Man Killed By His Own Home Booby Trap

An attempt at home security went fatally wrong for one man in Maine.

Ronald Cyr, 65, of Van Buren, Maine, died Thursday after a handgun which he had rigged to fire on anyone who opened his front door shot him by mistake. Cyr had called the police initially and later died from his injuries in the hospital.

“Following an extensive investigation that lasted into the early morning hours by the Maine State Police, the Maine State Police Bomb Squad and the Van Buren Police Department, it was determined that Mr. Cyr had been shot as the result of the unintentional discharge of one of his homemade devices,” the Van Buren Police Department said on Facebook.

It is currently unclear how Cyr ended up being shot by his own trap. Such traps are not uncommon in certain homes but they are illegal.

The Maine State Police Bomb Squad was called in to help with the situation after several other potential traps were discovered in Cyr’s home.

Booby-trapped homes are not unheard of in the United States and have in fact been in the news elsewhere recently. On Wednesday, Reundi Juarez of Pilot Point, Texas, was arrest after an improvised explosive he was using in an attempt to booby trap his home went off. Police also found an explosive device in his car and a setup on his front door meant to hurt intruders.