Louisville Man Seriously Injured In Potato Gun Explosion

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A man was hospitalized after being seriously injured in a potato gun explosion.

Police said they received a report of a shooting in the 200 block of Alpha Avenue at about 4:15 p.m. Monday, where they found 53-year-old John Berthiaume II lying in the street.

Berthiaume suffered injuries to his right arm and leg when his homemade potato gun exploded, Louisville Metro Police spokesman Dwight Mitchell said.

The victim's brother, Tony, said it appeared that his brother put too much black powder into the device.

"I guess it stressed the metal out too much, and it blew up," he said.

Martha Dodd said the explosion sent shrapnel into her home across the street.

"I looked out the door and saw him sitting on the ground and I said, 'You just shot a hole in my house,'" Dodd said.

Berthiaume was taken to University of Louisville Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Mitchell said.

"He's got a chunk of his arm torn up. His butt cheek, his thigh and lower calf on his right side," Berthiaume's brother said. "A chunk of meat was hanging off of his arm: you could see to the bone."

Berthiaume will be charged with wanton endangerment, Mitchell said.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaA potato cannon (also known as a spud gun) is a pipe-based cannon which uses air pressure (pneumatic),[1][2] or combustion of a gaseous fuel,[3][4] to launch projectiles at high speeds.[5] They are built to fire chunks of potato, as a hobby, or to fire other sorts of projectiles, for practical use. The projectile can be dangerous and result in life-threatening injuries, including cranial fractures, if a person is hit.[6]