Police finish probe into accidental Tionesta shooting

From staff reports

Marienville state police have concluded their investigation of an incident earlier this month in which a Clarington man suffered minor injuries after he accidentally shot himself.

The initial police report said the 39-year-old man shot himself with a handgun at 2 p.m. Dec. 8 in Tionesta Borough.

Police said Forest County District Attorney Barbara Litten decided not to prosecute the man, whose name hasn’t been released because he is considered a victim in this incident.

“It goes through the district attorney to decide if there’s a case to be made for recklessly endangering another person, and she decided it’s not prosecutable,” state trooper T.J. Lauer told the newspaper on Thursday.

Lauer cited the fact the shooting was accidental and no one else was within range to be endangered as factors in Litten’s decision.