William McCollom, the well-liked and loved police chief of Peachtree City, claimed on Thursday that the shooting of his wife Margaret inside their bedroom in the early hours of New Year's Day had been accidental.

Following the incident, McCollom was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation of the shooting.

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No charges have been filed yet against McCollom who said he shot Margaret twice, although investigators said she was only shot once by a 9-mm Glock handgun, the service firearm issued by the Peachtree Police Department to McCollom.

There is no witness to the incident since the couple live by themselves only, but their neighbors in Peachtree, which is about 30 miles southwest of Georgia, were surprised by what happened.

Terry Ernst, a retired police officer who is now a city councilor, said several cops he has spoken to couldn't believe by what happened. He add, quoted by ABC, "If you think of someone you love so dearly, and you hurt the person you love so dearly, it's just tragic."

It was McCollom who reported the accidental shooting by calling 911. The city police responded to his call and arrived at his residence at about 4:17 a.m., said Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) spokeswoman Sherry Lang, NBC News reports.

Lang said that McCollom has been interviewed and is fully cooperating with investigators.

Upon arrival at the McCollom home, the police team rushed Margaret to the Atlanta Medical Center where she remains in critical condition.

The GBI has not ruled out the filing of charges against McCollom depending on the result of the investigation, said Scott Ballard, district attorney of Fayette County.

Ballard said, quoted by ABC, "There are a lot of things that we don't know yet about what took place that we need to know before we can make any decisions."

TagsAccidental shooting, Georgia