SOUTHWORTH, Wash. – A man trying to loosen a stubborn lug nut blasted the wheel with a 12-gauge shotgun, injuring himself badly in both legs, sheriff’s deputies said.

The 66-year-old man had been repairing a Lincoln Continental for two weeks at his home northwest of Southworth, about 10 miles southwest of Seattle, and had gotten all but one of the lug nuts off the right rear wheel by Saturday afternoon, Kitsap County Deputy Scott Wilson said.

“He’s bound and determined to get that lug nut off,” Wilson said.

From about arm’s length, the man fired the shotgun at the wheel and was “peppered” in both legs with buckshot and debris, with some injuries as high as his chin, according to a sheriff’s office report.

“Nobody else was there and he wasn’t intoxicated,” Wilson said.

The man was taken to Tacoma General Hospital with injuries Wilson described as severe, but not life-threatening.

Officer reprimanded after discharging loaded Taser

MADISON, Wis. – A police officer has been reprimanded for accidentally discharging a Taser and causing an injury – to the police officer.

Madison police released a report Monday on the July 31 incident, without revealing the officer’s name or gender. The department said the Taser accidentally discharged during a standard checkout procedure.

According to a summary of the investigation, officers are required to make sure no air cartridges are loaded before testing the Taser gun at the start of each shift. It’s the air cartridges that propel the Taser’s prongs, which deliver a jolt of electricity when they strike a target.

The officer’s hand was injured, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said.

A letter of reprimand was issued because failing to ensure the air cartridge was not loaded was a violation of department policy, the report said.

From Associated Press reports