10 injured in accidental shooting at St. Charles Sportsmen’s Club on Keslinger Road near Elburn

The accidental firing of a shotgun at a west suburban hunting club caused 10 injuries, including to two men and a teenage boy who were taken to a hospital, Kane County sheriff’s police said.

The incident took place about 7 p.m. Tuesday at the St. Charles Sportsmen’s Club on Keslinger Road near Elburn when a 69-year-old club member from St. Charles fired his shotgun into the clubhouse floor, sending buckshot ricocheting out and striking people who were nearby, Lt. Pat Gengler said.

Two men, ages 31 and 60, and a 14-year-old Geneva boy were taken to Delnor Hospital in Geneva for treatment of injuries that police described as not life threatening.

Gengler said that the man who discharged the 12-gauge shotgun thought he had placed a snap cap into the gun’s chamber, but had accidentally loaded a live round.

A snap cap resembles a live round or shell and relieves pressure on a gun’s firing pin.

Seven other people inside the clubhouse were slightly injured but did not require hospitalization, Gengler said, including the man who fired the weapon.

Gengler said since the incident appeared to be accidental, police are not currently contemplating charges.