A man was wounded when an antique rifle he was holding discharged during a gun show in Salem on Saturday, according to city officials.

The man, a friend of a dealer at the show, suffered superficial wounds to his face "apparently from concrete fragments that were sprayed upon impact when the rifle went off" in a confined area, Salem spokesman Mike Stevens said.

Salem police described the gun as "an antique military-style rifle," Stevens said.

The man was taken to Lewis-Gale Medical Center, where he was treated for his injury and released.

His name has not been released, and Salem police Sgt. Mike Brightwell said charges are possible pending further investigation.

A Salem police officer and a Virginia state trooper regularly work at the civic center's gun shows, and they responded as soon as the firearm went off, Stevens said.

Carey Harveycutter, Salem's director of civic facilities, said the discharge was the civic center's first in 20 years of hosting gun shows. He said that loaded firearms are not allowed at gun shows.

-- Mason Adams