Felon shoots self in leg, charged

WIMAUMA, Fla., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A Florida felon is in trouble again after the handgun he allegedly possessed in violation of the law discharged by mistake and shot him in the leg, police said.

Mark Cruz, 28, of Wimauma, Fla., was carrying a .22-caliber pistol that fell out of his pocket and went off when it hit the ground, striking Cruz in the leg, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said. Cruz turned up at an area hospital where he was uncooperative with police investigating the incident, the South Florida Sun Sentinel said Friday.

Cruz refused to say where the gun was -- telling police he threw it in an undisclosed lake. Cruz was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm and destroying physical evidence.