Boston Barber Seriously Injured After Stabbing Himself In Freak Accident; Client, Colleagues Jump Into Action

BOSTON (CBS) - A Boston barber is lucky to be alive after he accidentally stabbed himself in the chest with his own pair of shears. Steve Silva, 29, was cutting Max Cohen's hair when he tripped and fell on top of the shears.

"He was walking around the back of the chair and all of a sudden he's on the floor. I look down and I see blood. He says 'oh my God, I stabbed myself' and pulls a set of scissors out of his chest," Cohen told WBZ-TV.

The freak accident happened last Friday, at Boston Barber & Tattoo Co.'s Bowdoin Street location and was captured by video surveillance. You can see Silva's colleagues rush to his aid and Cohen run off frame to grab "something to help compress the wound."

Barber Steve Silva accidentally stabbed himself after tripping (WBZ-TV)

Cohen says he also talked to Silva until first responders arrived. The Boston University freshman credits his quick thinking to some emergency training he took in high school. "I figured as long as he stayed calm it would probably be [the] best situation," he recalls.

Boston Barber & Tattoo Co. Owner Robert Dello Russo says Silva was transported to Massachusetts General where he is recovering after undergoing emergency open-heart surgery -- the blunt force of the scissors pierced through an artery. "I'm really proud about how they handled the situation," says Dello Russo.

He describes Silva as one of his best employees. And because of the impact the pandemic has had on the business, Silva is also one of the few on payroll. "A lot of my staff, I had to lay them off. They were collecting. I tried to bring them back, trying to muster up some business, trying to keep them going. This was Steve's first week back at work, and now this. So he's in a jam," Dello Russo says

A GoFundMe page is hoping to raise money to help Silva pay his hospital bills. Dello Russo says he's relieved Silva is recovering.

"We're going to do everything we can," Dello Russo said. "He's already said he's coming back as soon as he can stand up again, without being in pain."