An 18-year-old Vacaville man is facing firearm charges after police say a gun went off inside a vehicle, wounding someone who was later found outside a nearby residence and rushed into surgery. Police arrested Robert Costa last Friday in connection with the shooting, which happened in the 400 block of Berryessa Drive.
Police said Costa accidentally discharged the firearm while multiple people were sitting inside the vehicle, injuring one of them, according to CBS News. The outlet reports that police and fire personnel were dispatched the following day, last Saturday, after reports of a possible shooting in the neighborhood.
Victim Found Outside Home, Taken Into Surgery
When officers and firefighters arrived, they found multiple people outside a residence, including someone who had been shot, the station's report states.
Investigators said their inquiry indicated multiple people had been sitting inside the vehicle at the time the firearm went off, pointing to an accidental discharge rather than a targeted attack. The account does not detail where inside the vehicle the shot originated or exactly how the victim ended up outside the home afterward.
Firearm Recovered Under a Boat in the Driveway
During the search of the scene, responding personnel located a firearm hidden under a boat stored in the home's driveway, per the same account. Costa was subsequently charged with negligent discharge of a firearm and other unspecified firearm-related charges; the exact nature of those additional charges has not been detailed.
Accidental shootings involving firearms inside vehicles or homes are not unheard of elsewhere in California. In Palo Alto, a man accidentally discharged a gun inside his parked truck back in 2022, with the round passing through his own hand before striking another passenger in the leg, according to the City of Palo Alto Police Department. In a separate case last month, an adult cleaning a gun in the Central Valley town of Pixley accidentally shot a 2-year-old boy, authorities told the Los Angeles Times.
The investigation into the Berryessa Drive shooting remains active, and key details, including the victim's identity, condition, and the specific charges Costa faces beyond negligent discharge of a firearm, have not been made public.
