Six black guys beat up a white guy in Louisiana after other white kids hung a noose from a tree at their school. That is the one sentence story of the Jena 6 incident, but what followed was a legal controversy that still hasn’t been fully fleshed out to this day

The story is making headlines again today as one of the six, Mychal Bell, has accidentally shot himself in the chest while cleaning a gun. Originally this was being reported as a suicide attempt, but it’s become clear that is not the case. Plus, who commits suicide by shooting themselves in the chest? People who want a 50/50 shot of not being dead?

Bell underwent surgery for the injury and is expected to recover. All in all this really shouldn’t be a national news story since I’m sure hundreds of people a day accidentally shoot themselves somehow. When it was a suicide attempt story it had relevance, but now it’s just an unfortunate accident.

Photo: AP