A 6o-year-old Orlando man injured a 12-year-old girl and himself in what he said was an accidental shooting while cleaning his gun.
Investigators say Ventura Santos Mateo was showing his friend how to clean a gun in his garage when the weapon fired into the street striking the twelve-year-old sitting in the front passenger’s seat of a car driving by. Shocked by the weapon’s discharge, Mateo then “nervously” fired the weapon again by accident into his left thigh, he told police. The girl’s father did not realize his daughter had been shot until pulling into his driveway further down the block. Both Mateo and the young girl were treated for their injuries and are expected to recover. A police report has stated that Mateo won’t be charged because there was no criminal intent, but the agency said Monday that detectives are still investigating the incident and have not made a decision.