A Hammond man hunting on private property in Gary was seriously injured by an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound Sunday morning.

Indiana Department of Natural Resources spokesman Tyler Brock said in a release Sunday that conservation officers were called to the 3300 Block of Martin Luther King Drive. They discovered that at approximately 7:30 a.m., 23 year old Christopher Morey of Hammond was teal hunting in a marsh on private property, according to Brock.

Morey briefly walked away from his hunting spot to get a bottle of water from another hunter, leaving his 12 gauge pump shotgun resting on a mound of vegetation, according to the release.

Morey returned to his hunting spot and picked up his shotgun with the muzzle pointing at his left forearm, Brock said. Moving the gun, however, caused the trigger to brush up against a rigid plant, which caused a…