A St. Paul man has been sentenced to two years of probation for accidentally shooting himself while playing basketball at an elementary school open house when there were 40 to 50 people in the gym and most were children.
Lamont Jaytaris Gray Jr., 30, was treated at the hospital for a gunshot injury to his leg. No one else was injured in the Jan. 18 shooting.
Lamont Jaytaris Gray Jr. (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
The St. Paul City Attorney’s Office charged Gray with recklessly handling or using a gun, a gross misdemeanor, and carrying a firearm by a permit holder on school property, a misdemeanor. Gray had a permit to carry a firearm.
According to the charges, Como Park Elementary on Wheelock Parkway was hosting a parent night and open house. Gray was playing basketball in the gym with his teenage daughter, but had trouble keeping his pants up.
After the gun went off, he limped out of the gym and someone called 911. Police found him outside and he said he’d accidentally shot himself.
He told police he had a holster for the 9mm Luger pistol, but it was at home because water had spilled on it. He had the gun on his right hip, under his waistband.
One witness told police the gun went off when Gray tightened his waistband. Another witness said it discharged when Gray went for the ball.
Gray, who spent two days in jail after his arrest, pleaded guilty to the gross misdemeanor charge on Tuesday as part of a plea deal with the prosecution that included the two years of unsupervised probation.
Gray, who also was sentenced Tuesday, was given a stay of imposition, which means the conviction will be deemed a misdemeanor as long as he successfully follows terms of probation, which includes staying away from Como Park Elementary.
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