A man was injured today after a rifle failed while it was being fired at Koko Head Shooting Complex.

An employee said the man was next to a person firing a 9 mm rifle when the casing erupted and the man was hit with debris on his lower torso. The victim sustained non-life threatening lacerations and went to the hospital.

Harvey Gerwig, president of the Hawaii Rifle Association, identified the victim as Christopher Mann, a former HRA board member. He said he heard from others that the incident was related to “catastrophic” rifle failure. He described Mann as a black powder specialist with an interest in historic weapons that fired using black powder.