People who were shopping at a bustling Corvallis grocery store on Saturday were lucky to escape injury after a man dropped a loaded handgun from his pocket, causing an accidental firing of the weapon and sending a .22-caliber round into a stack of soda cans.

Gerald A. Duffney, 46, of Corvallis was shopping at the Winco Foods store at 2335 N.W. Kings Blvd. at 4:24 p.m. on Saturday when the gun fell on the floor and discharged, according to Sgt. Jim Zessin of the Corvallis Police Department.

“The discharge sent the bullet through several cans of soda,” Zessin said. “An officer found the bullet inside one of the cans.”

Police were not able to provide the model name of the gun on Monday, but store manager Dave Goulding described it as a small-caliber, Derringer-style handgun with a one- or two-bullet capacity.

A store employee reported the incident and asked Duffney to wait for police to arrive, Zessin said.

Duffney was cooperative and the discharge was accidental, Zessin said, but Duffney did not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon. He was cited for carrying a concealed weapon and discharge of a weapon, both misdemeanor charges. Duffney was released after receiving the citation. A court date has not yet been determined by the Corvallis Municipal Court.

Duffney, who was reached by phone on Monday, confirmed that the gun fell out of his pocket and discharged.

“It was a very stupid accident on my part alone,” Duffney said. “I would like to apologize to everyone in the store and to the community. … It was really a freak accident that was unintentional.”

Zessin, who said the incident could have been a lot worse than it was, offered some advice on Monday for firearm owners:

“Don’t carry a concealed weapon unless you have a permit. If you carry one, carry it in a proper, secured holster so it doesn’t fall out.”