MOUNT CARMEL - Police are investigating a bizarre incident Wednesday night in which a man apparently changed his mind about committing suicide, pulling a pistol out of his mouth at the last second, but still grazing his lip and nose with the shot.
The man, blood on his face, then entered Shaulinski's Bar, 201 S. Market St., looking for friends, sparking a buzz through town that a shooting had occurred at the bar.
He was eventually taken for treatment, but not until police arrived at the bar to investigate.
As of Thursday afternoon, police still had questions to answer.
"At this point, we have no idea where the (shooting) incident took place or what the exact details are. We were called to assist an injured person," borough police Chief Brian Shurock said. "We are coming in at the tail end of it."
He would not release the man's name, citing privacy concerns and the nature of the incident.
An employee at Shaulinski's Thursday afternoon said "there was no incident here in the establishment."
The man, who refused to give his name, said the victim came in looking for his friends, and that he had blood on his face. He is someone who frequents the bar two or three times a week and is in his late 20s or early 30s, the employee said.
Some friends arrived a short time later, "stressed out," the Shaulinski's employee said. But he said the victim was able to carry on a normal conversation.
The friends learned that the victim had a handgun in his mouth at one point, but apparently pulled the gun out just before he fired it, the employee said.
Upon arrival, police asked the victim's friends to bring him outside, which took some convincing but he eventually went out.
"They convinced him to have the medics take a look at him and then they took him for treatment, and it was over," the employee said.
Shurock said a gun was recovered from a vehicle.