A Manchester man has been arrested after accidentally shooting his cousin on Saturday night, according to police, and the victim has been charged with interfering with police.
Staff from Manchester Memorial Hospital called police at 10 p.m. on Saturday when a female arrived at the emergency room and asked for help for her sister, who had been shot in the leg and was outside in a car, police said.
Officers were already at the hospital handling another incident and said the victim initially reported that she’d been at a house party somewhere near Cooper Street when the host, someone named “Pete,” shot her, police said.
But as officers began to investigate, it became apparent that the victim wasn’t telling the truth about the location and person involved in the shooting, police said.
Investigators then determined that the incident actually happened on Spencer Street and identified the victim’s cousin, 31-year-old Stephen McCann, as the suspect.
They said the victim and another cousin had gone to visit McCann at 10 p.m. When they knocked on his door, McCann grabbed his 9mm Beretta handgun but put it in his waistband when he saw that the visitors were his cousins, police said.
As the cousins all sat at a kitchen table to talk, McCann got up to put his handgun away, but accidently shot one round from his gun and the bullet hit his cousin in the thigh, police said.
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McCann was charged with illegal discharge of a firearm, second-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree breach of peace and he was held on a $50,000 bond.
The victim, Emily Acelin, 31, of Manchester, was charged with interfering with police and she was released on $5,000 non-surety bond and is due in court on July 21.
Her injuries are not life-threatening.
