Guy 'Playing Cowboy' Shoots Himself, Gets Arrested

Police say Matthew Noffsinger Jr. is not legally allowed to own a gun
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 17, 2019 7:05 PM CST
Guy 'Playing Cowboy' Shoots Himself, Gets Arrested
Matthew Noffsinger Jr.   (Mug shot)

Police say a Florida man was "playing cowboy" when he accidentally shot himself. Instead of ending simply in embarrassment, however, the incident ended with the man in handcuffs because he's not legally allowed to own a gun. Police say Matthew Noffsinger Jr., 36, is a convicted felon and as such is prohibited from possessing firearms. When they questioned him at the hospital early Saturday, he initially claimed he had been "shot by an unknown subject" while in a wooded area. But since the entry and exit wounds went straight down his leg and were not consistent with that story, WFLA reports, police kept pushing until, they say, Noffsinger admitted what really happened.

Police found the .22 revolver that was involved at the scene of the shooting, Newsweek reports. Police say they also searched Noffsinger's backpack and found a wallet with four credit cards and an ID card that didn't belong to him; he allegedly admitted he found them and that they weren't his. He was arrested and charged with felon in possession of a firearm and possession of personal information of four people, a felony and a misdemeanor respectively. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years behind bars or a $10,000 fine. (More Florida stories.)

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