No charge in Christmas Cottage shooting

LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WIVB) - Families coming to meet Santa were terrified when a gun went off inside Santa Claus' Christmas Cottage in Lockport.

Three days before Christmas, a gun shot rang out here. The bullet put a hole in the cottage floor. Santa and everyone around him were evacuated.

Niagara County Sheriff James Voutour said, "A firearm went off. It really confused a lot of people, including the owner of the gun himself."

The gun was a .45 caliber Colt semi-automatic pistol carried by Christopher Baer of Middleport. He's a National Guard Reservist who served two tours in Iraq, and had taken his young daughter to meet Santa. He is also a firearms range instructor and a firefighter. Sheriff Voutour says Baer was licensed to carry the weapon.

"We looked at everything. [It was] secure, to the extent that it was in his holster. It was concealed. We just think it was a freak accident," he said.

Niagara County District Attorney Mike Violani told News 4 the investigation determined that Baer's gun was probably struck by the foot of his 3-year-old daughter, causing the gun to accidentally misfire. The DA says no criminal conduct took place, and therefore no charges were filed.

While some may question why a person can take a loaded gun into a Lockport Park area, no laws were broken. Baer had no comment when News 4 reached him on the phone.