Las Vegas Sun

April 23, 2024

Police swarm home, but man’s ‘gun’ turns out to be tattoo

Gun Tattoo

Morning Sentinel, David Leaming / AP

In this Tuesday, March 18, 2014, photo, Michael Smith, left, stands beside a Somerset County Sheriff deputy outside his home in Norridgewock, Maine.

NORRIDGEWOCK, Maine — Police armed with assault rifles descended on a Maine man's home after members of a tree removal crew he'd told to clear off his property reported that he had a gun.

Turns out the "gun" the tree crew had seen on Michael Smith of Norridgewock was just a life-sized tattoo of a handgun on his stomach.

Smith, who works nights, was asleep when the tree crew contracted by a utility to trim branches near power lines, woke him up at about 10 a.m. Tuesday.

He went outside shirtless and yelled at the workers to leave. When he's not wearing a shirt, the tattoo looks like a gun tucked into his waistband.

Smith tells the Morning Sentinel the tattoo has never been a problem before.

Police didn't charge him.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy