By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – A 13-year-old boy was treated at Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center on Friday after accidentally shooting himself in his right leg.
According to a Graham County Sheriff’s Office report, the teen advised he retrieved a Ruger .22 caliber handgun from his parents’ utility vehicle side-by-side and took it into his room to clean it. The teen’s mother later told a deputy that the handgun is normally in a gun safe but they had recently taken it with them on a fishing outing.
The teen didn’t advise his parents that he had the firearm and believed he had sufficiently cleared it by checking the chamber and removing the magazine. However, upon checking the chamber he pulled the slide back to view the chamber and when the slide went back it chambered a bullet as it is designed to do.
During his cleaning, he accidentally caught the trigger with his pinky finger and the gun fired a bullet into his leg. The teen then wrapped his shirt around the wound and informed his mother.
The deputy reported that the bullet entered the inside of the teen’s leg just above the knee and exited the inside of his leg just below the knee.
NRA gun safety rules
- Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. This is the primary rule of gun safety. Common sense dictates the safest direction, depending on different circumstances.
- Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot. When holding a gun, rest your finger alongside the frame and outside the trigger guard. Until you are actually ready to fire, do not touch the trigger.
- Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use. If you do not know how to open the action or inspect the chamber(s), leave the gun alone and get help from someone who does.
- Additional rules include: Know your target and what is beyond. Know how to use the gun safely. Be sure the gun is safe to operate. Wear eye and ear protection as appropriate. Use only the correct ammunition. Never use alcohol, over-the-counter drugs, or prescription drugs before or while shooting, and store guns so they are not accessible for unauthorized persons.
Source: National Rifle Association of America
