Arizona Man Shot In Chest On Clearwater Golf Course

What started as a family game of golf turned into a horrifying experience Saturday afternoon when a 72-year-old grandfather was shot through the chest at the seventh hole by an unknown gunman firing from an unknown location, authorities said.

After a family member called 911 from a cellular telephone, Albert S. Michalczyk was taken by ambulance from the Glen Oaks Golf Course at 1345 Court St. to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, where he was being evaluated late Saturday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Police said the Tuscon, Ariz., visitor was expected to be treated and released.

Some of the 40 or 50 golfers at the course initially thought it was a firecracker that went off about 4:15 p.m.

No bullet projectiles were found, but investigators determined Michalczyk had been shot, mainly because of the nature of his wound, said Lt. James Steffens of the Clearwater Police Department.

The bullet appears to have pierced his upper right chest, at the shoulder, without nicking any vital organs, Steffens said.

Steffens described the shot as one that was fired "straight on." "It's not something that fell out of the sky," he said.

"He immediately knew he was struck, and his immediate family started tending to his wounds," Steffens said.

Michalczyk was with his wife, his son and his grandson, said Bill Hayes, co-founder of the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation, which maintains the public course.

Clearwater police fanned out and canvassed the residences and apartments surrounding the golf course. The bullet may have come from an apartment complex to the west of where Michalczyk was golfing, Steffens said.

A man found in the area of the shooting was taken into custody on unrelated charges, and has not been deemed a suspect, Steffens said.

Hayes said the course was closed immediately and likely to remain closed today - or at least until investigators unravel what happened.

"I don't want anyone playing unless we know what this is all about," Hayes said.