Shopper’s gun goes off at Costco

A man dropped his new pistol in the bathroom of the North Division Costco on Thursday, and nearly emptied the store as shoppers fled after hearing the gun go off when it hit the floor.

The bullet lodged in the wall and no injuries were reported, Spokane County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan said.

“He was a little embarrassed and didn’t want to come out of the bathroom right away,” Reagan said of the man, who has a concealed weapons permit.

Deputies arrived after employees reported an armed man had fired a shot about 12:15 p.m., Reagan said.

“A customer was just outside the gunman’s stall when he heard the shot. He looked over the top of the stall, saw the shooter fumbling with the pistol and alerted employees who began evacuating the building,” Reagan said in a news release.

The pistol was a new Sig-Sauer .357-caliber semiautomatic carried in a shoulder holster. Reagan did not identify the man.

While the man was pulling up his pants, his shirt caught on the gun and pulled it out of the holster, Reagan said.

Deputy Mark Smoldt said the man broke no laws.