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Accidental shooting injures 2 after bullet strikes pocketknife, shrapnel ricochets

Posted at 7:49 PM, Aug 09, 2014
and last updated 2014-08-09 21:49:57-04

OGDEN, Utah – Two men suffered minor injuries Saturday when one man accidentally fired a handgun and shrapnel from the bullet ricocheted off of a pocketknife the man had in his pocket.

Lt. Steve Zaccardi of the Ogden Police Department said two men met up before work and one of the men was showing the other a firearm.

One of the men was interested in purchasing a gun, but it wasn’t clear if he was interested in buying the gun being shown or if the gun owner was just showing the other man the weapon, a .40-caliber Smith and Wesson. The two men were standing in the parking lot at the American Nutrition plant, 2813 Wall Ave., as the owner began taking the gun apart, which is when the firearm went off.

The bullet struck the gun owner in the pocket area, and shrapnel from the bullet hitting the pocketknife ricocheted and struck the other man in the hip.

Both men suffered minor injuries, but only the man struck by shrapnel was taken to a hospital. The owner of the gun is a 37-year-old man and the other individual is 31.

Officials said the shooting appears to be accidental and no arrests have been made and not citations have been issued.