A man accidentally shot himself and his wife while showing off his gun in a Tennessee church.

Members of the First United Methodist Church in Tellico Plains, were talking about firearms when the man pulled out a .380-calibre Ruger handgun, removed the magazine, cleared the chamber, and showed the gun, before putting the magazine back in and returning the gun to its holster, police said.

When someone asked if they could see the gun, he pulled it out saying it was not loaded and pulled the trigger. Police said the bullet sliced the man's palm then entered the left side of his wife's abdomen and exited the right side. The couple, in their 80s, were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

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