Gun fail 10

From Daily Kos...

Fri Mar 22, 2013 at 09:54 AM PDT
GunFAIL X

by David WaldmanFollow


Another week has passed, and so have several careless and/or unlucky Americans.

Among this weeks GunFAILers, we have three who shot themselves removing their guns from their cars, which I suppose lends support to the guns = cars crowd. Two who accidentally discharged their weapons while supposedly practicing gun safety procedures. Two who experienced discharges on their way into or out of their holsters. Two who shot themselves with their own concealed weapons. Two who shot themselves and lied to police about having been attacked. Two road rage incidents. Two toddlers who shot themselves. Two dropped guns. One discharged in a public bathroom (again). Three who shot through the walls or windows of a neighbor's home. One accidental discharge by a law enforcement officer. And of course, four who shot themselves cleaning loaded guns, bringing my running total to 17 for the month of March, and 72 for the year.

Special mention in the subcategory of "This didn't go the way the brochure said it would": Two who shot themselves while hoping to chase down, shoot or capture the bad guys, and one who pulled a gun and shot the other guy during a fight, prompting the other guy to kick his ass, take his gun from him, and shoot him with it.

Thanks also go out to Peter Manseau, who made prominent mention of the #GunFAIL series in his post at The New Yorker, entitled "Melancholy Accidents,"illustrating just how long #GunFAIL has been with us, even if we didn't know it by that name.
This week's dishonor roll appears below the fold.

    TEMPLETON, CA, 3/06/13: The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office says a man found dead in rural Templeton on March 6 died of an accidental gunshot wound. Investigators say forensic evidence at the scene and autopsy results determined Hickey accidentally shot himself while placing the rifle into a ranch utility vehicle.
    RISING FAWN, GA, 3/08/13: Corey Williams accidentally shot himself with a 22 rifle. The good news for Williams: it's a non-life threatening injury. The bad news: Williams is a convicted felon who is currently on probation. Williams was charged with one count of a felon in possession of a firearm. That is a felony charge and he is currently in the Dade County Jail.
    GREENSBURG, PA, 3/09/13: A man who said he was practicing loading and unloading his 9 mm handgun did in fact successfully employ an alternative method of unloading it, sending it through the wall of his house and into his neighbor's, just as the Founders intended.
    BEVERLY, MA, 3/10/13: Police received an 11:54 AM report that a firearm had been discharged inside the building at 27 Cabot St. Officer Mike Boccuzzi said in an email that a licensed firearms owner had secured a weapon in a holster prior to going to a firing range and that his girlfriend had moved it, “causing an accidental discharge.” The incident happened on Sunday and was reported by the landlord of the building, he said. Nobody was reported injured.
    PUTNAM STATION, NY, 3/12/13: 58-year-old Daniel J. Harris died after shooting himself in the chest when he slipped while walking on ice with a loaded shotgun. Ticonderoga Rescue Squad responded to the call, and were in the area within five minutes, but did not go to the home to assist Harris for more than 20 minutes. The delay came because the county’s emergency medical services policy requires responders to “stand back” when an unsecured weapon is involved until a police patrol arrives. Police officers make sure unarmed emergency medical technicians are not endangered.
    MADISON CO., GA, 3/12/13: A 17-year-old shot himself in the hand. Responding officers find him to be an amateur horticulturalist, as well as a scale collector, apparently. How interesting!
    LEMOORE, CA, 3/13/13: A Lemoore man tried to reload his revolver on Wednesday and inadvertently shot a woman instead, police said. The bullet passed through the woman’s palm and embedded itself in her thigh. Both the shooter and the victim were drinking at the time.
    FRENCH CAMP, CA, 3/15/13: Mother of three shot and killed. Dad says it was an accident.
    CHICAGO, IL, 3/15/13: A 17-year-old boy suffered a gunshot wound Friday night when the gun he was handling accidentally went off and struck him in the groin as he cruised on the Northwest Side with his female friends. #BoyFAIL #GroinFAIL. Oh, by the way, he told the cops two masked men jumped out of a van and shot him. Or as Gawker put it: Gangbanger Accidentally Shoots Himself in the Nuts, Blames Ninjas.
    PALM BAY, FL, 3/15/13: Some asshole in Florida pulled a gun (a handgun with a laser sight) on somebody over a parking space, but tells him he's a CIA agent and a Navy SEAL, and "kill[s] people like you every day." What a douchebag. Arrested, but posted bond and walked out.
    TROY, OH, 3/16/13: A 20-year-old female was transported to Upper Valley Medical Center by the family member who allegedly shot her by accident, according to the Troy Police Department. According to her statement to police officials, she was transported to the hospital by her brother, who accidentally shot her after an argument involving her relationship with a boyfriend.
    SILVERDALE, WA, 3/16/13: Here's our next guy in the parade of people who would never, ever clean a loaded gun and accidentally shoot themselves, because they're so damned Responsible. Active duty military, by the way. In case you think that makes any difference. The real tragedy, of course, is that he shot the TV as well.
    WESTMINSTER, MD, 3/16/13: Investigators said that Campe was visiting with the homeowner at the time of the shooting.  Police said that the homeowner was handling a pistol on the second floor of the home when it discharged, the bullet passed through the floor and struck Campe, who was lying on the couch in the living room. Campe died in surgery.
    CARROLLTON, MO, 3/16/13: A resident of rural Carroll County has died while out looking for a suspicious vehicle being sought by Carroll County law enforcement. At one point the unidentified man was handing a firearm to an associate outside his vehicle when it discharged, striking the driver in the leg. The victim attempted to drive himself to Carroll County Memorial Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
    CINCINNATI, OH, 3/15/13: Three people were found shot about 2 AM Saturday morning at a night spot. A short time later, a man was found shot nearby on Warsaw Avenue. Police believe that man found shot on Warsaw Avenue was in fact the man who had shot three people at the Paradise Lounge. He told police he had also been shot at the Paradise Lounge. But investigators believe he had actually accidentally shot himself.
    CRYSTAL TOWNSHIP, MI, 3/16/13: Here's another one that didn't happen, because it never does. Montcalm County Sheriff’s Deputies are investigating after a man was shot in the leg with a .45 caliber handgun. Deputies say the 18-year-old Carson City man, along with a 23-year-old Carson City man, were disassembling their weapons in a Crystal Township home Saturday evening. That’s when the 23-year-old thought he unloaded his handgun and while attempting to disassemble the weapon it discharged shooting the victim in the leg.
    LOUISVILLE, KY, 3/16/13: This one's a tough call, because the behavior of the "friends" who say this guy accidentally shot himself in the chest is highly suspicious. But the family's rationale for dismissing the possibility is... interesting. The "friends" not only dropped the guy outside the hospital and then took off, but they dumped his bloody clothes in a gas station trash can and got rid of the gun. Oh, and one of the suspects offered the arresting officer sexual favors to let her go with a citation instead of arresting her. But the family is sure the dead man wouldn't have shot himself accidentally, because he once accidentally shot his grandfather. So he'd never make another similar mistake.
    NORTH TERRE HAUTE, IN, 3/16/13: A Responsible Gun OwnerTM put a bullet through a neighbor's rear window and through her kitchen, just a few feet away from where she stood. They just don't know which Responsible Gun OwnersTM it was, because the Responsible Gun OwnersTM she asked about it said their only gun was just stolen. Mystery!
    GOLDEN, CO, 3/17/13: Golden police have ticketed a man who showed his displeasure at someone who rang his doorbell twice and ran off by firing a pistol into the ground early Sunday.
    RAEFORD, NC, 3/17/13: Two dudes get in a fight. First dude pulls a gun and shoots the second dude. Second dude, understandably pissed, beats first dude's ass, takes his gun, and shoots him with it twice. Somewhere along the line, an innocent bystander accepts a liberty projectile as well. Freedom! And self-protection!
    MORGANTOWN, IN, 3/17/13: Police said a 3-year-old suffered a non-fatal gun shot wound and was transported to Riley Hospital via medical helicopter. Police say the shooting did not involve any foul play. They say the toddler got the gun from inside the home of a relative and it was accidentally discharged, injuring the boy.
    LABADIE, MO, 3/17/13: This one sounds a little suspicious, and I think maybe dad shot mom, and she's covering. The 911 call comes in from the daughter, who seems to indicate that there had been a domestic disturbance. But when the cops arrive, mom says she was cleaning out cabinets and happened to find a gun. But the thing is, she hates guns, so she decided to throw it into the woods behind the house so the kids wouldn't find it. Because kids never find things in the woods behind their house. And that's when the gun went off, see? It all makes perfect sense. Also, a 43-year-old Labadie man who appeared intoxicated was taken into protective custody and for further questioning at the county jail, the sheriff’s office said. Probably a coincidence, being that mom's story makes so much sense and all.
    GILBERT, AZ, 3/17/13: What could've become a tragic event in Gilbert on Saturday fortunately did not turn out that way. Police say a 5-year-old boy removed a handgun and shotgun from a closet and one of them discharged in the yard. The boy retrieved the firearms from the master bedroom closet and went outside. He dropped the shotgun on the ground and fired one round from the handgun towards the east.
    MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN, 3/17/13: Responsible Gun OwnerTM gets all responsible with his gun, pointing it at other drivers in a road rage incident. Says he felt "threatened" by their driving behavior and displayed the gun so they would "back off." But... he was behind them at the time. So that made "backing off" tough. The cops, of course, wondered why he didn't call them to make a report. #ResponsibilityFAIL
    SAN JACINTO, CA, 3/18/13: An American Patriot freedomed himself in the thigh. Just as the Founders intended, he was exercising his liberty to be high on meth, which George Washington himself actually cooked at Mount Vernon.
    GLEZEN, IN, 3/18/13: One person is dead after what appears to be an accidental shooting in Pike County. Deputies say they received a call just after midnight near the community of Glezen. When they got there they were told 18-year-old Damon Robinson was cleaning his gun when the gun went off. Robinson was shot in the face. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
    GREENSBORO, NC, 3/18/13: The family that shoots each other together... uh, hmm. No one seems to know just what happened here. Just that a father and son were shot, and it appears to be accidental.
    CEDAR FALLS, IA, 3/18/13: Convenience store employee conveniently shoots himself removing gun conveniently stored in his pants. Again, just as the Founders intended.
    KANE, PA, 3/18/13: A McKean County man is in serious condition at UPMC Hamot this morning after being shot in the neck on Monday night. State police said Chad M. Caldwell, 19, of Cyclone, was at a residence in Keating Township, McKean County, on Monday night when he was shot in the neck while a man was handling a small-caliber handgun. Caldwell and the other man were in a bedroom when the gun fired, police said.
    BIG RAPIDS, MI, 3/18/13: A man suffered one gunshot wound to his hand while visiting the Department of Human Services building in Mecosta County. The gunshot occurred in the parking lot of the DHS building. “Family members were with him and they took the gun away from him,” the dispatcher said. Just like Hitler!
    ST. AUGUSTINE, FL, 3/19/13: Yet another tyrannical holster attacks Responsible Gun Owner. A foot was penetrated by a round which "went off," cheeky thing that it is.
    RAYMOND, NH, 3/19/13: Upstairs neighbor preparing to clean his gun accidentally fires a bullet through the downstairs neighbors' kids' bedroom, right between the bunk beds and the hamster cage. Remember to thank your upstairs neighbor, folks, for keeping your neighborhood safer with the mere presence of his weapons.
    PHOENIX, AZ, 3/19/13: Three teenage robbery suspects found and stole some guns. "The 15-year-old suspect is alleged to have pulled out one of the handguns that were stolen and begin to manipulate it. Thinking she had cleared the weapon she pointed it at her friend and pulled the trigger," stated Sgt. Crump. Killed was 17-year-old Jr. ROTC student Raymond Berryman, shot while in uniform.
    ROCK HILL, SC, 3/19/13: You want a bullet wound with that shake? Man shoots himself in the buttocks at the Steak 'n Shake. He also put a hole in the seat and the floor beneath him, but said he'd pay for the damage, so it's all good.
    MARION, OH, 3/19/13: The Marion Police Department says an intoxicated man dropped a loaded revolver and shot another intoxicated man on Tuesday, March 19, 2013.
    CHARLOTTE, NC, 3/19/13: A loaded handgun fell out of a checked bag Tuesday as it was being loaded onto a US Airways flight departing from Charlotte. Under federal rules, passengers can carry firearms in checked luggage, provided the guns are unloaded and are in locked, hard-sided cases. The handgun—a .25-caliber semiautomatic—had a bullet in the chamber and a fully loaded clip when it was found inside the airplane’s baggage compartment, the employee said. The gun fell from an unzipped outer pocket of a bag, landing on the floor near two US Airways employees who were loading the plane, he said. The gun’s safety switch was on.
    COOKEVILLE, TN, 3/19/13: A man was found dead behind his truck, apparently shot through the chest by the hunting rifle he was removing from the vehicle. The bullet tore through the gun's case before striking and killing him.
    BOULDER, CO, 3/19/13: A gun magazine with three .22 caliber bullets was discovered Tuesday in a closet in a fourth-grade classroom in the building shared by two Boulder elementary schools, Boulder Community School of Integrated Studies and High Peaks. A student who dropped a glove while hanging up his coat discovered the magazine next to the closet wall when he went to retrieve his glove.
    PENN TOWNSHIP, PA, 3/19/13: Douglas McGonigal Sr., Newville, allegedly shot himself in the finger with his own pistol on Tuesday in Penn Township, Cumberland County. Congratulations, Mr. McGonigal! (Allegedly!)
    PINE HILLS, FL, 3/20/13: A Pine Hills boy suffered a gunshot wound to his face in an apparent accidental shooting inside the condominium he shared with family members, the sheriff's office said. Detectives said it appears the 4-year-old was handling the gun when he shot himself Wednesday morning inside a unit in the Los Robles condos located in the 4500 block of Silver Star Road.
    KINGMAN CO., KS, 3/20/13: A man shot himself in the leg removing his .45 from his car's console. But again, you can expect he'll totally nail that gunman in a darkened theater straight between the eyes.
    WAKULLA CO., FL, 3/20/13: #TurkeyCallSUCCESS, but a #GunFAIL. A Florida man was apparently so convincing as a turkey that he was shot by a fellow hunter.
    ERATH CO., TX, 3/20/13: This one is this close to complete tragedy. A woman moving what she thought was an unloaded gun found out she was wrong, when the gun fired and the bullet grazed her head on its way to Freedom.
    GARDEN GROVE, CA, 3/20/13: U.S. Marshals arrested a fugitive found hiding in a laundry hamper. Garden Grove officials confirmed neighbor reports of a gunshot at the home during the time of the arrest, but said the firearm was accidently discharged.
    YORK, PA, 3/20/13: Another gun accident in the bathroom. This time, a York, PA, Burger King. The Responsible Gun OwnerTM was seen attempting to flee via an emergency exit. When it wouldn't open, he ran out the front door instead. All true patriots thank him for his dedication to Bathroom Liberty.
    YORK, SC, 3/21/13: “I was making sure it was safe and put it up, when it went off," said the man who shot himself in the hand. Bonus note: the man is the former York Co. coroner, suspended over ethical and criminal charges... by former-Gov. Mark Sanford.
    LITTLE ROCK, AR, 3/21/13: Authorities say a 17-year-old in Little Rock accidentally shot himself in the hand while walking Thursday afternoon on West 28th Street. According to a Little Rock Police Department report, the teen told investigators he was walking west near Jackson Street with the gun in his left hand when it discharged and shot the index finger on his right hand. Walking down the street with the gun in hand? Hmm, okay. La dee-dah! Whatever!
    NOBLESVILLE, IN, 3/22/13: A Hamilton County homeowner accidentally shot himself after hearing a suspicious noise outside his home early Friday. The 66-year-old homeowner went outside to investigate the suspicious noise when he fired the gun. The bullet grazed his head and he was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Originally posted to David Waldman on Fri Mar 22, 2013 at 09:54 AM PDT.