Woman trips, shoots herself and is arrested | Highlands News-Sun

The shooting victim turned out to be 39-year-old Rachel Eads, who had been shot in the left thigh.

She told officers she was walking up the stairs, tripped and accidentally shot herself. The gun, a Ruger .380 caliber, was still within arm’s reach, but with a stovepipe malfunction, meaning the fired cartridge case was not properly ejected from the opening.

When attempting to close the slide, the cartridge case became stuck between the locking surface and the barrel cap of the slide.

It turned out that Eads had been convicted of cocaine possession in 2013. She entered into a plea agreement in 2015 and was found guilty.

Because of this conviction, she is prohibited from owning or carrying a firearm or ammunition, according to police reports.

She was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon.