St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office
Firearm malfunction: A 10-year-old male was airlifted to Duluth after a firearm malfunctioned.
Paul Schmidt, 44, St. Paul, and his son were firing an old homemade-type of handheld firearm at their cabin in Northland Township, south of Cotton, Tuesday morning. The family had used the device in the past, according to a police report. Schmidt’s son fired the weapon. It malfunctioned and broke apart. The boy was hit in the head by metal from the device, sustaining serious head and eye injuries, according to the report.
He remains in the intensive care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth.