The University of Arkansas will not use a T-shirt cannon in the football team’s next game, after an intern was injured by a T-shirt launcher during the Razorbacks’ home-opener Saturday in Fayetteville, according to a statement released Tuesday.
Arkansas officials said an intern in the school’s marketing department was hospitalized after a T-shirt air cannon malfunctioned at Razorback Stadium. The intern was treated and released from a local hospital, according to the university.
“At the time of discharge, the launching device was not in the process of being fired and was lying on the turf,” a news release from the university states. “The T-shirt launcher will not be used for this Saturday’s football game, and a decision regarding any further use will be made in the future.”
During the incident, the cannon exploded for some reason and injured the man’s leg, authorities said.
The launcher that misfired was the single-shot gun that uses pressurized air from a tank to propel T-shirts into the crowd at various sporting events. The university also has a Gatling-style air gun that can rapidly fire multiple shirts.