Petaluma Police: Man accidentally shoots friend during night of drinking
A Petaluma man has been arrested after accidentally discharging a firearm and injuring a friend during a night of drinking, police said.
On the evening of Monday, December 14, officers responded to the 1400 block of Mountain View, where a 9-1-1 caller had reported that he’d “shot” his friend. Officers and first responders located the victim, a 21-year-old man, who’d sustained a life-threatening injury and required immediate hospitalization.
The shooting suspect, identified as 21-year-old William Gingras-McCauley, was met at the scene and taken to the Petaluma Police Department for an interview. Police say that Gingras-McCauley admitted to accidentally discharging an SKS rifle, striking his friend in the upper torso, and that both he and the victim had been drinking throughout the night prior to the accident.
Gingras-McCauley has since been booked at the Sonoma County Jail on a count of felony negligent discharge of a firearm. Police say the victim is expected to survive.
