LEWISTON – A mishandled .22-caliber pistol led to an early morning shooting Monday that sent a local woman to the hospital.

Police responded to phoned-in reports that a woman had been shot at 164 Holland St. at about 2:30 a.m. Monday. They found Michelle Gauthier, 30, with a gunshot wound in her right leg and a .22-caliber gun at the scene.

Gauthier was taken to Central Maine Medical Center with injuries that are not life-threatening, police said.

Police arrested Brian Chenard, 27, of Paris and charged him with elevated aggravated assault.

He was handling the loaded gun in an inappropriate manner, said Lewiston police Sgt. David Chick. Gauthier was trying to take the gun from Chenard when it went off, Chick said.

“She looked at the situation and determined there was a strong likelihood that someone was going to be shot,” Chick said. “She just stepped in to effect some control over the weapon and the situation, and wound up getting shot in the leg.”

Chenard was arrested at the scene.

“He was there when the officers arrived, and he directed them to the gun,” Chick said. It does not appear that Chenard intended to shoot Gauthier, he said.

“The charges are based entirely on the way he mishandled the gun at the time,” Chick said. Police would not say specifically what Chenard was doing with the gun.