GREENSBORO-An apparent shooting accident has claimed the life of a Greensboro man.

William Otha Johnson, 59, of Greensboro was killed following a May 7 shooting incident involving a .22-caliber Ruger pistol. According to the report filed with the Hale County Sheriff’s office, the incident occurred between 3:30 and 4 p.m. at Johnson’s Greensboro residence, located at 208 Oakwood Drive.

Sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. Johnson was quickly transported to DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa for treatment, but was unable to recover from his wounds and died Saturday evening.

Although Hale Sheriff Larry Johnson acknowledged that another individual was present at Johnson’s residence at the time of the shooting, no arrests have been made and he doubts any will be forthcoming.

“At this point,” Sheriff Johnson said Tuesday, “my department feels like it was an accident…it appears to be an accident. But we are investigating the matter and we will be presenting the case to a grand jury. They’ll make a decision on it.”

Because of the sensitive nature of the investigation, Sheriff Johnson said he was not at liberty to discuss the identity of the other individual or any other details that had led his department to conclude the shooting was an accident.

“I’d rather not say anything that might jeopardize the investigation,” he said. “There’s plenty of rumors going around and I don’t want to add any fuel to them.”

Johnson is survived by his wife Joyce and four children, Derek Johnson, Brad Johnson, Laura Barnett and Sheri Kynard.