SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake police say a fatal shooting overnight appears to have been an accident.

A 33-year-old man who had been drinking with his brother for several hours near 260 South and 500 East picked up a gun around 11:20 p.m. and it went off while handling it, according to police.

The man, whose name has not been released, accidentally shot himself in the head. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

No other details about the incident were immediately available.

Pat Reavy was an intern at KSL NewsRadio in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for KSL NewsRadio, Deseret News or KSL.com since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily in law enforcement and the courts.