HAMBLEN TWP. — Christopher Lucas was practicing a quick draw, where the gun is spun on a finger and then shot using rapid fire, when he dropped the weapon and it discharged, shooting him in the lower right abdomen.

He died at Columbus Regional Hospital on May 9.

The 31-year-old Lucas and his friends were fans of old Western-style revolvers and guns, said Brown County Chief Deputy Mike Morris.

Friends who were coming to visit him at his Bean Blossom Road home that evening discovered Lucas not breathing. One friend immediately began CPR, not knowing Lucas had been shot.

“He was bleeding out on the inside, and no one knew it,” Morris said.

The 911 call came in at 7:10 p.m. from Lucas’ friend. She performed CPR until first responders from the Hamblen Volunteer Fire Department arrived eight minutes later, followed by a hospital ambulance at 7:24 p.m., according to a dispatch log.

Once EMS staff got Lucas into the ambulance, they began cutting his clothes and found the wound, Morris said.

Morris arrived at the hospital after Lucas was brought in.

“He was obviously a very, very loved guy,” Morris said.

“I don’t know in my 30 years if I’ve ever seen, other than a police officer or a firefighter being injured, I don’t know if I have ever seen that many people (at a hospital),” Morris said.

Lucas leaves behind his companion, Nicole Whitaker, and their two children, Taylor and Wyatt.

He worked for Hagerman Construction Co. in Indianapolis and was a member of Laborers Union Local 120. He was a member of Memorial Baptist Church in Columbus and frequently attended services at Faithful Gospel Church in Morgantown.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Whitaker with the funeral costs and other expenses. It can be found at gofundme.com under “Lucas Family Support.”