WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren OhioNavy SEAL from the Valley accidentally shoots himself

Navy SEAL from the Valley accidentally shoots himself

SAN DIEGO, California - A Navy SEAL from the Valley accidentally shot himself in the head in his San Diego apartment.

Geno Clayton's family owns Clayton Heating and Air Conditioning here in Youngstown. 

San Diego police say the 22-year-old returned to his apartment just after 2:00 a.m. on Thursday.

The Navy SEAL had been out with friends at a bar and brought a woman home with him that he had met earlier in the night.

Police say he was showing her his 9mm handgun and in an attempt to prove it wasn't loaded he put it to his head and pulled the trigger.

"It appears to be completely accidental.  He was showing the girl his handgun, thought it to be unloaded and clearly it wasn't," says San Diego Police Lt. Andra Brown.

Clayton is on life support.

His parents flew to San Diego last night to be with him.

Clayton is a Boardman High School graduate and played hockey with the Poland High School club team.  He then played hockey at Youngstown State University.

Mike Poljak played with Clayton and is now the coach of the YSU team.  "He was a good kid.  He had a good heart and that's the main thing that stood out, that attracted people to him, I think," Poljak said.

Poljak says he wasn't surprised when Clayton told him he wanted to be a Navy SEAL.  "He was a real athletically built kid.  He was, you know, he had that kind of protective nature on the ice.  It just seemed fitting for someone like him to do some sort of military work like that.  Just seemed right when he told me that."

Clayton just completed his SEAL training last month.

The shooting is under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.