Bloody Trail Leads to Gunshot Victim

Talk about shooting yourself in the leg: A Skokie man was hospitalized after his pistol discharged a bullet into his right leg.

And he didn’t even realize it.

Joseph L. Dionne, 35, of the 8200 block of Lowell Avenue, is facing potential charges after police found him in a pool of his own blood on Aug. 4 around 4 a.m. He was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

According to the police report, Dionne approached a car occupied by a couple whose vehicle was parked near his home. He asked them to turn down their music, which was playing loudly, but the couple ignored his request.

Dionne then threatened to call the police and left the scene to retrieve his Sig Sauer 9mm pistol from his home. He told police he had planned to “scare” the couple by lifting his shirt and showing his gun.

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The irked resident never got to brandish the weapon. The vehicle's occupants said they heard a loud noise coming from their rear shortly after Dionne spoke to them. They thought it was a firecracker, authorities reported.

When police finally arrived in response to the phone call, they found “a bloody trail” that led straight to Dionne’s home. Officers eventually found Dionne and saw that his right pant leg was “saturated with blood.”

At first, Dionne told police he received the injury when he fell off the curb, but police doubted his story as the wound appeared severe. After asking Dionne to roll up his pants to better see the injury, officers found an entry wound above his right knee.

Dionne later told police he might have gotten the wound from a bullet as a result of shooting himself, according to the report.

The report noted that Dionne’s state of mind might have gotten him home as his blood alcohol level tested at .383 -- more than four times the legal limit. So he might not have immediately realize that he had shot himself.

The Lowell Avenue resident later told police that he was cautious of people outside his home because earlier in the week he found two people attempting to break into his father’s vehicle.

Police did find the 9mm pistol inside the home, where Dionne had a firearms registration card for the weapon.

Dionne eventually admitted to police that when he reached for his cell phone, he knocked the gun loose from his waistband and it fell to the ground. When the gun hit the ground, it landed on the hammer, discharged and the bullet hit him in his right femur. He then called police about the suspicious vehicle as he walked -- or limped -- back to his house.

If Dionne is charged, he would most likely face unlawful discharge of a firearm. Police said their investigation was ongoing.

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