A distressed 9-1-1 call about a man who had shot himself in the mouth had law enforcement officers rushing to an East Bernstadt home Monday. But they quickly determined the potential tragedy was little more than a gun shot in the lip from a dainty, pink gun.

Around 4:30 p.m., Michael Vann, 29, was reportedly cleaning his 10-year-old daughter’s .22-caliber rifle in the bedroom of his Evans Lane home.

“He had the gun between his legs and was trying to clean it and it went off,” Laurel County Sheriff’s Deputy Milton Storm said.

Vann supposedly reloaded the gun after he shot himself, and, according to 13-year-old niece Courtney Callahan, was calm about what appeared to be a mishap.

“He said, ‘Look what good luck I have,’” Callahan said. “He reloaded it and acted like nothing happened.”

While Callahan and her grandfather Danny Ivy remained in the living room, Vann’s wife Jenny Sue called 9-1-1 from outside the home.

“She said (Vann) was inside, there was a guy in a wheelchair,” Storm said. “She said she was locked in the bathroom and he was in the bedroom. And he was supposed to be reloading the gun.”

Jenny Sue Vann also reported the .22-caliber rifle and two shot guns were in the home and alleged Vann had used some type of narcotic.

Michael Vann soon learned the call had been made.

“They told him they’d called the ambulance and the whole nine yards,” Callahan said.

Upon learning the news, Vann ran into the nearby forest.

“He ran to the creek,” Callahan said. “I knew where he was going.”

The 9-1-1 call resulted in six deputies from the Sheriff’s Office, five Kentucky State Police troopers and one officer from Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife racing to the scene. Upon learning that Vann had run from the home, they armed themselves with a variety of weapons, including Remington 870 pump shotguns, an AR-15 and a Ruger Mini-14.

“Once they leave the residence, we need something more long-range than a pistol,” Storm explained.

In the meantime, first responders from Ambulance Inc. of Laurel County stood by at nearby Apeyard Market.

The officers split up in search of Vann, and eventually found him hiding in a culvert under KY 490.

“He said he was afraid of the ambulance bill,” Storm said.

Upon being found, Vann told police he had, in fact, been outside while he cleaned the gun, which Storm said seemed likely as there was no gunshot hole found in the home.

Vann was treated and later released at Saint Joseph London. No charges have been pressed against him.

“It’s not against the law to shoot yourself,” Storm said.

Vann had reportedly given the gun to his 10-year-old daughter as a gift in January. Jenny Kelsey Vann said she uses the gun often.

Storm was assisted at the scene by the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, Kentucky State Police Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife and Ambulance Inc. of Laurel County.



Staff writer Tara Kaprowy can be reached by e-mail at tkaprowy@sentinel-echo.com.