A convicted felon, who should not be handling a gun by law, accidentally shot himself in the hand and tried to cover up the accident by blaming it on his mother, police said.
Randy Steinke, of Colorado Springs, showed up Tuesday at Memorial Hospital to be treated for a gun shot wound to his hand, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department crime blotter.
Police were called to the hospital and Steinke “claimed that his mother had accidently shot him while unloading a handgun,” the blotter said.
Investigators determined, however, that Steinke “was actually handling the .32 caliber handgun when it discharged into his right hand.”
After the accidental shooting, Steinke sold the gun to a local pawn shop and delayed seeking medical treatment for about six hours.
Steinke, 50, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to court records, Steinke pleaded guilty to a felony burglary in 1978.
A gun has been recovered from the pawn shop as evidence in the case, police said.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
