Date nights don’t always go to plan. But a good basic rule for gentlemen is to make sure that the gun-shaped protuberance in your pants is not an actual gun.
Sadly, that guideline was ignored by a man in upstate New York whose romantic evening last week ended in an unintended bang.
Anthony Ciccarelli, 19, had finished dinner with his girlfriend at a Texas de Brazil steakhouse in Buffalo suburb Cheektowaga on Thursday evening and was about to pick up the check.
When he reached into his pocket for his wallet, however, he accidentally let off a handgun hidden there, hitting belle Celeste Haynie in the upper right leg.
Although the couple initially drove away from the restaurant, Ciccarelli wisely pulled over half a mile down the road to call police for help, Buffalo news station WGRZ reports.
Haynie was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after responding officers placed a torniquet around her leg to stem the blood flow from the gunshot wound.
Police arrested Ciccarelli and later discovered that his gun, a Ruger 9mm, had been reported stolen from a car in Niagara Falls back in 2018.
He was arraigned Friday on charges of first-degree reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a firearm and criminal possession of stolen property. After posting $5,000 bond he was subsequently released.
Ciccarelli’s hearing is now set for Wednesday. He may have to wait seven years for his next date night if convicted.