A police cadet in Napoleon, OH, was critically injured after being accidentally shot in the back by one of his classmates on a shooting range, reports the Toledo Blade.
"[The shooter] was very, very, very emotional and upset," Henry County Sheriff Michael Bodenbender said Wednesday. "He was very distraught."
The victim of the shooting, which occurred at a city-owned firing range Tuesday night, is expected to survive, Sheriff Bodenbender said.
The unidentified male victim was in critical condition at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, where he was flown from Henry County Hospital.
"There were at least three firearms instructors there. My understanding is they were on break during the time it happened," Sheriff Bodenbender said. "All the indications we have is that it was an accident. We have not spoken to the victim yet. But the rest of the cadets and instructors that were there, that's the impression that we got — that it was an accident."
The shooter was either cleaning or oiling his gun, said Sheriff Bodenbender, and thought the firearm was empty when it discharged, striking the victim, who was sitting at a picnic table.
The sheriff said he does not expect any charges will be filed. The victim was shot with a 9mm handgun.
