A 59-year-old Randle man was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center for surgery Wednesday afternoon when he accidentally shot himself in the right knee with a mole trap.

The mole trap was made out of a 12-gauge shotgun barrel mounted on a metal plate with a spring-loaded activation system.

Lewis County Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said the man was setting a mole trap over a hole in his backyard on the 10000 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Randle around 3:30 p.m.

The trap was set on a bank, Brown said, and fell over, which activated the trap and shot a shell at the man’s right knee.

The man was able to walk inside and call 911.

The knee injury is not life threatening, but could cause disability, Brown said.

It’s unknown if any moles were injured.