A man has been arrested for accidentally shooting his friend in the face while waving a gun around after finding it between two sofa cushions.

Hollmer Zelaya, 24, was arrested in the city of Memphis, in the US state of Tennessee, on Monday, 3rd July, after the shooting.

Witness Jose Betanco-Landero told police that he, Zelaya and victim Kevin Ariel-Gonzalez had been “hanging out in the living room” when Zelaya “found a gun between the couch cushions and started messing with it and then waving it around”.

The police said that Betanco-Landero told them that the “gun discharged and hit Kevin Ariel-Gonzalez”.

Zelaya then reportedly hid the gun in a drainage ditch near the apartment, according to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

Police went to the apartment and found the victim with a gunshot wound to the face.

Ariel-Gonzalez was taken to the Regional One Hospital in critical condition. There have been no updates on his current status.

The police recovered the gun, whose owner is currently unknown, and arrested Zelaya.

Zelaya has been charged with reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon and tampering with or fabricating evidence.

The investigation is ongoing.