By PATRICK HALL
The Wilson Post

A woman was accidentally shot early Tuesday morning on Southeast Tater Peeler Road in Lebanon as she tried to prevent her elderly father from committing suicide, according to Wilson County Sheriff’s Department Det. Jeff Johnson, who added no one was seriously injured.

Johnson said at approximately 5:30 a.m., at a home on the 3700 block of Southeast Tater Peeler Road, a 72-year-old man attempted to take his own life with a single-shot 410 shotgun.

“The man has had health problems for quite some time and went outside to kill himself,” Johnson said.

The man’s daughter reportedly went outside to stop her father, who Johnson said had the shotgun under his chin. As the two struggled, the shotgun accidentally fired and Johnson said the birdshot pellets ricocheted off a metal building and struck the woman in the side.

Authorities arrived on scene, and Johnson said the birdshot pellets did not enter the woman, but rather grazed or barely broke the skin. The man and his daughter were transported to University Medical Center.

“She went to the hospital to be checked out just in case,” Johnson said. “He’ll probably be committed for a mental evaluation,” he said regarding the man.

Johnson said he signed a reckless endangerment warrant for the man, but no one was arrested at the scene.

Staff Writer Patrick Hall may be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .