19-year-old playing with gun unintentionally shoots himself and his brother

Thomas and Brandon Everhart, ages 19 and 16, were at their grandmother's house in Lexington, North Carolina. The brothers were in the kitchen with their cousins when Thomas "playing with a handgun" unintentionally discharged the weapon. According to reports:

When he pulled the hammer back, it slid off his thumb, which caused it to hit the primer and send the shell off. The bullet hit him and then it ricocheted off the ground and hit his brother.

Thomas was hit in the leg and Brandon was struck in the calf area. Thomas, whose wound was more serious, was taken to the medical center in Winston-Salem. Brandon was treated at a local hospital and discharged.