SANTA ANA : Man Shoots Himself Accidentally, Dies
A 23-year-old man who was trying to prevent a shooting mishap died late Tuesday after shooting himself in the head accidentally, police said.
Steve Gonzalez, who lived in the 1900 block of West Martha Lane, had taken the gun away from a relative to avoid an accident and had checked it to make sure it was not loaded, Santa Ana police spokesman Sgt. Dick Faust said.
Faust said Gonzalez mistakenly believed the gun was not loaded when he pulled back on its slide and no rounds were ejected.
Gonzalez then playfully put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger, Faust said. The gun fired.
Paramedics from the Santa Ana Fire Department took Gonzalez to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was pronounced dead at 11:13 p.m., Faust said.
Gonzalez was an employee of Baxter Healthcare Corp., according to family members.
A rosary will be recited at 7 tonight at Brown’s Mortuary in Santa Ana. Funeral services are planned for 10 a.m. Friday at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Santa Ana.
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