A Queenstown man will appear in the Queenstown District Court today after shooting himself in the leg with an air pistol on Friday.
A 29-year-old was arrested on Friday when he was allegedly seen holding a pistol on Stewart St, Frankton.
The man was reportedly seen to remove the pistol from his trouser waistband before walking in the direction of the Frankton Motor Camp.
About the same time the ambulance service received a 111 call from a male saying he had shot himself in the leg with an air pistol.
An ambulance and police officers attended and found a man walking along Frankton Rd towards Queenstown. An arrest was made without incident, but no firearm was found.
The man has been charged with unlawfully carrying a firearm and police said he had received a welt to his upper thigh from what was likely to have been a slug wound.
Police made a roadside search between Stewart St and where the man was arrested but had not found a weapon.
Detective Sergeant Cameron, of Queenstown, asked residents in the area to be aware a firearm might have been hidden.
He asked residents to look in any hedgerows or other readily accessible areas.
Det Sgt Cameron was unsure whether any weapon was loaded and advised anyone who found one to call police immediately.
