Raccoon hunt ends with man shooting himself

A man in Connecticut annoyed with the nightly backdoor scratching of a pesky raccoon set out to put an end to the nighttime pest once and for all. It did not go as planned, as the man wound up shooting himself in the shin - the raccoon definitely got the last laugh.

According to the report from the New Haven Register, an 81-year-old man who was hospitalized Sunday with a gunshot wound told police he accidentally shot himself with a .22 that was meant for a large raccoon that had been scratching at the door of his Russell Street home for several days.

James Pace Sr., taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital by his son, shot himself in the shin and his injury is non-life threatening, police said.

Officers were called to the hospital after Pace arrived. He told police he armed himself with the rifle and waited for the raccoon to show up. While waiting, he sneezed and fell from his chair, then realized he had shot himself, police said. The victim “secured the rifle” and told his son what happened.

Rocky raccoon is still at large in the greater New Haven area. Police say they will continue to investigate the incident.