ST. CHARLES COUNTY • A man who owns the gun that went off and shot another man through the chest at a Wentzville church fundraiser last month will not face criminal charges, St. Charles County prosecuting attorney Jack Banas said Friday.

The incident happened just before 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 21 at St. Patrick Catholic Church, as the event was ending and people began cleaning up.

As the gun owner was getting up to leave, a .38-caliber Cobra Derringer, commonly known as a "pocket pistol," fell out of the man's coat pocket and fired as it hit the ground, Banas said.

The man told police he didn't know the gun had fired because of noise in the room, including balloons being popped. He didn't realize the gun had fallen out of his pocket until a bystander found it and handed it back to him, Banas said.

The victim, 23, who was sitting at the next table, realized he had been shot and put his hand to his chest, but at first people at his table thought he was joking. By the time they realized he was hurt, the man with the gun was leaving, not knowing what had happened.

"He was extremely upset," Banas said of the man, 53, a truck driver from St. Louis County who said he carries the gun for protection. He told police he carried it with him that night because he was bringing money to the event, a fundraiser for a cancer patient.

"It just doesn't appear it rises to the level of any criminal charge," Banas said.

As soon as the man saw news reports of the incident the next morning, he went to Wentzville police.

The truck driver has a concealed carry permit, and there were no signs posted on the building prohibiting guns, Banas said. The prosecutor said there may have been a sign elsewhere on the church property, but the truck driver didn't see one.

Banas said he looked into whether the man should have had a safety device on the gun, but those familiar with the weapon said that the hammer is difficult to pull back and is ordinarily safe to carry in a pocket. Such weapons can fire if dropped, Banas said.

The victim was shot through the liver and was released from the hospital this week, Banas said. Banas has spoken with him as he has looked into whether to file charges.

Banas said people who carry weapons must realize they are taking on a big responsibility. He also wonders whether legislators should address the issue of safety devices to prevent this sort of accident.

"If I go to a fundraiser like this," he said, "I don't anticipate somebody is going to be shooting at me, intentionally or not."