Last Updated on: 25th October 2014, 09:18 am
A woman in Banning, California, had better be getting her daughter one awesome Christmas present this year to try making good for mistaking a gun-shaped object she found on the ground for a novelty cigarette lighter and shooting her with it.
Rachel Avila, 30, and her daughter were talking in front of their mobile home Sunday when Avila spotted what she thought was a novelty cigarette lighter lying on the ground, said officials with the Banning Police Department.
It was shaped like a miniature firearm, police said.
Avila picked up the object and tried to light it by pulling the trigger, police said.
The first time, nothing happened, but her second attempt released a 22-calibre bullet.
“The bullet struck the ground, and then ricocheted upward and entered her daughter’s upper right arm,” Banning police said in a statement.
The girl was taken to a local hospital for treatment, but later released.
Police, meanwhile, figured out that the lighter in question was actually a “North American Arms, 22-calibre, derringer style revolver.” They also warned residents to call police instead of messin’ around with gun-lookin’ stuff they find outside. Well, they actually put it a little differently, I’m just making sure the message’s target audience understands it.