Man dies after MRI scanner triggers his concealed gun, shooting him in abdomen

A 40-year-old man died after being accidentally shot by his own gun in in São Paulo, Brazil.

The man, identified as Leandro Mathias de Novaes, had taken his mother for an MRI scan at a local laboratory when the incident took place on January 16.

According to local media reports, the man and his mother were asked to remove all metallic objects before they were taken to an MRI room. However, the lawyer failed to mention that he was also carrying a gun and went inside the room with the weapon still on him.

As soon as the staff at the lab started the MRI scanner, a powerful magnetic field set the pistol off and shot him in the abdomen. He was treated for the gunshot wound but died two weeks later.

The lab where the incident took place issued a statement addressing the incident and said that the man had been asked to remove all metal objects before entering the MRI room and that he entered the lab with the gun “by his own decision.”

“We would like to emphasise that all accident prevention protocols were followed by the Cura team, as is customary in all units,” read the statement by Laboratorio Cura.

The man was known for his pro-gun stand. He would often post videos on TikTok advocating the same, per a report in The Independent.

This is not the first time that such an accident has come to light. In 2018, a 32-year-old man lost his life after being sucked into an MRI machine at a hospital in Mumbai, India.

The victim, Rajesh Maru, was pulled into an MRI machine after hospital staff allegedly allowed him to enter the room with a metal oxygen cylinder.

Maru was attending to an elderly relative, who had come to the BYL Nair Charitable Hospital for an MRI scan. Reports say a ward boy standing outside the room told Maru that it was okay to carry the oxygen cylinder.