A northern Colombia man tried to startle his nephew from a bout of the hiccups by pointing a gun at him, but accidentally shot him to death

Associated Press:

The distraught uncle then turned the Smith & Wesson .38 special on himself and committed suicide, said Barranquilla police Lieut. Orlando Valderrama.

The incident occurred Sunday night after David Galvan, 21, and his uncle, Rafael Vargas, 35, had been drinking, police said.

When Galvan began to get the hiccups, Vargas apparently decided to try out a commonly held notion that one can be cured of the hiccups if properly frightened. Based on witness accounts, police believe Vargas sneaked up behind his nephew, pulled his gun out and pointed it at Galvan's neck.

The gun accidentally went off, Valderrama said, killing Galvan.

Luz Marina Prieto, a neighbour, told local RCN television that Vargas "told me beforehand that he was going to scare (Galvan) with his gun." Prieto said she heard a gunshot and ran to the door of the house, where she saw Vargas standing over the body of Galvan.

Vargas then ran down the street a few metres before stopping and shooting himself in the head, Prieto said.

Well, it did stop his hiccups.