Man says he shot self while fishing

OLYMPIA – It’s a complicated story, but a Thurston County, Wash., man said he managed to shoot himself in the head with a .22-caliber rifle while fishing for salmon.

A sheriff’s report said the man told deputies he fired a shot into the Deschutes River on Sunday afternoon but the bullet ricocheted off a rock and hit him in the temple. When he scratched the spot with his finger, he said the bullet fell out of his head and into the river.

The tale came to light although the man went home and refused to tell his girlfriend how he had been injured.

After he left again, she called 911.

When deputies pulled over the man’s pickup truck, he told them what happened.

The Olympian reported that the man was treated at an area hospital and released.

The newspaper said the man was not cited for any violations.