A man from Spotsylvania County, Virginia, died on Sunday after accidentally shooting himself in the hip while trying to unbuckle his seatbelt.
The man, a father-of-four who has not been named, was in a minivan with his children outside a grocery store when the incident occurred.
WTVR.com reports the incident occurred outside of the Giant Food Store in Harrison Crossing.
The 45-year-old’s wife told police she was returning a DVD when she heard a loud pop and ran back to the vehicle, when her husband told her he had shot himself.
A family friend told WTVR.com the the couple has four children under the age of 12, including an infant.
Captain Elizabeth Scott of the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office said the initial investigation indicated when the man tried to unbuckle his seat belt, “he hit the trigger of his .40 calibre glock and shot himself in the hip”.
Deputies arrived to the scene, where she said the man’s wife and others in the parking lot were trying to revive the man.
Captain Scott said the man had suffered significant blood loss and was later pronounced dead at Mary Washington Hospital.
It was unclear at press time whether the man carried the gun in a holster or in his pocket.
The man’s wife told investigators her husband occasionally carried a gun on his person, although it was not known if he was a licensed gun owner.
Spotsylvania police are investigating the shooting to determine if there are any signs of foul play.
