Boy, 12, hurt after finding bullet, holding to cigarette lighter

DAYTON, TX (KTRK) -- A 12-year-old boy was injured Sunday after finding a bullet from a .22-caliber gun on County Road 686 in Dayton, TX.

The Liberty County Sheriff's Department tells us the boy was holding the bullet to a cigarette lighter to see what would happen.

And then something did -- the bullet exploded, sending fragments through his left middle finger before getting lodged in his left eyelid.

The boy's mother, Rachel Mendoza, tried to take the child to the hospital, but ended up at the McDonald's on Highway 90 in Dayton where deputies caught up to her. A Liberty County deputy talked to the boy and said he appeared rational and didn't appear to be hurt badly.

The boy's mother then took the boy to a hospital in Humble, TX.

Police continue to investigate the case.