HARTSVILLE, SC (WBTW) – Hartsville Police charged a woman after they say a child was inside in her home when a gun was accidentally fired and drugs were discovered Friday night.
Lt. Mark Blair says, officers responded to a home on Logan Avenue for reports of an accidental shooting. They found a woman, Justine Peterson, 26, and an 18-year-old man in the yard when they arrived. Officers report the man had blood on his hands and said he accidentally shot himself.
Peterson was also covered in blood, and told officers she may have also been hit by the accidental bullet, Lt. Blair adds.
Inside the home, police found two children who had been in close proximity to the gun when it was fired. Officers also say they found marijuana in the living room, the report states.
Peterson told police she left the gun in between couch cushions, which is where she usually stores the weapon. Peterson went on to say she and the 18-year-old were in the living room when the gun “just went off all by itself.”
When officers spoke with the 18-year-old, he told police he pulled the gun from the couch cushions, placed it in the front pocket of his hooded sweatshirt and the weapon “just went off.”
Lt. Blair says although the two children were inside the home when the gun was fired, it was confirmed that neither child was shot. The Department of Social Services was contacted to investigate the case on behalf of the young victims.
Justine Peterson, 26, is charged with unlawful neglect of a child, simple possession of marijuana, and accidental discharge of a firearm.
