DATE: Friday, October 24, 1997              TAG: 9710240666

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: STAFF REPORT 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   28 lines

MAN, 23, BADLY INJURED, APPARENTLY BY GUN GAME

A 23-year-old man was in critical condition after apparently shooting himself in the head during a game of Russian roulette Wednesday night, police said.

Police identified the victim as Mark Bostic. Authorities were called to an accidental shooting shortly after 6 p.m. in the 4600 block of Helensburgh Drive, according to Dave Hughes, a spokesman for Chesapeake police.

Four witnesses gave the following account, according to Hughes:

Bostic apparently emptied all but one round from a revolver. He then spun the chamber, put the barrel to his head and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. He spun the chamber again and pulled the trigger again. This time the gun fired and the bullet struck him in the head.

As Bostic was playing the game of Russian roulette, the witnesses tried to stop him, they told police.

Authorities found four extra bullets near where the incident had occurred. Hughes said he did not know how many bullets the gun held. The caliber of the gun was not immediately available, Hughes said.

Bostic remained in the Trauma Center at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital late Thursday. KEYWORDS: INJURIES SHOOTING

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