BRISTOL, Virginia (WJHL) — A man is in critical condition and his girlfriend faces charges after a reported accidental shooting in Bristol, Virginia overnight.
According to a release from the Bristol, Virginia Police Department (BVPD), police responded to a home in the 200 block of Olen Street at 12:27 a.m. Tuesday after receiving reports that a man had been shot in the back. Once on the scene, officers found a 33-year-old victim with a gunshot wound to his back.
The victim was transported to the Johnson City Medical Center for treatment. The BVPD reports his girlfriend, identified as Phelicia Swinger, had allegedly shot the victim.
An investigation by the BVPD found that the gunshot to the victim had been accidental.
Police report when Swinger fired the gun, “her ten-month-old infant was beside her.” The infant was not harmed during the incident, the BVPD stated in the release.
Swinger, 26 of Bristol, Virginia, was charged with reckless handling of firearms and abuse and neglect of a child (child endangerment), the release states.
Swinger was released from jail on a $7,000 bond. Police report the male victim remains in the hospital in serious condition, as of Tuesday night.
