BILLINGS — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy is once again addressing questions about a gunshot wound, he says he sustained overseas during combat as a Navy Seal in Afghanistan.
The topic has become a focal point in the last days leading up to the election, with former FOX News journalist Megyn Kelly being the latest to question Sheehy about the incident and the murky details surrounding what happened.
Sheehy appeared on the Megyn Kelly podcast. During the interview, Kelly asked Sheehy, "Did you shoot yourself in the arm?" Sheehy answered, "No, that was never the allegation.”
Sheehy went on to tell the host he was shot during friendly fire that ricocheted downrange by an embedded Afghan soldier and says he never reported the injury to keep his unit uncompromised.
However, National Park Service documents show Sheehy was cited in 2015 for discharging a firearm at Logan Pass inside Glacier National Park, where a bullet hit his right forearm.
Sheehy issued a handwritten statement to the National Park Service at the time admitting the improperly stored gun fell and fired.
He also addresses that incident during his interview with Megyn Kelly, telling Kelly he wasn’t shot in the park, but that he felt the bullet get dislodged in his arm after he fell while hiking.
When asked about medical records to support that claim, Sheehy told Kelly no medical records like that exist, even though a written statement obtained at the time shows Sheehy’s own account of getting struck with the bullet.
The former FOX News anchor and conservative journalist responded to Sheehy’s answers saying, “So confusing.”
Sheehy believes the commotion over his gunshot wound is an attempt by the Tester campaign to attack the Republican’s character just days before the election.
His campaign released the following statement"
“Tim Sheehy humbly served our nation with honor and served alongside many heroes. Many of them never came home. Full stop. The bullet in Tim’s arm was a result of his service in Afghanistan. Tim never reported it because he didn’t want to trigger an investigation of his team, be pulled from the battlefield, and see a fellow teammate be punished. It was always about protecting a fellow team member of his unit he thought could have been responsible due to friendly fire ricochet in the heat of an engagement with the enemy.”
