This news story is most excellent. I think everyone here will get a kick out of it.

WEST VIEW, Pa. -- A Ross Township man accused of shooting his girlfriend waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday. Authorities say a 17-year-old McCandless girl was shot in the groin on Feb. 27 at Timothy Madden's Perry Highway apartment. The girl and the 23-year-old Madden were engaged in "bedroom activities" when the gun discharged, police said.

Details are graphic, but police said the incident involved a .45-caliber handgun with a condom on it, and the weapon somehow went off.

"The act itself did involve what anyone reasonable would conclude are some bizarre, strange, sexual fetishes and activities," Ross Police Detective Bill Barrett said. "(The girl) is very lucky, I think, to be alive. Everyone is amazed."

Madden said he and the teen are still a couple, and he looks forward to seeing her again soon.

"I'm very glad to see that the person that I love most is doing better, and I'm very glad that she came to see me (in court) and I hope that she does much better in the future," Madden said. "This was a mistake. It was an accident."

Madden is charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and corruption of a minor. No trial date has been set.