A man was having dinner on the patio of a country club in North Carolina when he suddenly grabbed the top of his head, law enforcement said.
He thought a bug had bit him — but it was a bullet.
Deputies were called to Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro just before 7 p.m. Tuesday after the 57-year-old was hit by a stray bullet, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Spokesperson Lori Poag told McClatchy News the bullet “grazed the outermost layer of his scalp” and caused some bleeding.
The man, whose name was not released, elected not to be taken to the hospital. Poag said first responders patched him up at the scene instead.
“Preliminary investigations by the Sheriff’s Office have determined the victim was not targeted and it appears the shooting was accidental at this time (possibly from a bullet fired into the air from some distance away), but the investigation continues,” the sheriff’s office said.
The incident occurred at 6:53 p.m. on Sedgefield’s patio, where the man was reportedly dining. The private club hosts the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship and is owned by McConnell Golf in Raleigh, according to its website.
The man did not initially know what hit him until deputies arrived and discovered a bullet on the ground, Poag told McClatchy News. She said investigators believe the bullet came from a gun that could have been fired up to a mile away.
“No one that was out on the patio eating with him remembered hearing a sound of a gun being shot,” she said.
Deputies also canvassed the neighborhood, Poag said, but no residents said they were outside shooting a gun, nor did they hear anything.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s District 3 office at 336-641-6691.
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