A teenager was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after being injured in a “freak accident” at Tarbert Gun Club on Sunday.
The terrifying incident unfolded at the weekly Tarbert Clay Targets winter league event.
The 19-year-old woman, understood to be from Campbeltown, was hit in the hip and stomach at close range. The incident happened after a fellow club member – believed to be in her forties – who was standing next to her had just taken a shot.
A witness said: “Everybody was very shaken up. It was horrible to be honest. The woman was in the line next to her. It looked like she just went to pick her gun up to empty it and it went off and hit the girl.”
The injured woman was given urgent treatment by a specialist trauma team at the scene south of Tarbert before being airlifted to hospital in Glasgow.
She remains at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, where she underwent a “long and complicated operation,” her friends said. Her condition is not known.
Both women were competing in the event at Tarbert Shooting Club, which got under way at 11am. After the planned shot was fired, the gun was being held at waist height and went off a second time.
A source close to the club said: “It was a complete freak accident – everyone is absolutely devastated.
“There’s nothing untoward about it at all. It was a freak thing that happened. The shotgun just went off.”
Another insider said: “They were just a few feet away from each other when it happened. It hit the younger woman in the hip and stomach.
“There was lots of blood. Everyone was totally shocked.
“It seems to be a really horrible incident where the gun has gone off accidentally.”
Police remained at the scene for hours asking questions and taking statements. A thorough investigation is under way.
A police spokesman said: “Around 12.35pm on Sunday December 3, police received a report of a 19-year-old woman being injured by a firearm at a gun club in the Tarbert area.
“The woman was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for treatment and inquiries into the incident area ongoing. There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances.”
And a Scottish Ambulance spokesman added: “We received a call on December 3 to attend an incident in Tarbert.
“An ambulance and air ambulance with a trauma team were dispatched to the scene and one patient was transported by air to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.”
Councillor Alastair Redman, who represents Tarbert in the Kintyre and Islands ward, said: “This comes as a huge shock. My thoughts and prayers are with the injured girl and her family.
“These facilities operate with experienced instructors and accidents like this are very rare.”
Club shooting has taken place at Tarbert since the 1980s.
The club website states: “Qualified instructors with over 20 years of experience offer safe and fun clay pigeon shooting on DTL and sporting setups which are varied to suit the shooters ability… We are insured to the highest standard.”
It caters for corporate events, clubs, groups and stag and hen parties.
Nobody from the gun club was available for comment this week.