A Moultrie man was fortunate to survive being shot in the face Friday morning by a friend while they were firing weapons.

Eduardo Morales-Santos and a witness said that Morales-Santos was accidentally shot as they were firing weapons between 7:30 a.m.-8 a.m. before going to work Friday morning in a field on Zion Grove Church Road.

The .25-caliber bullet struck Morales-Santos in the chin, turned downward and traveled through his throat and into his chest but did not hit any vital organs, Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Ronald Jordan said. Morales-Santos was expected to recover.

“He and two other friends were in a field shooting guns,” Jordan said. “One had fired a full clip and thought the gun was empty and was waving it around. Apparently Fidel Cruz accidentally discharged the gun and struck Eduardo in the chin.”

Although Cruz had taken the clip out of the pistol, apparently a bullet was chambered and had not been fired.

Cruz, who went to the hospital with Morales-Santos, fled when he saw police cars arrive there, Jordan said. Because the stories of the witness and Morales-Santos match, the sheriff’s office does not plan to file charges.

Jordan said he found shell casings in the area near the intersection of Myron Hart Road and Zion Grove Church Road.

Morales-Santos was talking at the hospital, Jordan said. Doctors planned later to remove the bullet, which was lodged in his body.