Police confronted Greer in a wooded creek bottom on the farm at 1120 Tick Ridge Road about 30 minutes later at 12:41. That's when Greer shot himself.
KSP reported Greer's injuries were the result of an attempted suicide.
However, Lincoln County Sheriff Curt Folger said one of his deputies reported Greer pointed the shotgun at him and fired. The shotgun discharged and went off in Greer's face instead.
"We think ... he was going to come around and shoot one of my officers, but it discharged and he shot himself in the face," Folger said.
The blast injured Greer's face and eye area, Lanham said, but he was conscious, talking and asking for pain medication as paramedics worked to remove him from the wooded area.
A Kentucky Fish and Wildlife sport utility vehicle transported Greer from the creek bottom to a waiting ambulance, and he was taken to Fort Logan Hospital. From there, he was transported by ambulance to the UK medical center.
Greer in fair condition
Harry Nickens, spokesman for Ephraim McDowell Health, parent company of the Stanford hospital, said Greer was in fair condition before leaving for UK where he also underwent surgery. UK did not have a condition report for him today.
When the initial call came in that Mullins had been shot, Lanham said Highland Elementary School was placed on lockdown for precautionary reasons. The residence where the shooting occurred is less than a mile from the school.
Folger said Greer and Mullins had a past relationship.
"They were boyfriend and girlfriend for a while and lived together," Folger said. "I think they broke up a couple of months ago."
This is not the first run-in with the law for Greer. In 1991, he was accused of dousing his estranged wife, Irma Dean Greer, with a flammable liquid and setting her on fire.
A grand jury decided not to indict Greer after his alibi was backed up by witnesses and Irma Greer failed to provide important details regarding the incident.
In 1996, Greer was sentenced to 15 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter in a Pulaski County case after shooting Larry Spradlin.
Greer was originally indicted for murder, but as part of a plea bargain, the charge was amended to manslaughter, according to the Pulaski County circuit clerk's office.
Greer was imprisoned from May 1997 until March 2006. He was discharged from Northpoint Training Center after serving out his term, which apparently was shortened by good behavior, according to the state Corrections Cabinet.
KSP said today that charges have been filed against Greer in connection with Thursday's shooting.
He is charged with first-degree assault, first-degree wanton endangerment and second-degree persistent felony offender. He will be held in the Lincoln County Regional Jail after he is released from the hospital.
The investigation by Detective Mark Young is ongoing.
