ATHENS, Tenn. (AP) - An exploding gun at a New Year's celebration killed a McMinn County man who was hit by a piece of flying shrapnel.
Police said 48-year-old Jeffrey Watson of Calhoun was celebrating the New Year around midnight at his home with friends. McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy told WBIR-TV in Knoxville that another man was firing a 12-gauge shotgun into the woods Saturday night when the gun exploded. Guy said Watson was apparently standing nearby and was hit in the neck by a piece of metal.
Watson was taken to Athens Regional Medical Center, where he later died.
Police don't know why the gun malfunctioned. No one has been charged in the incident.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
