Residents of a neighborhood in Virginia say that an angry driver mistakenly shot himself in the groin after they flagged him down for speeding around children.

Neighbors in a Norfolk community told WTKR that they never thought that asking 43-year-old Rhonney Jacobs to slow down would escalate into a shooting.

“My friends were standing right there in the yard and the guy came flying by and they were like ‘slow down, there’s kids’ and the guy did a U-turn and pulled over,” Ashley Summerson recalled.

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Witnesses said that Jacobs got out of his car and started waiving around a gun, and then it went off.

“[Jacobs] pulled his gun out trying to shoot one of them but he shot himself,” Summerson explained.

“He was holding his groin and there was blood everywhere,” witness Zach Watson added.

WTKR reported that the children were only feet away from where the gun went off.

“I’m just happy none of the kids got hurt,” Watson said. “I’d rather get shot than one of these kids.”

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Jacobs was charged with discharging a firearm and brandishing a firearm, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

Watch this video from WTKR, broadcast Aug. 6, 2013.

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[Photo credit: Stock photo of man holding gun near his crotch via Shutterstock.com]