in the medical field and quickly stabilized his wound. Paramedics took Piemonte to a hospital in nearby Columbus where he was treated and released later that night.