News Release from: Clackamas Co. Sheriff's Office

Clackamas County Sheriff's Office investigates accidental shooting in Sandy

Posted: June 24, 2008, 6:55 p.m.

On June 24, 2008. the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office responded to reports of an accidental shooting involving a shotgun and a 17-year-old male victim.

A Sheriff’s Office deputy reports that a group of at least five males and one female from the Gresham area were engaged in target practice in a gravel pit on Wildcat Mountain Road in Sandy when a 20-gauge shotgun accidentally discharged.

The accidental shooting reportedly occurred when a 19-year-old male was handling the 20-gauge shotgun and it accidentally discharged -- striking the victim, 17-year-old Gresham-area resident  Antonio Gabriel Elsen, as he was retrieving a target downrange.

The weapon was loaded with birdshot, and was reportedly fired from a 30-foot distance.

The group immediately transported Elsen in a truck from the gravel pit to a more populated area seeking help. An off-duty Portland fireman was in the vicinity, and was contacted by this group, who were frantically seeking medical attention for their injured friend. The off-duty fireman used his cell phone to alert medical personnel to his location, near Shorty's Corner in Sandy.

LifeFlight was alerted at 5:52 p.m., and used a landing zone at Firwood Elementary in Sandy. At 6 p.m., the airlifted patient was diverted during flight to Oregon Health & Science University Hospital.

The medical prognosis is good, and the patient is expected to survive.

The investigating deputy responded to the hospital to talk with Elsen about the accidental shooting.

No other injuries were reported during this shooting incident, and alcohol does not appear to be a factor.

Antonio Gabriel Elsen is reportedly recovering from his injuries at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital.

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Contact Info: Jim Strovink