Accidental shooting at Greenwood Park Mall injures one

One man was taken to a hospital after his gun accidentally discharged inside Greenwood Park Mall Saturday afternoon.

Greenwood police received reports that someone had been shot at PacSun, a clothing store located near the center of the mall, shortly before 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Numerous accounts on social media said people at the mall began running sometime after someone said there had been a shooting.

The shooting was an accident and only the shooter was injured, said Assistant Chief of Police Matthew Fillenwarth.

Police say the man had a gun in his pocket without a holster and shot himself in the leg in front of PacSun. No one else was injured, Fillenwarth said.

The unidentified man was taken to a local hospital, where his condition is not available.

People should never carry a loaded gun in their pocket unless they have a manual safety on the weapon, or have something in place to prevent the trigger from going off, Fillenwarth said.

Accidental gun discharges account for nearly 37% of all nonfatal firearm injuries, and each year more than 27,000 people are admitted to emergency rooms for treatment of unintentional firearm injuries across the U.S, according to the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, a nonprofit that researches ways to reduce gun violence.