LEFT SHORT-HANDED

Los Angeles Rapper Loses Fingers in Grisly July 4 Fireworks Accident

4Xtra had posted an image of himself holding fireworks on social media just hours before the accident alongside the caption: “Who wants to get blown up today?”

A Los Angeles rapper’s Fourth of July celebrations ended in tragedy after a firework prematurely exploded in his hand. The artist, who goes by the stage name 4Xtra, had posted a video of himself holding the fireworks on Instagram Friday, saying, “Who wants to get blown up today? ... I’m blowing [somebody] up today.” In a matter of hours, graphic footage spread across social media showing him clutching his bloodied hand after the fireworks went off. While many users speculated he had lost his whole hand, one X account, claiming to be a friend of the rapper’s, clarified he had only lost two fingers and been temporarily blinded by the blast. The accident represents only the latest case of what in recent years has become a regular Independence Day occurrence, with emergency rooms across the country seeing thousands of firework-related injuries in the run-up and aftermath of the Fourth of July.