Claypool Man Critical After Self-Inflicted Wound

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.

By RUTH ANNE LIPKA, Times-Union Staff Writer-

CLAYPOOL - A Claypool man is in critical condition at Parkview Memorial Hospital in Fort Wayne after shooting himself in the stomach Monday afternoon with a muzzleloader.

Police said Phillip Richard Gibson, 24, of South CR 750W, shot himself with the .50-caliber muzzleloader in a suicide attempt after his girlfriend told him she wanted to break off their relationship.

Marcia Lynn McDonough, of the same address, told police she and Gibson have been living together since April and discussed breaking up for the past few months, but she never went through with it until Monday. McDonough said that when the breakup was discussed this summer, Gibson made a threat about killing himself, but he didn't make any threats Monday.

The two reportedly returned from Christmas shopping and from telling McDonough's parents that they were going to break up when Gibson went into a back room of the house. Gibson reportedly had been upset and was crying prior to the shooting incident. McDonough told police she was in the living room area when she heard what sounded like a gunshot, then heard Gibson scream.

When she went to where Gibson was, McDonough said there was smoke in the room and Gibson's shirt was on fire. She pulled his shirt off of him, then ran to a neighbor's house to call for help. Nobody was home, so she tried two other neighbors before getting into her car and driving to her mother's house to call for an ambulance. She then returned to the residence to wait for help.

Gibson was reportedly pale and going in and out of consciousness while police waited for emergency personnel to arrive at the scene. He was found lying on his back in an enclosed back porch. The gunshot wound apparently entered at the left of Gibson's stomach and exited through his back.

The weapon Gibson reportedly used to shoot himself was a gun he used for hunting, according to McDonough, and was kept in the room where the shooting occurred.

The incident is under investigation by the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department. Assisting at the scene were Indiana State Police, Mentone Police Department and South Central and Multi-Township emergency medical services. [[In-content Ad]]

CLAYPOOL - A Claypool man is in critical condition at Parkview Memorial Hospital in Fort Wayne after shooting himself in the stomach Monday afternoon with a muzzleloader.

Police said Phillip Richard Gibson, 24, of South CR 750W, shot himself with the .50-caliber muzzleloader in a suicide attempt after his girlfriend told him she wanted to break off their relationship.

Marcia Lynn McDonough, of the same address, told police she and Gibson have been living together since April and discussed breaking up for the past few months, but she never went through with it until Monday. McDonough said that when the breakup was discussed this summer, Gibson made a threat about killing himself, but he didn't make any threats Monday.

The two reportedly returned from Christmas shopping and from telling McDonough's parents that they were going to break up when Gibson went into a back room of the house. Gibson reportedly had been upset and was crying prior to the shooting incident. McDonough told police she was in the living room area when she heard what sounded like a gunshot, then heard Gibson scream.

When she went to where Gibson was, McDonough said there was smoke in the room and Gibson's shirt was on fire. She pulled his shirt off of him, then ran to a neighbor's house to call for help. Nobody was home, so she tried two other neighbors before getting into her car and driving to her mother's house to call for an ambulance. She then returned to the residence to wait for help.

Gibson was reportedly pale and going in and out of consciousness while police waited for emergency personnel to arrive at the scene. He was found lying on his back in an enclosed back porch. The gunshot wound apparently entered at the left of Gibson's stomach and exited through his back.

The weapon Gibson reportedly used to shoot himself was a gun he used for hunting, according to McDonough, and was kept in the room where the shooting occurred.

The incident is under investigation by the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department. Assisting at the scene were Indiana State Police, Mentone Police Department and South Central and Multi-Township emergency medical services. [[In-content Ad]]

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