gyvel, that my first thought exactly, the entry angle of the wound.
Mechanical things do fail, so the gun may have very well went off when dropped.
If it did so, I would highly recommend the barber have the gun checked out by a competent pistol smith.
I would also advise him that trying to load the gun when things get bad may be much more difficult then he thinks.
If that's the way he wants to do it then he best practice his loading drills until he's proficient at it and might want to do the practice loading with dummy ammo.
Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com