Men and their guns

Now you don’t come across such real life incidents very often. Check this one out.

Special Agent Lee Paige shot himself in the leg while delivering his message during a weapons demonstration for Florida children.

It had all seemed to be going so well when an amateur cameraman started to record Mr Paige’s talk, in April 2004, at the Orlando Youth Minority Golf Association in Florida. Mr Paige’s son and daughter were in the front row.

Holding a Glock .40 pistol in the air, he told the children: “I am the only one here professional enough to handle this weapon.”

Then there was a bang and he shot himself in the thigh. Only another round in his pocket stopped the bullet doing lethal damage.

Brave Mr. Paige

With admirable stoicism, Mr Paige continued his talk, although his previous confident swagger was replaced by a limp.

“Guys,” he told the children, once the shot had stopped echoing, “never play with guns.”

Wait a minute ! Before you start laughing your butt off, there is more to the story.

Now, since it happened in America – Mr Paige, 45, is suing his employer, the Drug Enforcement Administration, for leaking footage of the incident.

He claims that the agency is liable for “mental anguish, loss of reputation, embarrassment, humiliation and anxiety” because a videotape of his “accidental discharge” has gained a global audience on the internet.

His career has allegedly suffered – after 347,000 hits on Google, undercover work is no longer an option – and he says he has been ridiculed in public. He is not demanding payment for the damage to his leg.

Watch the video, here.