Rough Way to Start the Day

Nobody likes to be jolted out of a deep sleep at 2:00 a.m., but it's particularly unpleasant when the cause of your sleep's interruption is a giant hole in your knee that you've blown open with your bedside pistol.

Some people keep a gun by their bed for protection but for one Colorado man his pistol proved to be near fatal.

Sanford Rothman, 63, woke up at 2am on Tuesday morning to a loud bang.

While sleepwalking, he had shot himself in the knee with the 9 millimeter handgun he keeps on this bedside table.

Mr Rothman told investigators that he had no clear recollection of the incident and that no one one else was in his home at the time.

Boulder Police Sgt Paul Reichenback says Mr Rothman takes prescription medication for pain but that no alcohol or illegal drugs played a role in the nocturnal shooting.

Mr Rothman was taken to Boulder Community Hospital where he was treated and released.

[Daily Mail]