From Daily Kos...
GunFAIL IX
by David WaldmanFollow
First, let's round up some #GunFAIL-related stories that didn't make this week's compilation. Beginning with this one:
Wichita police are investigating Sunday the accidental shooting of a 4-year-old boy. At 5:22 p.m. Sunday, 911 received a call saying a mother was taking her 4-year-old boy to Via Christi Hospital on Harry saying he had been shot in the head. The mother told police he had been accidentally shot while someone in the house was cleaning a gun.
Why isn't that one included? Cleaning a loaded gun?
The boy was shot in the left side of the head above the eyebrow with a .177-caliber air rifle, Brunscheen said.
Ah, they get off on a technicality. And I have similarly declined to include this one, involving a 10-year-old boy from Florida. We don't count BB guns, pellet guns, air rifles and the like in our #GunFAIL count. Though you still shouldn't clean them loaded, or fire them into your children's bodies. And I'd be open to persuasion on that point, if anyone's got an argument to make on it. Also note that sometimes the detail about exactly what type of gun is involved only comes out days later, so it's entirely possible that such incidents have been accidentally included in the past.
Among those stories that did make the round-up this week, we have eight people who shot themselves or others cleaning their guns, not counting the Wichita air rifle. We have two law enforcement officers who accidentally shot themselves. We have two concealed carriers who dropped their guns. Two people who shot themselves in gun classes (not including the suicide). Three people who lied to the police and said they were attacked, but were later forced to admit they shot themselves. One person who accidentally shot into his neighbor's place. One gun shop employee who shot himself clearing a weapon.
And one special shout-out for Kokomo, IN, which gave us two surprising listings this time around. One, among our favorite type of dark humor stories, in which a convenience store robber conveniently shot himself in the balls during the hold-up (waistband ninja). And one that I have some serious questions about, in which students in a school classroom had a loaded handgun and spare magazine fall out of the ceiling tiles! Can't wait to have more of that happening, because safety!
One more important story that didn't make the cut, along with this week's dishonor roll, below the fold.
Also not included is this one:
Police are investigating after a 50-year-old man committed suicide during a gun-safety class at a Bellevue shooting range.
Ironic, of course. But we've stopped counting most suicides as being outside the realm of pure #GunFAIL. Though it's surely a FAIL of some kind to kill yourself at gun safety class. But what probably happened here is of interest. There actually has been a rash of people committing suicide at gun ranges around the country, and ranges are changing their policies as a result. Why is this happening? Because you can rent a gun at a gun range. Making the quick and easy method of suicide that much quicker and easier. Many ranges now require that you bring a friend with you if you're going to rent a gun, figuring you're less likely to kill yourself with it if your pal is around.
And now, #GunFAIL IX.
COTTONWOOD, AZ, 2/15/13: Hard to know who to root for here. A home invasion robber hoping to steal the victim's safe full of drugs accidentally shot his partner
TOCCOA, GA, 2/24/13: What do we think is the message here? “It was toward the end of the service and they were standing for the benediction,” Thomas said. “He had his hand in his pocket and the gun went off and struck him in the right knee.”
LIBBY, MT, 3/01/13: Last week, Chris Siefke and his father, Tim, pulled up to the range and elected to shoot at the 500-yard target, so they drove their vehicle down the access road that runs parallel to the range, pulling in behind the 400-yard berm to set up targets at the 500-yard marker. At 500 yards, the targets they established are nearly three-fifths of a mile away from the shooting area. While downrange, another shooter arrives, and not seeing anyone around, he sets up and begins to fire at the 300-yard targets that are already there. And, therein lies the concern. “We’re downrange setting up targets to shoot, and all of a sudden we hear bullets zinging past us,” said Chris Siefke.
BRADFORD, PA, 3/02/13: The Bradford Era reports police were called to Malespini’s home and found him with a bloody finger, after which he told them he was “trying to get rid of his wedding ring” and decided to “shoot it off.” Police say the attempt badly mangled Malespini’s finger, but didn’t remove the ring. Malespini is employed as a guard at a federal prison.
COLLEGEVILLE, PA, 3/03/13: A Collegeville resident accidentally shot himself in the right leg on March 3, after taking a loaded .45-caliber gun from a homeowner in Milford, state police said.
SURPRISE, AZ, 3/04/13: I would say that having some dude drop and discharge his gun in the middle of a restaurant would surprise me. But I'd be lying.
ROCK HILL, SC, 3/06/13: A man who really hates thighs decided to clean a loaded gun. Now, we all know this can be trouble. But it all worked out for the best, because like I said, he really hates thighs.
ARNOLD, MO, 3/06/13: Another upstanding patriot has exercised his neighbor's right to dodge bullets, by selflessly volunteering to share a liberty projectile with him, through the medium of their adjoining apartment walls. Freedom!
WALTERBORO, SC, 3/07/13: An employee at the Walterboro Gun Shop on South Jeffries Boulevard was clearing a .22-caliber pistol brought in by a customer when he accidentally shot himself in the early afternoon. The Walterboro Gun Shop is where Alice Boland, the 28-year-old woman accused of trying to kill an Ashley Hall school official in downtown Charleston, purchased her handgun last month.
GREENWOOD, IN, 3/07/13: A Greenwood man accidentally shot himself when his handgun fell out of its holster and went off. Michael Hutton suffered a gunshot wound to the pelvis and was taken to Indiana University Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis on Thursday.
BELLINGHAM, WA, 3/07/13: Yet another Responsible Gun OwnerTM tells cops she was the victim of a home invasion, sparking a lockdown of nearby schools while police dogs and helicopters searched the neighborhood, but eventually admits she shot herself with her boyfriend's gun.
SAN ANGELO, TX, 3/07/13: Police responded to a 911 call just after noon and found the residence had a shattered window. A woman inside the house said her son accidentally shot through the window while he and his brother, who had fled the scene, were in an argument.
DEBARY, FL, 3/08/13: I accidentally shot myself! No, wait, I don't remember how I got shot. No, wait, my friend shot me. Y'see, we were drinking, and then he wanted to show me his gun, so we went into the bathroom together, and... aw, nevermind.
PHILADELPHIA, PA, 3/08/13: A 21-year-old man is in critical condition after his friend accidentally shot him Friday night in East Frankford, police said. He was shot by his friend, a 19-year-old man who remained on the scene and was taken into custody by police without incident. The friend told police he had been handling the gun when it accidentally went off.
SEATTLE, WA, 3/08/13: The boy stated that his friend had a semi-automatic handgun. According to the victim, his friend kept playing with it, by racking the slide back and forth until it accidentally went off, striking the victim in the leg.
YAKIMA, WA, 3/08/13: Another one who thought his wife was an intruder. A pregnant intruder, I guess. Update: She died.
MEMPHIS, TN, 3/08/13: A Friday night shooting victim may need to return to the scene of the shooting for a refresher course. Shortly before 8 p.m., Memphis police received a call to the Rangemaster gun training facility at 2611 Mendenhall. The victim was a 72-year-old man who was “purchasing a holster at the front counter. While putting the holster in (his) pants, his gun discharged striking him in the leg.”
KOKOMO, IN, 3/08/13: Students in Kokomo said they found a loaded handgun and an extra clip in the ceiling of their classroom at the Kokomo Area Career Center on Friday. The students say a tape measure they were playing with hit the ceiling and a loaded gun fell to the ground. La la la! Guns in schools, because safety! Moar, please!
SAN ANTONIO, TX, 3/09/13: It's 3:30 am. I should really get some shut-eye. But my guns are looking a little dirty. What could go wrong, if I stay up to clean them now? Still, it's pretty late. Maybe I can save some time by not unloading them. Man, I'm clever!
MANCHESTER, TN, 3/09/13: It's the weekend, so a toddler somewhere had to find an unsecured gun and shoot himself. This weekend, it's a three-year-old in Tennessee. And where was the gun? In the bathroom, where his aunt, the owner, had forgotten she'd put it down. Again with the bathrooms!
NINETY SIX, SC, 3/09/13: Not really sure what that is moving out there, but I'm hunting (without a license), and I'm from Florida, so I might as well shoot it.
TUSCALOOSA, AL, 3/09/13: A 16-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the foot with a shotgun while cleaning... his closet. We don't know if the gun itself was in need of cleaning, but clearly the closet was a mess.
DEGRAFF, OH, 3/09/13: Another ninja-to-be has shot herself in the leg during concealed carry class. Pretty soon, she'll be sitting next to you with that gun, and thinking you should thank her for it.
MARION, IL, 3/09/13: A Marion man was treated at Marion General Hospital on Saturday after he accidentally shot himself in the hand while attempting to break apart his handgun.
MINFORD, OH, 3/09/13: Scioto County Sheriff’s Captain David Hall said McGraw was treated at Southern Ohio Medical Center on Saturday, after a gun accidentally discharged striking him in the leg. Then, after McGraw was unreachable on Sunday, Hall said the man’s father went to his house where he found him dead at around 4:25 p.m. Hall said McGraw’s body was taken to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy. A preliminary report Monday morning said that a gunshot wound was also found in his side.
WESTERVILE, OH, 3/09/13: The man told police he unloaded the gun while showing it to the family member, but accidentally reloaded the gun before disassembling it. He pulled the trigger and the gun went off, striking his wife in the calf. How do you like that one? He "accidentally reloaded."
CRETE, IL, 3/09/13: A 42-year-old Midlothian woman suffered a serious gunshot wound while putting her handgun away after a gun safety course last week. The owner of Fortress Defense Consultants, a company that provides a variety of firearm training programs, told deputies he had just finished an 8-hour firearms class when the Midlothian woman was attempting to put her 9mm handgun into its holster, a police report said. The weapon discharged and the bullet entered her upper right thigh and traveled to just above her kneecap.
LOUISVILLE, KY, 3/10/13: An 11-year-old boy was accidentally shot early Sunday morning when police say someone in a group he was with started playing with a gun.
WICHITA, KS, 3/10/13: I was just standing there, minding my own business, when I heard a pop, and discovered that I'd been shot in the foot, with the bullet entering from directly above! But I don't know how it happened! I must have been shot by the Goodrich blimp!
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX, 3/10/13: Not really sure how I got these two bullet holes in me, but here they are. Confusing!
MADISONVILLE, TN, 3/10/13: A Monroe County man shot in the neck by his teenage son during an argument over the weekend told authorities the shooting was unintentional. Fuller and his 14-year-old son, Edward Carl Fuller, were in a verbal argument when the teen grabbed a 9 mm handgun inside the home and a struggle ensued. The gun discharged and father was shot once in the neck.
SANTA MARIA, CA, 3/11/13: Hmm, this gun needs cleaning. I'll just save time by cleaning around the bullets, I guess. D'oh!
SOUTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP, 3/11/13: Whoops! Shot myself in the face! Dang it. Hate when that happens.
LAS VEGAS, NV, 3/11/13: Whoops! Accidentally shot myself in... the lower half of my body. Whatever that means. Dang it. Hate when that happens.
BRADENTON, FL, 3/11/13: Whenever there's a bullet in a 3-year-old, that's a #GunFAIL.
CLIFTON, IL, 3/11/13: A 29-year-old rural Clifton man shot himself in the lower leg while shooting targets at his residence Monday afternoon. Jonson told police that he had been shooting at targets, and at some point, accidentally shot himself in his lower left leg. He was taken to the hospital by his grandparents, and his injury was said to be non life-threatening.
CLARK, WY, 3/11/13: 19-year-old shot while... cleaning loaded guns. His friend "didn't realize" the revolver was loaded. A revolver! Come on!
DANVILLE, NH, 3/11/13: Not real sure just what happened here, either. But if you're 15, you're shot in the home of the local police chief, and all they have to say about it is that this was the "untimely death of a minor," then I think we probably have #GunFAIL.
NORTHPORT, AL, 3/12/13: A Northport man was hospitalized early Tuesday after he accidentally shot himself in the hand. The injured man, 63, had gone to a neighbor’s home after accidentally shooting himself, he said. He told officers that he takes medication for insomnia and is unsure what happened.
JACKSONVILLE, FL, 3/12/13: Anybody wanna check out my brand new... BLAM!
NEW HAVEN, CT, 3/12/13: A 17-year-old was shot around 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday and then ran into Lincoln-Bassett School looking for help, according to police. Investigators believe the teen may have accidentally shot himself in the groin. He was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. This has the ring of a waistband ninja situation.
SAN ANTONIO, TX, 3/12/13: A Bexar County detention officer was taken to the hospital Tuesday, after he was injured when his gun accidentally discharged inside the facility's locker room, authorities said. The officer, who has been with the department for five years, was re-holstering his gun and it somehow discharged, injuring him just above the knee. The holster! Again!
SHAMONG TOWNSHIP, NJ, 3/12/13: Is "Shamong" the sound your gun makes if you try to clean it while it's still loaded? I know an 82-year-old man you can ask, if he makes it.
KOKOMO, IN, 3/12/13: I'll be taking these Huggies and whatever cash you got. And I'll also be shooting myself in the balls.
ALBANY, OR, 3/12/13: Lemme show ya how the safety works. KA-BLAMMO! Well, not like that, anyways. A passenger in a vehicle was showing a handgun to a friend, and demonstrating how the double action and safety works. The gun discharged, and a bullet went through-and-through his lower leg.
SHELTON, WA, 3/13/13: A 46-year-old Washington State Patrol trooper was accidentally shot in the leg Wednesday afternoon during a training exercise at the state patrol’s academy. The trooper, in the state patrol’s commercial vehicles division and based in Poulsbo, suffered an entry wound to the thigh as a result of an unintentional discharge.
BOSSIER CITY, LA, 3/13/13: Where have we heard this story before? Police say a teenager initially told them that he was shot by an unknown person, but they later determined he was playing with the gun when he was shot.
ERIE, PA, 3/13/13: Where have we... wait. We just used that line. But here's another one who lied to the cops about being attacked, but who really just stupidly shot himself.
CHICKASHA, OK, 3/13/13: Drunk teens and a shotgun. What could go wrong? After all, they all grew up around guns in Oklahoma, right?
LEAVENWORTH, KS, 3/13/13: This man was not accidentally shot, because no one ever, ever, ever, ever cleans loaded guns.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN, 3/13/13: It also didn't happen to this guy. Which he cannot attest to, because he's dead.
MISSOURI CITY, TX, 3/13/13: A 23-year-old Missouri City man accidentally shot himself in the leg while driving eastbound on Interstate 10 about 4 p.m. Wednesday, police report.
BALTIMORE, MD, 3/13/13: Lillie then told the police he was shot while trying to buy marijuana. But police said there were no reports of gunshots in the area on that night, and a source said it was possible the wound was self-inflicted. Hmm. OK.
GALESBURG, IL, 3/14/13: I had no idea the gun was loaded! Though come to think of it, that did come into focus when my friend dropped dead. The giveaway was the bleeding hole in him, I guess.
APEX, NC, 3/14/13: Another day, another 4-year-old freedomed with a liberty projectile. Kids these days must just be a lot more tyrannical than I remember.
NASHVILLE, TN, 3/14/13: A 10-month-old boy was shot and killed by his father in what appears to be an accidental shooting, according to Metro police. Investigators have learned that the father, Larry Bass, 30, the mother, Jacquelin Bass, 28, and two siblings, both boys, ages 2 and 3 years old, were in the room at the time of the shooting, Aaron said. The father was handling a semiautomatic pistol when the gun went off. “There’s been some suggestion that there was a mechanical problem with the gun,” Aaron said.
LISBON, OH, 3/14/13: A Westville Lake Road woman was reportedly injured from an accidental gunshot wound in her home Thursday afternoon. Loretta Phillips was seriously injured and flown to Akron City Hospital. Her condition was not known Thursday night.
This blog will focus on political images I have found all around the Internet, though I will intersperse some commentary and quotes that I find interesting.
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