An 18-year-old Selma man accidentally shot himself in the foot Monday night at his home on the 1800 block of Old Montgomery Highway.

According to Lt. Curtis Muhannad with the Selma Police Department, the teenager was loading his weapon when it went off.

“Upon arrival, police made contact with [the victim] outside of his residence with a gunshot wound to his left foot,” Muhannad said. “He stated that he was loading his gun and pointed it down toward his foot when the gun went off.”

According to Muhannad, the weapon was a modified shotgun.

“It was a shotgun that had apparently been altered,” Muhannad said. “The barrel had been sawed off, and the stock was shortened.”

According to Muhannad, the incident report did not state the severity of the injury or whether or not the 18-year-old received treatment for the wound.

Muhannad said accidental shootings are something the Selma Police Department is pretty familiar with. Investigators have seen similar cases this year.

“We’ve had a couple of cases this year of accidental shootings from people carrying them in their pockets, and the gun fell out of their pockets and went off and shot them,” Muhannad said.

According to Muhannad, accidental shootings happen due to various reasons, but loading and cleaning a weapon are some of the most common scenarios they get calls about.

“Sometimes the cases involve people loading the weapon or cleaning the weapon,” Muhannad said. “They didn’t know there was a round left in the weapon, and they ended up shooting themselves.”

Muhannad said anytime someone gets a gun, they should study the weapon before using it.

“The first thing they should do is become familiar with the firearm that they are using before loading it,” Muhannad said. “They should understand the working parts of it and know how to break it down and put it back together.”

Most weapons, when purchased new, come with an instructional manual.

“They should read the manufacturer instructions for care and prevention. A lot of weapons come with those to protect the consumer,” Muhannad said.

There are a few ways people can prevent accidental shootings when loading a firearm.

“They need to make sure when they are loading it that they are loading the weapon pointed away from their body and away from other people,” Muhannad said.

Another cause of accidental shootings, Muhannad said, is the way people carry them and gun owners not knowing how the safety works.

Muhannad also advises gun owners to take gun safety classes and practice shooting it in a controlled environment.

“People can search for gun safety classes to get familiar with their firearm or go to a range and learn how to fire the weapon in a safe area,” Muhannad said. “We advise against going out into a neighborhood or an area people are not familiar with because there may be somebody in the line of fire that are not seen.”

For questions about gun safety, people can call Lt. John Brock at the Selma Police Department at 874-1739.

“Any civilians that would like to get information on firearms and safety, they can contact him,” Muhannad said. “He will welcome to opportunity to assist the citizens of Selma with that training.”