A top Republican Senate candidate's story about accidentally shooting himself just got weirder
Tim Sheehy For Montana
- The story of GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy's gunshot wound has seemingly taken on a new turn.
- Sheehy told WaPo that he lied about a shooting that he initially said occurred at a national park.
- But in newly-released documents, a park visitor "called park dispatch" to report a gunshot.
Montana GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy apologized for the discharge of a firearm at the state's Glacier National Park in October 2015, a revelation uncovered by The Washington Post after Sheehy's recent admission that he lied about being shot in the park.
Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and the leading Republican to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in November, recently told The Washington Post that he received a gunshot wound in his right arm while serving in Afghanistan, not during a shooting at Glacier National Park.
The GOP candidate told The Washington Post that he lied about his Colt .45 revolver falling to the ground and discharging in order to shield his former platoon members from being questioned about what he said was a 2012 shooting that occurred overseas.
Sheehy previously told the newspaper he was unsure if his bullet wound came from friendly fire or an enemy.
But after filing a Freedom of Information Act request, The Washington Post obtained National Park Service documents from 2015 where Sheehy said that a shooting had occurred at Glacier National Park.
"As a highly trained and combat experienced wounded veteran, I can assure you this was an unfortunate accident and we are grateful no other persons or property were damaged," he said at the time. "Due to my ongoing security clearance and involvement with national defense related contracts, I request leniency with any charges related to this unfortunate accident."
The newly-released National Park Service report said that "a park visitor called park dispatch" and stated that a firearm had discharged at Glacier National Park, which seemingly contradicts Sheehy's current statement that he was shot in Afghanistan.
The National Park Service summary didn't reveal the name of the individual who reported that a firearm had discharged at the park, according to The Post.
Sheehy in his 2015 National Park Service statement said that he retained a weapon in his car in case a bear posed a threat, adding that his firearm fell to the ground as he reloaded the vehicle.
"My deepest apologies for any inconvenience this incident caused," he said in the statement at the time.
Daniel Watkins, an attorney for Sheehy, said in a letter to The Post that the ranger didn't reveal that he had spoken to an aforementioned park visitor as part of his probe. And Watkins suggested that hospital staff in Kalispell, Mont., told park dispatchers about the incident at Glacier National Park after Sheehy's initial lie about the shooting.
"The released reports corroborate the information we have provided, and they confirm Mr. Sheehy's recollection of what took place," Watkins said in the letter.
The Montana Senate race is poised to be one of the closest contests in the country this fall.
Tester, now in his third term, is running for reelection in a state with a decidedly conservative tilt. Still, the lawmaker has successfully fought back his GOP opponents over the years, beginning with his first Senate election in 2006.
Republicans have touted Sheehy, the founder of Bridger Aerospace, as one of their most promising Senate recruits.
Business Insider has reached out to the Sheehy campaign for any further comment.