Man shot dead by his own booby trap on Thanksgiving

Ronald Cyr, 65, set up a handgun to fire at intruders entering his home in Maine

Officers found a series of homemade devices at the house in St Francis Avenue, Van Buren (Van Buren Police Department)

A 65-year-old man was shot dead on Thanksgiving by a booby trap he set up to protect his home from intruders.

Ronald Cyr triggered the homemade device which fired a handgun at anyone attempting to enter through the door.

He managed to dial 911 to report that he had been shot at the house in Van Buren, Maine on Thursday evening.

Police and paramedics attempted to save his life but he died of his injuries.

The state police bomb squad were also called after officers found a series of other unknown devices at the property in St Francis Avenue.

Van Buren Police Department said that their investigation found that Mr Cyr had been “shot as the result of the unintentional discharge of one of his homemade devices”

In a statement on its Facebook page, the force said: “Officers discovered that the front door of the residence had been outfitted with a device designed to fire a handgun should anyone attempt to enter the door.”

The force did not reveal any further details about how Mr Cyr set off his own booby trap.

Friends and neighbours paid tribute to Mr Cyr as a “great guy” who was “always there to help if you asked”.

Last year an FBI agent was shot by a booby-trapped wheelchair as he attempted to enter a property in Oregon.

And in 2013 a marijuana grower died after driving a quad bike into a booby-trap wire at his property in Albany, New York.