An Imperial man told Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigators one of his guns accidentally discharged while he was cleaning it, and he shot himself in the hand. The incident happened the morning of April 5 at a home in the 3900 block of Birch Drive in Imperial, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
The victim said he was cleaning a .22-caliber revolver around 6 a.m. when it went off. The man said it was an older gun and he did not realize it was loaded. He also said he became angry when he shot himself, so he threw the gun out his vehicle window into the Meramec River as he drove to work north on I-55, the report said.
After several hours at work, “his left hand began to swell so much that he left work and drove himself” to medical care for treatment, according to the report.