NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A Newport News man questions felony charges brought on him after he accidentally shot himself.
Liam Vaughn, 28, is walking with a cane with a bullet lodged in the back of his leg.
The Newport News resident accidentally shot himself during an argument outside the 7-Eleven where he works on June 12. The incident happened on Nettles Drive just after 7 p.m. Police announced Monday they’ve charged Vaughn with two misdemeanors and a felony in connection to the incident. He spoke exclusively with 13News Now, questioning the nature of his arrest and the charges he faces.
Vaughn says he’s worked at the 7-Eleven for two years, and during that time, he’s gotten to know many of the customers.
“They make my day so much better,” he explained. “It’s the first job I’ve ever had where I look forward to going in.”
Even so, Vaughn carries a gun at work. “[It’s because] of the amount of shootings they’ve had at the 7-Elevens in the area,” Vaughn said. “I’ll have customers come in where they’ll have their rifle or revolver or pistol tucked under their arm. I’ve grown up in this area and I know it’s not safe.”
On the night of June 12, court records say Vaughn got into an argument with a customer and her brother. A criminal complaint says, “Vaughn started yelling obscenities at the [the customer] and exited the business to smoke.” He claims, “she came out, kept cussing at me, kept screaming at me. I told them to get the f*** off the property.”
Vaughn says the siblings threatened him, saying they’d come back after his shift. The complaint alleges, “[The brother] explained to Vaughn he needed to stop insulting his sister before things escalated, but Vaughn refused."
Both court documents and Vaughn say the brother then tried to punch him, and Vaughn reached for his gun.
“I accidentally, with the adrenaline, pulled the trigger,” he said.
Vaughn was transported to the hospital with injuries that police called life-threatening.
“They got me in surgery, and I think they said it was like 12 hours before I stopped bleeding,” he remembered.
Vaughn says he understands the misdemeanor charges he’s facing: concealed carry of a weapon and reckless handling of a firearm. “I’m not happy about it, but I get it,” he said. However, he questions the prosecutors’ decision to charge him with a class 6 felony: shooting in a public place, causing injury.
The Virginia State Code reads, “if any person willfully discharges or causes to be discharged any firearm in any street in a city or town, or in any place of public business or place of public gathering, and such conduct results in bodily injury to another person, he shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony. If such conduct does not result in bodily injury to another person, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.” Vaughn asks why he faces a felony charge when he is the injured part. He says the charge is adding insult to injury.
“I don’t know who’s getting justice for this. Who’s being helped? I’m already hurting. I’ve got massive medical bills over this. It doesn’t make any sense,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn left the hospital against the doctor's recommendation, with the bullet still lodged in his leg. He says he wasn’t happy with how hospital staff treated him, but the hours and days following came as a surprise. Because he didn’t surrender himself to the police at the hospital, officers were sent to locate him. He says they came to his house and went to his mother’s home as well. He calls their response “excessive.”
He said, “[I] can’t really run, mind you, I’m having trouble walking.”
The Newport News Police Department explained the response to 13News Now, saying, “When firearms are linked to individuals who are being taken into custody, a heightened response is appropriate. Officers did not make contact with Mr. Vaughn until he voluntarily surrendered on June 21, 2024 at NNPD headquarters.”
If convicted on the felony charge, Vaughn is looking at up to five years in prison. When asked if he regrets carrying the firearm at work, he said, “I regret having grabbed for it. I should have tried to retreat inside the building instead.”