Florida man accidentally shoots himself, notices two days later

Reuters

A man accidentally shot himself in the arm while cleaning his gun but did not notice until two days later, according to Florida police.

Michael Blevins, 37, of Deltona, said he did not feel pain from the bullet, which pierced skin and muscle before exiting his body, according to an incident report from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.  

He also told a deputy that he did not notice the bleeding until he replaced a black shirt he was wearing with a brown one, and the wound created a stain.

Blevins did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

A woman who answered a telephone believed to be at Blevins’ residence, but would only identify herself as Lila, described him as a disabled worker and said she was his emergency contact.

The shooting happened on Thursday in Blevins’ living room as he cleaned a revolver and loaded the cylinder while resting the gun on his chest so his dog would not jump on it, according to the police report.

Blevins told a deputy his back suddenly gave out due to an old injury and he fell, striking his forehead on a table and accidentally firing the gun, the report said.

According to the report, Blevins said the blow to his head, coupled with pain medication he takes for the back injury, likely distracted him from feeling the gunshot.

Blevins took himself to Florida Hospital Fish Memorial on Saturday where staff reported the incident to the sheriff. The case was closed without charges as an accidental shooting.

(Reporting by Barbara Liston; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-florida-gunshot-idUSKCN0Y12CI