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Man Accidentally Shoots Off Finger While Cleaning His Gun — and Guess Where It Landed

Mar. 4, 2013 3:32pm Billy Hallowell

On Sunday evening, Steven Johnson, a Des Moines, Iowa, resident, lost his finger during a freak gun accident. After cleaning his firearm, he pulled the trigger and accidentally shot off the top of his left index finger.

The 22-year-old apparently inserted a magazine into the gun and racked the slide, the Associated Press reports. But he didn’t realize that the gun was loaded, so when he pulled the trigger in an effort to see if it was in working order, a shot unexpectedly fired.

Steven Johnson Shoots Off Finger With a Tarus .380

Photo Credit: Tarus

The bullet sent a piece of his finger flying across the room. But that’s not all. The police report details an even creepier portion of the story: the severed tip hit his mother.

The report dryly reads, “The tip of his finger flew off and hit his mother.”

Later, she drove her son to the hospital, where the two were purportedly questioned by authorities about what unfolded.

According to authorities, Johnson’s story checked out, however they were unable to recover the blown-off flesh.

The gun at the center of the incident is reportedly a Tarus .380.

The lesson? There’s a reason that one of the fundamental firearm safety rules is to treat every gun as if it were loaded.

(H/T: WCCO-TV via AP)

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Comments (107)

maggiepie
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:20pm
I can’t even come up with a comment for stupid gun owners.

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- Gargent_Furball
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:28pm
  Me Too.
  
  Report this comment
upadastra
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:14pm
A friend of mine, a top ranking match shooter thought he had emptied his magazine of a heavy barrel High Standard match pistol, turned the gun barrel up and tapped the top of the barrel with two fingers held in a V shape to show how honed the trigger pull was and the gun discharged it’s last bullet into the ceiling. Had he not held his fingers in the V he could have never become the excellent orthopedic surgeon he became. Accidents can happen.

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- luxlife
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 5:05pm
  Has he ever lost any wristwatches? Yikes!
  
  Report this comment
KickinBack
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:10pm
Blam!

“Ma. I shot my finga awf.”

“You play’n round wit Pa’s gun agin? I rekin you dizerv ta lose a nubbin. ‘Ow bad izit?”

“Kinda stings ‘litle. Jist a flesh wooond. Can you hand me my nubbin so weez can git goin’ and git sewed back up?”

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- JRook
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:14pm
  lol ah yes nothing more soothing than NRA speak.
  
  Report this comment
- 00100111
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:21pm
  Rookie translated: “Derp derp, derp derp derp derp derp derp!”
  
  Report this comment
- mrja
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:25pm
  “Steven Johnson, a Des Moines, Iowa, resident” ………….doubt the hillbilly stereotype applies here
  
  Report this comment
- decendentof56
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:28pm
  JROOK….
  You know, I think you need the 1:03 minute version.
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gnpCqsXE8g
  
  Report this comment
Nabuquduriuzhur
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:09pm
One of my favorite Darwin awards was for a gang-banger who stole an old .45 from a home. He went out and committed armed robbery. Then he thought he’d better get rid of the witness. He pulled the trigger. nothing happened. He looked down into the barrel in surprise and it went off.

1940s ammunition that resulted in a hang-fire.

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jakartaman
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:07pm
Maybe an IQ test before buying a gun is required.
It will eliminate most liberals

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- JRook
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:13pm
  so saying the reverse of what everyone knows to be true accomplishes what. Rush and GB get away with it everyday because they have an audience full of individuals like yourself. Not because it is accurate or logical.
  
  Report this comment
- decendentof56
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:22pm
  I think you’re right! This guys IQ is less than the rounds his mag holds.
  Speaking on dumn, did we read the piece on Joseph Phillips kids camera being seized by the school-Nazi’s? Why is it relevent to this story?
  Some of the comments to this story make it relevent!!!!
  
  This YT video explains perfectly how we got to “stupid”, and unable to recognize facts and/or reality if they were shoved in your face. It was made 30 years ago!
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlpODYhnPEo
  
  Report this comment
- 00100111
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:22pm
  More derping. Dang boy, you’re on a roll, today. Did your mom give you a little happy ending after your bath today, or something?
  
  Report this comment
- Longgonegator
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:22pm
  IQ tests are needed to start a family and drive an automobile
  
  Report this comment
- decendentof56
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:24pm
  Rook…..You REALLY-REALLY need to watch the YT video.
  
  Report this comment
The-Monk
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:05pm
Shoot myself once… shame on me.

Shoot myself twice… still shame on me.

Leave our guns alone. Stupidity will remove the stupid ones from owning a gun (anymore).

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- luxlife
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:10pm
  or their mothers
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:18pm
  Hi luxlife,
  
  My Mom gave me a rifle at age 12. She never had to take it back.
  
  But, she was there in case she did need to take it back. : )
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:21pm
        ☼
     ☼    ☼
        ☼
  
  lol….
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:21pm
  It worked !!!!
  
  LMAO : )
  
  Report this comment
- luxlife
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 5:02pm
  I’m with ya Monk. Respect needs to be taught early and often.
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 5:25pm
  Hi Luxlife,
  
  I took that same .22LR semi-auto 10 shot rifle to 9th grade wood shop to re-finish the stock.
  
  Just had to stop by the Principles office to drop off the firing mechanism.
  
  Try that in today’s progressive run World.
  
  Report this comment
- tnman65
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 6:07pm
  Im glad I grew up with more respect. I never gave my mom the finger.
  
  Report this comment
BaldingEagle1776
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:03pm
y’all so touchy. you need to hug more.

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zgomer
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:01pm
That is what you get when you are a liberal…LOL!

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SpankDaMonkey
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:01pm
.
Somebody owes me a keyboard I shot coffee out my nose laughing………

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SeekerEmerald
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:00pm
He racked the slide, and it went off? Sounds like a poor excuse a child might give. Racking the slide does NOT cause the hammer to fall. Pulling the trigger does. He racked the slide, and the bulled from the magazine was then loaded into the chamber, and then I’ll bet one of two things happened:
1. He has no firearm discipline and had his finger on the trigger and accidentally triggered the hammer, or
2. He was stupid enough to pul the trigger on purpose thinking it was unloaded.
In both case, he is an idiot.
Millions of guns in the country, and millions of owners who have not done this, so I think the evidence supports my conclusion that he is an idiot.

Actually, if you remove alcohol from the equation, there would be far fewer than the very few accidents we have now…

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- WeStateMedia
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:08pm
  It says he pulled the triggered thinking it was unloaded. Read the article all the way through before wasting comment space.
  
  Report this comment
- 00100111
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:19pm
  This kid is an idiot. He inserted a magazine and racked the slide…and he didn’t know it was loaded before function checking? FFS, really? No sympathy for this kid. And the author…”Freak Accident”. No, this was not an accident. This was negligence and stupidity. Drop the mag, rack the slide several times, verify unloaded visually and tactilely before squeezing the trigger in a safe direction before disassembly/field strip. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
  
  Report this comment
- 00100111
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:24pm
  Weststate. You still don’t understand. He should have been 100% aware of what was going on. He should have known the mag was loaded, he should have known there was a round in the chamber. There is no room for “accidents” with firearms. This was not an accident. This was negligence.
  
  Report this comment
Sterling Hallbrook
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:58pm
The guy was lucky it was only a .380 and not a real gun.

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- 226crimsontrace
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:32pm
  My thoughts exactly, Just think if he had shot his mom with a .380, she would probably ground him.
  
  Report this comment
- LakeHartwellSailor
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 5:45pm
  Actually my friends, a .22LR can be deadly…as can a .380. I know what you are saying, and I agree with you. My fav is the 1911-A1 .45. But my little Ruger LCP (.380) is a far better deep conceal weapon then my 1911-A1.
  
  We have several .22 LR pistols, and I treat each of those as though it was the 1911-A1. Don’t mean to be a nag…but I would hate for someone who doesn’t know much about firearms to one day pick up a .22 and think it was a toy. Same thing applies to the .380. Any weapon for that matter.
  
  Report this comment
VTDave
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:57pm
Rant on — Another dumbazz “gun cleaning accident”….. Sure…… What an idiot. I am sick of these stupid “gun cleaning” accidents. How many of you clean your firearms loaded? It was obviously loaded already, he racked it after cleaning with a presumably empty mag, which means he hadn’t “cleaned” the barrel or he would have know that it was loaded. How many of you clean your gun without cleaning/checking the barrel? Every time I hear of somebody getting shot or killed because a gun went off while it was being cleaned I want to explode. These are the types of negligent acts that I believe should be prosecuted. I also believe that “hunting” accidents where somebody shot another hunter because they thought the other hunter was an “x,y, or z” need to be prosecuted. I am sick of the rampant stupidity that we gun owners have to fight against on top of the anti-gun fight. —- Rant off.

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- Southerner01
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:05pm
  If he put a magazine in and then racked it, a bullet already in the chamber should have been expelled. I can only assume he used a loaded or partially loaded magazine, which is utterly ridiculous.
  
  Report this comment
Sargeking
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:56pm
No law can prevent a stupid act but a “stupid” law can penalize the innocent. Lately, all this talk about rape whistles, call boxes, and double barrel shotguns (that won’t fit inside any purse) are also pretty “stupid”. As a responsible gun owner, let me handle my own safety and security. If I need some Lib direction, I’ll ask. Thanks anyway!

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- RabbiDRJerkins
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 6:38pm
  Shalom,
  You definately have not seen the purses some of the girls around here carry; you could put the call box AND the shotgun in them and probably have room left over for a dog to go with the whistle.
  
  …difficult to come up with a serious statement in response to such a ridiculous “news” article.
  
  Report this comment
spfoam1
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:55pm
I’m confident you can outdo this. Put the barrel all the way in your mouth, and don’t forget to start the web cam before you pull the trigger. We would all enjoy watching a brand new troll shoot themself in the arse.

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blanco5
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:55pm
Well, doesn’t that include you then?

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FiscalBill
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:54pm
Second Rule: Avoid idiots.

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NoObamanomics
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:53pm
Hey BALD…Tell all the ‘folks’ at MEDIA MATTERS/TIDES FOUNDATION (Which ever one is paying you). Oh, TAP on the ceiling for me and tell your MOTHER ‘thank you’ for allowing you to live in her basement.

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CLAYBLAISEDELL
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:52pm
Attention NRA Voting Members!

Nominate Glenn Beck to the 2013 NRA Board of Directors!

“With president “That Guy” using his vast executive power to abuse our freedom, we are facing an unprecedented assault on the Second Amendment and every other right enshrined in our Constitution. To withstand these attacks and hold the line to protect our rights, your vote is vital in the election of a strong, united, and effective NRA Board of Directors. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, remember what your vote means: It assures that the NRA remains an Association of the members, for the members and by the members.” ~ Wayne LaPierre

If you haven’t done so already, please fill out your “2013 NRA Ballot Package” and nominate Glenn Beck, as a write-in candidate, to the NRA Board of Directors by adding his name to the back of the ballot.

“In Addition to preserving the Second Amendment, the 2013 candidates will help build and expand NRA’s full mission: from molding public opinion, to promoting and governing shooting sports, to youth programs, to safety training, to preserving hunting rights, and to making sure Americans will always have a place to shoot.” ~ Wayne LaPierre

Again, if you are a Lifetime or 5-year member of the NRA, please nominate Glenn Beck to the 2013 NRA Board of Directors!

Ballots must be received no later than April 14, 2013.

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- Kisses6350
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:49pm
  Nope………….Not enough knowledge of a firearm……….
  
  Report this comment
RaydocX
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:46pm
Foolish individual… not a foolish gun.
rule 1: treat every gun as if loaded.
rule 2: never point the gun at something you are not willing to have destroyed.

This was not a misfire during cleaning… ‘he inserted the magazine and racked the slide.’
what did he expect?
If your concern is such that you cannot be without a loaded firearm even to clean your EDC piece, have a second for those infrequent times.

common sense needs to be used, especially when handling firearms.
But this is again no reason to try to take away or limit the firearms owned and used by others.

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- Seagal45
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:59pm
  That’s exactly what I was thinking…you rack the slide and the gun is loaded. Dumb azz deserved it.
  
  Report this comment
progressiveslayer
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:43pm
He gave his mother the finger,literally. You won’t make the mistake of thinking your gun isn’t loaded again will ya nine digit Johnson.

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mrja
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:42pm
You should never shoot your mom the finger!

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blanco5
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:40pm
Oh no, now for the flood of anti-guns comments in 3…2…..

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- BaldingEagle1776
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:55pm
  you kidding me? I’m perfectly happy with dim gun owners ruining their ability to get further use out of their weapons. Darwin!
  
  Report this comment
- Southerner01
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:08pm
  Baldy,
  
  Unless he hs left handed, taking a chunk out of his left index finger will have little impact on his shotting ability.
  
  Report this comment
- Southerner01
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:16pm
  shooting. I Guess I needed to proofread that.
  
  Report this comment
- blanco5
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 4:19pm
  Balding, you need a hug? Sorry, I’m not that desperate.
  
  Report this comment
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 5:12pm
  Naw, BALDING, you’d rather your representatives make it harder for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves and easier for criminals to flourish. May you be mugged in a brightly lit alleyway by gun-wielding thugs.
  
  Report this comment
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:40pm
The only thing that would have made this story better, is if the severed finger landed in his nose.

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jeffersonian1776
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:39pm
Not too bright. Stick a magazine in it, pull the slide to **** it, and look down the barrel to see if works correctly. That’s the proper way, is it not? Just kidding. The moral of the story here: some people clearly just suck at life, and some people suck at life much more than others do.

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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:37pm
A Tarus? I haven’t heard of that gun manufacturer.

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- Puckrock
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:44pm
  Taurus bought the rights from Rossi.
  
  Report this comment
- Sargeking
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:45pm
  That’s a good spot on the pistol name. I would only add that at the very least he didn’t point it at anyone else. BTW, did you ever notice that Telly Savalas (KOJAC) was missing a “digit”? He had an accident with a rifle when he was a kid. These things happen. Guns are indeed unforgiving. Safety first. Duh!
  
  Report this comment
- FEARLESSLEADER
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:51pm
  Yes… Tarus they are only sold between April 20 and May 20???
  
  Report this comment
- Fanglorious1
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 3:54pm
  i think all women that can legally own a firearm should carry a taurus judge. as long as they arent breaking any carry laws of course. i think that would almost completely eliminate rape and/or assault of women in the US.
  
  Report this comment
- rswapp
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 4:57pm
  Yeah it’s just like a Taurus but it only shoots off an idiot’s finger, I think he shot the “U” off too.
  
  It’s the same thing only different.
  
  Report this comment

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