More shootings...

Forgot the link for this version, but I got it from Daily Kos - you can go there and do a search.

Fri Mar 08, 2013 at 09:51 AM PST
GunFAIL VIII

by David WaldmanFollow

Well, Obama didn't come for any guns this week. So people kept shooting themselves and others.

It was a slightly better week for the gun cleaners, with just five such accidents counted, a bit lower than the one-a-day pace we've been used to. On the other hand, dogs are firing weapons at an increased pace, so that can't be good news.

And if you were one of the people wondering how long it would take before one of the armed guards placed in schools following the events of 12/14 accidentally discharged a firearm inside of the school he was protecting, the answer is: about eight weeks.

Two different stories of gunmen involved in armed standoffs with police serve once again to crystallize the odds against perfect execution of protective fantasies. Speaking of which, there are also two stories that remind us of the Wild West dangers that can arise when owning a gun is decoupled from the responsibilities that go with it. It's hard not to anticipate that people will (willfully) misinterpret the message and meaning of "Stand Your Ground" laws. And so they have, shooting people dead for minor personal infractions (real or perceived), firing at retreating targets suspected of minor property crime, etc.

I'll leave the rest of the emerging themes for you to discover, in this week's dishonor roll, which you'll find below the fold.

    CHARLOTTE, NC, 2/11/13: Missed this one, apparently. A four-year-old child shot herself in the leg Monday evening after police say she found a gun in her mother's bedroom. Police say the child found the gun in her mother's and mother's boyfriend bedroom. The child pulled the trigger and shot herself in the leg.
    WARMINSTER, PA, 2/19/13: Police involved in an armed standoff with a shooter accidentally shot and killed the shooter's 89-year-old neighbor when she appeared in her apartment doorway.
    LUBBOCK, TX, 2/22/13: Nice armed society/polite society story here, as a man frustrated by long lines for ammo at the gun shop decides to pull a gun on everybody else. It's not just that it's unwise, it's that it supposedly was never going to happen.
    WINNEMUCCA, NV, 2/26/13: Matthew Furnare-Biggs, 18, was charged with brandishing a firearm, disturbing the peace, and disorderly conduct. Witnesses alleged the subject pulled a firearm and reportedly said he was going to shoot cops. Bail was $3,754.
    CLARKSBURG, WV, 2/27/13: A gunshot was fired last Friday inside the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center, The Exponent Telegram has learned. “On Friday, Feb. 27, there was an accidental discharge of a concealed weapon. There was no injury to patients, staff or visitors,” said Wesley Walls, spokesman, releasing a statement from Beth M. Brown, director of the Louis A. Johnson VA Healthcare System. Walls confirmed that no weapons are permitted on federal property.
    ORANGE CITY, FL, 2/27/13: This is what we have to look forward to in our armed future. A concealed carry permit holder attempted to stop a suspected shoplifter making a getaway from a WalMart. The suspect jumped into his car and began driving away, and our hero opened the car door, screamed "Freeze! Don't move!" The suspect took off, and Captain Bullseye opened fire, blowing out the back window and putting a couple holes in the trunk (not to mention a few nearby cars). He later said he was trying to "mark" the suspect's car, and he's basically shocked he's been arrested for being such a hero. God help us!
    HOMESTEAD, FL, 2/27/13: A man who pulled the trigger and shot and killed his wife with a gun he thought was unloaded is facing a manslaughter charge, Miami-Dade Police said. According to police, Inesta was sitting on the couch unloading his gun while his wife, 45-year-old Glenda Inesta, was making drinks in the kitchen. Inesta, believing there were no more bullets in the gun, pointed it at his wife's head and asked "Where's my drink?" and pulled the trigger, police said. The gun discharged, hitting Glenda Inesta in the left eye. She later died at the scene.
    ORANGEBURG, SC, 2/27/13: He was just a little drunk, so he only almost shot off his little finger.
    AUGUSTA, GA, 2/28/13: Another guy who shot himself, but first sent police on a wild goose chase by pretending someone else did it.
    PASCAGOULA, MS, 2/28/13: Pascagoula police Sgt. John Morosky, the firearms instructor at the Pascagoula shooting range, was performing routine maintenance on a weapon last week when he went to check the setup of another weapon for comparison and it discharged, resulting in burns to Morosky's thumb and forefinger, Police Chief Kenny Johnson said Tuesday.
    STOCKTON, CA, 3/01/13: Julio Zuniga, 27, admitted to police he accidentally shot himself in the leg. That's pretty boring, but only to us. Julio was probably deeply bummed.
    TERRE HAUTE, IN, 3/01/13: For those who thought guns on campus wouldn't mix badly with drunk fraternity bros: A local fraternity brother accidentally shoots and kills himself. The Terre Haute Police Department says 21-year-old Brandon S. Perrine was playing around with his gun because the safety lock appeared to be on. The Indiana State student and ATO Fraternity brother was drinking when he decided to put the gun to his head and pull the trigger. Police say he never intended to kill himself.
    PARIS, TX, 3/01/13: No details on this one yet. But any time there's a bullet in a 4-year-old, it's a #GunFAIL.
    BALTIMORE, MD, 3/01/13: A sheriff's deputy shot himself in the hip.
    RAPID CITY, SD, 3/01/13: A 42-year-old Rapid City man shot himself in the hand while working on a pistol around 11:30 p.m. Friday. The bullet traveled through the man’s hand and lodged in the wall of a residence at 3113 Grandview Drive. The victim sought medical treatment on his own.
    VADER, WA, 3/01/13: Don't you think this should really have been a #LightSaberFAIL? Well, it wasn't. A man and his 12-year-old son were injured when a gun discharged as the owner was trying to remove the slide from his pistol Friday afternoon. Investigators believe that while trying to remove the slide the weapon discharged. The bullet traveled through the man’s hand and into a wall where shrapnel from the shot hit his son in the arm and abdomen.
    MARKLE, IN, 3/02/13: Two friends decided to clean some guns. Turns out they were still loaded, and one got shot in the head with a .45, and later died.
    LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, MI, 3/02/13: The 4-year-old son of a Jackson County Sheriff's Deputy accidentally shot and killed himself Saturday night.
    SEATTLE, WA, 3/02/13: Two tough guys got in a fight in the middle of Seattle's Pike's Peak Place Market and pulled guns on one another. Who got shot? A 23-year-old woman who just happened to be walking by.
    LAWRENCE, MA, 3/02/13: A third dog-fires-gun story in the space of a month. It's an uprising at this point. A police dog searching for a stolen pistol thrown into a snowbank was able to locate it, but accidentally fired it, putting a bullet into a nearby home.
    LORAIN, OH, 3/02/13: Nobody's really sure what happened here, except that it's pretty clear that the teenager who was shot was observed by the police lying on the ground, Tweeting his friends that he'd been shot. “We’re still investigating to see whether the juvenile’s statements are plausible or whether this is a potentially accidental shooting,” Lorain police spokesman Lt. Roger Watkins said.
    MADBURY, NH, 3/02/13: Emergency officials responded to a report of an “accidental shooting” that left a woman injured Saturday night. The victim was described as a 26-year-old woman who had been shot in the right side abdomen. The wound was described by medical personnel as being caused by a 9-millimeter bullet with an entrance wound, but no exit. Radio transmissions stated the woman was conscious, breathing, alert and “complaining of pain.”
    CHICAGO, IL, 3/02/13: A 20-year-old man accidentally shot himself in the leg about 5:23 a.m. in the 3500 block of West 58th Place in the Gage Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side.
    WALDORF, MD, 3/02/13: Police say a Hughesville man accidentally shot and killed himself at an indoor shooting range Saturday. Patrick Allen Richards, 61, was found suffering from a gunshot wound and pronounced dead at the scene. Police say Richards’ gun discharged, striking him in the upper body. There were no signs of foul play and the shooting is being investigated as an accident.
    ADAMS, WI, 3/02/13: American Pistorius. Man startled by his girlfriend shoots her to death with the bedside shotgun.
    SPRINGDALE, AR, 3/02/13: Here's a well-trained and Responsible Gun Owner who decided to point a loaded weapon at his ex-wife during an argument, as well as put it to his own head and pull the trigger. But the gun malfunctioned, and in trying to clear the jam, he shot the refrigerator. Probably a tyrannical refrigerator, but the point is, this is a #GunFAIL even if it accidentally struck a blow for Teh Freedom.
    EVERETT, WA, 3/02/13: She accidentally shot herself, officers! But, she was hit in the back, sir. Hmm. Oh, right. Well then, it must have been that the gun fell off a counter, shot through the ceiling, then through a couch, and then into her back. But I clearly had nothing to do with it, because I am a convicted felon and cannot by law possess this gun. See?
    LEWISTON, ID, 3/02/13: Here's a young fella who accidentally shot his girlfriend during a "domestic dispute." The gun parachuted in from out of nowhere. He really had no business butting in like that and then creating this accident. For shame!
    CHARLESTON, WV, 3/03/13: Let me show you how to use a gun proper-like, little lady! First, you... KA-POW! Augh! My leg! My ego! Augh!
    DES MOINES, IA, 3/03/13: Follow me here. Guy cleans his gun. Inserts the magazine. Racks the slide. Pulls the trigger to see if the gun is working. And guess what? It was! And he still manages to say he "didn't realize the gun was loaded!" Well, he shot the tip of his finger off, and his mother had to drive him to the hospital. Your Responsible Gun Owners of America, ladies and gentlemen.
    LINTON, IN, 3/03/13: Another concealed carry ninja deftly drops his gun out of his pocket and blasts himself in the leg.
    INDEPENDENCE, OR, 3/03/13: If we outlaw stealing guns and then accidentally shooting yourself with them, then only outlaws will steal guns and then accidentally shoot themselves with them. Which might not be so bad, on balance. But then again, laws don't work, so forget it. Burglar killed by the AR-15 he'd just stolen.
    NEW LLANO, LA, 3/03/13: The definition of "accidental shooting" seems to be getting kind of stupid. In this case, one guy pointed a gun at his friend and pulled the trigger. He said shooting him was an accident, though, because he didn't realize that the safety wasn't on. Hmm.
    ASHFORD, CT, 3/04/13: State police are responding to a reported accidental shooting in Ashford.
    RAPID CITY, SD, 3/04/13: This is not a typo. Apparently, Rapid City is not named for any nearby river rapids, but rather the rapid rate at which its citizens accidentally shoot themselves. The second incident occurred early Monday morning at 215 Mount Rushmore Road. According to police, he was attempting to put his handgun into his holster when the weapons discharged, striking him in the foot.
    COURTLAND, VA, 3/04/13: A 17-year-old was accidentally shot by a family member. Gee, I wonder if the gun was bought to protect the family?
    MONKEY JUNCTION, NC, 3/04/13: According to the sheriff's office, a step father accidentally shot his 3-year-old son in the leg while attempting to put a safety on a small caliber rifle. Officials say the little boy is in stable condition and is expected to be okay. The stepfather originally told 911 operators someone outside had shot his son.
    DES MOINES, IA, 3/04/13: A Polk County Sheriff reserve deputy suffered a minor injury Monday when gun accidentally went off in her hand, officials said. Reserve Deputy Donna Britt was at a meeting at the sheriff’s headquarters preparing to hand her gun over to a firearms instructor for an annual inspection and cleaning when the weapon fired, injuring Britt’s left hand
    DYERSBURG, TN, 3/04/13: Dyersburg Police are saying an incident that was first reported to them on Monday afternoon as a home invasion that resulted in a shooting is now a false report by the victim. "The reported home invasion and shooting on Lake Road has been determined to be a self-inflicted injury, and false report to law enforcement," said Dyersburg Police Capt. Steve Isbell.
    COSTA MESA, CA, 3/04/13: Don't know exactly what went on in this mess, but the relevant bit is this: Police heard another gunshot in the 500 block of Victoria and spotted St. Sauver trying to leave through a bedroom window, authorities said. Police determined St. Sauver lived at the home and accidentally fired the small handgun.
    BATTLE CREEK, MI, 3/05/13: The new "try-before-you-buy" program is helping prospective gun owners #GunFAIL on a budget. The victim said he was looking at a gun he was interested in buying from two men. He said he put the gun in his waistband and it discharged. Hmm. No, thanks! Just browsing!
    MEMPHIS, TN, 3/05/13: A Memphis police officer was accidentally shot in the leg Tuesday when a fellow policeman opened fire on three dogs while serving a search warrant.
    HIGHLAND, NY, 3/05/13: A school resource officer’s gun accidentally fired today in a hallway at Highland High School, police and the school district said. No one was injured. The officer, Sean McCutcheon of the Lloyd Police Department, was on foot patrol in a hallway when the shot fired at 1:38 p.m., the district said in a statement on its website. The statement said no students or staff were nearby at the time. McCutcheon was assigned as a resource officer following a Jan. 3 special meeting in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School according to the district website.
    ARP, TX, 3/05/13: Two men are in a Tyler hospital after shooting at a Smith County home. Smith County Sheriff's Deputies were called to the home Tuesday night on State Highway 135 near Arp. Public Information Officer John Moore said one man was shot multiple times, including in the neck, and the shooting suspect accidentally shot himself in the leg.
    EAU CLAIRE, WI, 3/05/13: Quick question. Should your guns be loaded or unloaded when you clean them? Ah, right. Unloaded. Dang. That's what went wrong.
    LAKESIDE, CA, 3/05/13: Drunk. Playing with a gun. S-M-R-T. Cost: hand and thigh.
    MOSS POINT, MS, 3/05/13: Moss Point K-9 officer Cora was accidentally shot and injured during a Tuesday night search warrant after she was mistaken for a vicious dog, Chief Keith Davis said today. Cora, who received an entry/exit injury to her left leg, was immediately transported to a veterinarian and underwent surgery. The veterinarian reported she will fully recover and should not have any complications, Davis said.
    FARGO, ND, 3/05/13: A bullet pierced two walls before stopping in an apartment here. No one was hurt, but a man admitted he was loading his .44-caliber handgun when it accidentally went off. The bullet went through his closet, through the hallway, and into his neighbor’s wall. Police said the man could face charges of unlawful discharge or neglect. Fargo police Sgt. Mark Lykken said similar incidents are happening “more often than we’d like.”
    DOVER, AR, 3/05/13: Larry Lindsey shot a .45-caliber pistol at his wife for making too much noise while cleaning and moving things around the house. She supposedly had disturbed his nap.
    HILLSDALE, MI, 3/05/13: 16-Year Old Accidentally Shoots Himself. A 16-year-old Hillsdale boy is in stable condition after shooting himself in the face. The public safety director says the teen was found in the driveway of his home on Westwood street Tuesday afternoon.
    ALBUQUERQUE, NM, 3/05/13: After an extended chase, police and SWAT units cornered and ultimately shot and killed Parrish Clayton Dennison, an armed man with a long criminal history and alleged ties to a white supremacist gang. Several moments before Dennison was shot, however, another SWAT officer accidentally fired his weapon. That shot did not strike Dennison. Probably one of our least dangerous #GunFAILs, but proof that it can happen even to highly trained personnel, in the heat of the moment. Even if there's nobody shooting at you.
    MANCHESTER, CT, 3/06/13: A police officer responding to reports of a man with a gun on the campus of a community college shot himself in the foot, Manchester, Connecticut, police said Wednesday.
    ROUND ROCK, TX, 3/06/13: A Round Rock police officer accidentally shot himself in the foot during a training exercise on Wednesday afternoon. According to Round Rock Police Department spokesperson officer Dee Carver, the officer was involved in a training that was conducted by an outside provider.
    SHREVEPORT, LA, 3/06/13: Another ass has been injured in an accidental shooting. Also wounded: some buttocks. Authorities say the woman told them that while mishandling a firearm, the gun discharged, striking her near the buttocks. She is expected to make a full recovery after suffering only minor injuries.
    TALLMADGE TOWNSHIP, MI, 3/06/13: police say the 18-year old suspect and the 16-year old teen were horseplaying around 9 p.m. Wednesday when the suspect fired a round from a .22 caliber handgun, striking the victim in the face. At last check he was in critical condition at Spectrum Butterworth Hospital. Police say four other teens, ages 17 to 19, were also there. They were not injured. SO WHY DON'T I WRITE ABOUT THEM? HUH?
    CHARLESTON, WV, 3/07/13: a man who accidentally shot himself in the abdomen went to Thomas Memorial Hospital for treatment, Sisson said. His name and condition were not immediately available.
    TULSA, OK, 3/07/13: A gathering ends with gunfire inside a Tulsa senior living complex early Thursday morning. Investigators say four people were in an apartment having a party when the owner decided it was time for everyone to leave. The visitors didn't go, so the man grabbed a gun and shot one of them in the chest. Seconds later, the shooter shot himself in the arm.
    VERNONIA, OR, 3/07/13: A domestic dispute between a father and a son devolved into a wrestling match over a loaded rifle. The rifle won, putting both of them down for the count with a single bullet.
    MACON, GA, 3/08/13: Freedom and thighs cannot coexist. It's one or the other, people. Shortly before 2 a.m., a man was accidentally shot in the thigh when his weapon discharged when he was pushing a vehicle, dispatchers said.

Originally posted to David Waldman on Fri Mar 08, 2013 at 09:51 AM PST.
Also republished by Repeal or Amend the Second Amendment (RASA), Shut Down the NRA, and Daily Kos.