By Travis Dorman/ USA Today Network

TELLICO PLAINS, Tenn. (Nov. 16, 2017) --  A man accidentally shot himself and his wife at an East Tennessee church on Thursday while he was showing off his gun during a discussion on recent church shootings, police said.

Elder members of First United Methodist Church in Tellico Plains were cleaning up about 1 p.m. after enjoying a luncheon held to celebrate Thanksgiving. They began talking about guns in churches, according to Tellico Plains Police Chief Russ Parks.

A man in his 80s pulled out a .380 caliber Ruger handgun and said, "I carry my handgun everywhere," according to Parks.

He removed the magazine, cleared the chamber, and showed the gun to some of the men in the church. He put the magazine back in, apparently loaded a round in the chamber, and returned the gun to its holster, Parks said.

"Somebody else walked up and said, 'Can I see it?' " Parks said. "He pulled it back out and said, 'With this loaded indicator, I can tell that it’s not loaded.' " He pulled the trigger.

See complete story in the Knoxville News Sentinel (USA Today Network) ...