Cleveland Man Shot By His Own Booby Trap While Trying To Feed Squirrels

As you pull up a crumbling road to the trailer on Blevins Drive in Cleveland County you’re greeted by a welcoming & poorly punctuated sign:

ALL VEHICLES THAT DRIVE UP THIS PRIVATE ROAD, WILL HAVE THERE TAG#S SENT TO THE SHERIFFS OFFICE FOR POSITIVE I.D.

SO, ALL YOU CRACK HEADS, METH HEADS, HEROIN USERS, DRUG DEALERS OR ANYONE DOING CRIMINAL ACTIVITY!

OH! AND NO ILLEGAL ALIENS TOO! STAY THE HELL OUT AND OFF THIS PRIVATE ROAD!

Thank you and have a nice day.

Going off the sign alone, the following story is not that hard to believe:

A 68-year-old man accidentally shot himself with a gun rigged at his back door.

Edwin Smith was caught in his own trap at about 11:30 a.m. Monday, at Blevins Drive off of Stony Point Road outside of Shelby.

According to investigators, Smith had a shotgun set up facing his back door. He went outside to feed some squirrels. At some point, he opened the door and the gun fired and hit his right arm. Cleveland County Sheriff’s deputies did not immediately know if the contraption malfunctioned or if he forgot the weapon was rigged to fire.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like this,” said Capt. Jon Wright with the Sheriff’s Office.

First responders cautiously went through the home to be sure nothing else was rigged with weapons. The man was taken to Atrium Health in Shelby.

Wright said Smith was severely wounded but alert when he was transported.

Luckily they were able to get a tourniquet on him right away & it looks like he’ll be alright. I’ve seen Home Alone enough to know I would not want to be one of the first responders that went through this house. My head would be on a swivel for flying paint cans, hot door nobs, tarantualas & falling irons. Oh, and loaded guns rigged to go off in the doorways. Would be a little wary of that, too.

You can hear the audio here where he pretty calmly alerts the dispatcher that he blew his arm off: