Texas Lawmaker Hit In Skull By Celebratory New Year's Eve Bullet

AUSTIN, TX — A state lawmaker was recovering Sunday after a stray celebratory bullet shot into the air on New Year's Eve penetrated his skull, according to media reports.

Armando "Mando" Martinez was in stable condition following surgery to remove the bullet just after midnight on Sunday, USA Today reported. Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra said Martinez was struck by the bullet as he ceelbrated with family and friends outside a home north of Weslaco, near the southern border with Mexico.

"It felt like a sledgehammer hit me over the head," Martinez told KGBT-TV. He said he wasn't sure what happened to him initially before he and his wife realized he had been struck by a bullet. Martinez’s wife found a small hole on the top left side of her husband's head, confirming their suspicions.

The lawmaker was then rushed to a local hospital before he was transferred to another hospital in Harlingen, Texas. where doctors removed the bullet from Martinez's skull. Doctors told KGBT that while the bullet penetrated Martinez's skull, it didn't damage his brain and he never lost consciousness.

>>> Photo from Hidalgo County Democratic Party website