Pal’s airgun prank left father-of-two with a bullet in his brain
A FATHER-OF-TWO who survived being shot in the head is now living with a “ticking time bomb” after the bullet remained lodged in his brain.
Engineer Ben Smith, 28, was shooting rabbits last May when his friend pointed the air rifle at him believing it was empty and pulled the trigger.
Doctors say trying to remove the 2.2-calibre pellet would be too risky.
Ben returned to work in January but he has been warned that a single blow to the head could dislodge the bullet and leave him brain-damaged.
Ben, of Fareham, Hampshire, tried to sue his friend for loss of earnings but the case was dropped because the friend has no assets.
He said: “I remember my mate joking, pointing the gun in my face, and the next I knew I was in hospital.
“It’s weird knowing there’s still a bullet in my brain. I’m constantly aware of it and in some ways I feel like a ticking time bomb.”
Ben, who has a son, Harley, three, and daughter, Alisha, seven, was shooting in a field in Botley, Oxfordshire. He said: “My mate turned to me and pointed the gun in my face from about six feet away. I was in shock and didn’t feel any pain. The only reason I knew I’d been shot was because I was bleeding. My pal called an ambulance but I staggered to my car and for some crazy reason decided to drive home.”
His partner of 11 years, Katie Guy, a catering assistant, said Ben stumbled through the door covered in blood and “looking like something from a horror film”.
She called an ambulance and Ben was taken to Southampton General Hospital. He was discharged after three weeks but four days later he was readmitted after struggling with memory loss and vomiting.
Doctors discovered the bullet was lodged in his third ventricle – a fluidfilled cavity in the brain.
Ben said: “Apparently moving it is riskier than leaving it there. The doctors are hoping it will fall further down the ventricle and then they will be able to operate safely to remove it.
“But in the meantime I have to avoid roller coasters, contact sports and any situation where I could bang my head.
“Even in experienced hands, guns are dangerous. I’m lucky to be alive.”