SALISBURY — A 53-year-old man was shot in his rear end Friday in what he said was a fireworks accident.

Sgt. Russ DeSantis of the Salisbury Police Department said officers were called to Novant Health Rowan Medical Center on Saturday after the man woke up in pain and went to the hospital.

The man told police he initially thought he was hit by a Roman candle while walking at 1 a.m. Friday around the JC Optimist Sports Complex on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. There were several young men shooting fireworks. He felt something hit him in the rear end and thought nothing of it until waking up the next day, he told police.

DeSantis said an X-ray identified a bullet in his rear end.

Police say there’s more to the story, and officers are investigating the case.