Jose Canseco Accidentally Shoots Himself In Hand; Finger 'Hanging By A Thread'
LAS VEGAS (CBSNewYork/AP) — Former major league slugger Jose Canseco is recovering after shooting himself in the hand at his Las Vegas home.
Metro police Lt. Mark Reddon said officers responded to a call of an accidental shooting shortly after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Reddon said the former Oakland Athletics outfielder told police he was cleaning his gun in the kitchen when it fired, shooting a finger on his left hand. He was taken to University Medical Center of Southern Nevada.
"He had been at the shooting range a few days earlier. He didn't know it was loaded," Canseco's fiancee, Leila Knight, told the New York Daily News. "The middle finger was hanging by a thread, and I wrapped his hand in a towel and then called 911. The doctors said they would either have to amputate or do reconstructive surgery. But if they do surgery, he won't be able to use it again. He blew away an artery and a big bone chunk."
"I have to go home and clean up the blood and mess," she added. "It's been a long day."
Canseco was a right-handed batter who hit 462 career home runs and was a six-time All-Star. He also played for Texas, Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay, the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox during a career that spanned from 1985 to 2001.
An email sent to a representative of Canseco on Tuesday night was not immediately returned.
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