SAINT ALBANS, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A Kanawha County man has reportedly passed away from injuries in relation to a gunshot wound sustained over the weekend.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that, on Saturday, May 13, 2023, Kanawha County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to investigate a shooting-related incident which occurred in the 600 block of Walden Lane in the Saint Albans area.
The initial report came during a call with Metro 911 Operators who report receiving a call from a frantic female stating her husband had shot himself by accident.
Multiple Kanawha County Deputies made their way to the location of the incident, where they discovered the victim – identified as 53-year-old Steven Lee Loftis of Saint Albans – lying on the floor having sustained a single gunshot wound to the right side of the abdomen.
Upon further inspection, it was determined that the victim had succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Investigators with Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigative Section responded to the scene as well, and detectives arrived at the conclusion that the shooting had occurred as the result of unsafe mishandling of a firearm.
“The weapon was carelessly stored in the victim’s pants pocket and not properly secured in a holster,” read official reports from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.
“When the weapon was discharged the fired round struck the victim in the abdomen, resulting in a fatal injury. Although the events surrounding this incident did not render anything suspicious in nature, the West Virginia State Medical Examiner will still review this case as a standard procedure.”
