Fishing trip
 

Man accidentally shoots self while fishing on Deschutes River

A Thurston County man told deputies he accidentally shot himself in the head with his .22-caliber rifle Sunday afternoon while he was "fishing" for salmon on the Deschutes River, according to a sheriff's report.

The man said he fired a shot into the river about 4:50 p.m. near the 9600 block of Old Highway 99, the report states. But the bullet ricocheted off of a rock and struck him in the temple.

"He said he scratched the injury with his finger and the bullet fell out of his head in the river," the report states.

Also according to the report:

The man returned to his home off of Old Highway 99, and he would not tell his girlfriend what had happened. He then left the scene in his pickup. He told her not to call 911, but she did anyway. Deputies pulled the man's pickup over on Old Highway 99, and he told them what had happened.

The man's girlfriend told deputies her boyfriend "regularly goes to the river and shoots salmon." He was not badly hurt, but was treated and released from an area hospital. The man was not cited with any criminal law violations.

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