Suspect shot himself after eight beers, Waupaca police say

Joshua A. Shields, 33, Waupaca, is charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and possession of a firearm while intoxicated.

Shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020, Waupaca police and Gold Cross paramedics were dispatched to a home in the 500 block of North Franklin Street.

They were responding to a call that a man had accidentally shot himself.

Officers found Shields lying on the ground with a bullet wound in his left thigh.

A woman was applying pressure to the wound.

According to the criminal complaint, Shields told police he was sitting in a lawn chair in the back yard, practicing loading and unloading his 9mm handgun.

He removed the magazine and cycled the slider.

When he placed the gun on his lap, it discharged.

While riding in the ambulance, Shields reportedly told paramedics that he consumed eight beers and one or two shots.

A blood draw conducted four hours after the incident indicated that Shields had a .056 blood-alcohol content.

Waupaca Police Sgt. Wes Zube reported that Shields discharged the gun within 42 feet of the house where a woman and her four children lived.

Shields faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of reckless endangerment and nine months in jail if convicted of possession of a firearm while intoxicated.