.

2 accidentally shot at East Tenn. church during church shooting discussion

# State
2shot_in_church

TELLICO PLAINS, Tenn. (WATE) – Police say two people were accidentally shot at a church in Tellico Plains Thursday afternoon during a discussion about the recent church shooting in Texas.

The Tellico Plains Police Department says elder members of First United Methodist Church were meeting for a Thanksgiving dinner around 1 p.m. and began discussing the Texas shooting when someone asked if anyone brought a gun to their church.

A man spoke up and said he carries his everywhere he goes. He pulled the gun out, emptied the magazine and chamber, and then started passing the gun around.

Once the gun came back around to its owner, police say the man put the magazine back in and recharged the chamber, but accidentally squeezed the trigger. The gun went off, hitting himself in the hand and his wife in the abdomen.

Both were taken to UT Medical Center by helicopter for non-life threatening injuries. Their names have not been released.

Nearby schools were briefly put on lockdown during the initial investigation. The lockdown was lifted once the scene was cleared.