MRI Machines Are Cool Tech But Don't Sneak A Gun Inside Or You Could End Up Butthurt
We understand that going to the hospital for examinations or procedures can be quite the traumatic experience for some. Among them, MRIs are known to cause a great deal of anxiety due to the patient having to lie in a tight confined space paired with unnerving sounds emanating from the machine. Possibly to feel safer and more in control of the situation, a 57-year old woman decided to bring a firearm with her when she went in for an MRI a few months ago.
A report filed to the FDA's Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database by the unidentified woman's healthcare provider states that the weapon discharge happened on June 28. The woman was able to sneak a ferrous handgun into the MRI room, even though—according to the report—she had received the "standard screening procedure for ferrous objects, which includes weapons specifically, and answered no to all screening questions."
As she entered the machine, the gun was attracted to the magnet and it fired a single round into her right buttock. A doctor on site found that the wound was "very small and superficial", with the bullet not going past subcutaneous tissue. This incident could have had a worst ending, such as a Brazilian man who died when his handgun went off in the MRI, shooting him in the abdomen.
The report doesn't state why the woman decided to bring her firearm not only with her but into the examination room, nor does it elaborate on how the gun was still on her in the first place. Did she have it in a holster? We assume that MRI patients don hospital gowns before entering the machine, which makes it odd or negligent that it was missed by the room attendant. Or perhaps, the woman concealed the gun between her butt cheeks?
