Man Who Accidentally Shot Self to Be Charged

A 20-year-old Canyon Country man who accidentally shot himself Monday with a newly purchased automatic pistol faces charges under a new state law prohibiting possession of the weapon, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

Jacob Cohen was in stable condition at Holy Cross Hospital Medical Center in Granada Hills with three gunshot wounds, Lt. Harvey Cantor said. Cohen called for help on a 911 telephone line about 12:15 p.m. and told deputies he was cleaning a fully automatic 9 mm pistol when the gun accidentally discharged.

Cohen told deputies he had bought the gun two days earlier from a man in Los Angeles, Cantor said. Purchase or possession of such machine pistols was made illegal under a state automatic weapons law that took effect Jan. 1.