RBC coroner airlifted after shooting

MEEKER — County Coroner Ran Cochran was airlifted Wednesday morning to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, the victim of a gunshot wound in the stomach.
“He had a gunshot in the abdomen area,” said Meeker Police Chief Bob Hervey. “It appears it was accidental”
Ran Cochran, owner of Cochran Memorial Chapels in Meeker and Rangely, was conscious when police and emergency medical services personnel arrived. The shooting occurred at the funeral home in Meeker.
Hervey said he wasn’t sure who reported the shooting.
“He (Cochran) was the only one there when we arrived,” Hervey said. “The call came in as a shot fired, and almost immediately the person said it was an accidental shooting.”
Officer Jeremy Muxlow “will handle the case,” Hervey said.
— Jeff Burkhead