Byron Man Gets Probation For Shooting Himself in the Leg

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Rochester, Mn (KROC-AM News) - A Byron man who shot himself in the leg has been sentenced to probation.

26-year-old Daniel Sorensen recently admitted to a gross misdemeanor charge involving the illegal possession of a firearm. In exchange, Olmsted County prosecutors dropped another gross misdemeanor charge and a felony count of reckless discharge of a firearm.

The charges were filed against Sorensen last summer in connection with an incident that occurred in October 2021. According to the criminal complaint, Olmsted County deputies responded to a medical call from a home in Byron and found Sorensen bleeding from a gunshot wound to one of his legs.

One witness told the deputies that Sorensen had called her earlier in the evening and said he had shot himself and was headed to her residence. Another witness reported spotting a gun holster on the driver's side floor of the vehicle Sorensen had been driving.

Further investigation led to the discovery of a 9 mm handgun on the passenger side floor of the vehicle. The weapon was jammed with a live 9 mm round and a spent shell casing was found under the driver's seat in the vehicle. A bullet hole was also located in the driver's door panel.

The criminal complaint says Sorensen later told investigators he was driving in Byron when he decided to shoot the gun into a cornfield but accidentally pulled the trigger while he was pulling on the weapon's slide. The accidental discharge caused the bullet to strike the tip of the little finger on his left hand before it traveled through his leg and into the door panel.

Sorensen was given a stayed one-year jail sentence and was placed on probation for two years. He was also ordered to pay a $900 fine.