Man shot after loaded gun in stove explodes

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Antoine Boutte used to keep a loaded gun at the bottom of his gas stove.

That is, until he forgot it was there early Saturday and he and another man decided to cook some food, Fulton County police said

Boutte fired up the stove at his College Park home around 3:30 a.m. Saturday -- heating up the .40 caliber Smith & Wesson along with it, a police report said.

While the food was cooking, the weapon’s magazine started to melt in the gun well, the police report said.

This caused the spring – and bullets – to come out of the magazine.

The bullets started going off like popcorn.

Boutte’s friend, Christopher Henderson, opened the stove “to see what was happening,” the police report said.

That’s when part of a bullet casing flew out of the stove, hitting Henderson in the stomach, police said.

Boutte and another friend, Lisa Wells, took Henderson to Southern Regional Hospital. He was treated for his injuries, which police said were non life-threatening.