Gun Fail

Fri Apr 19, 2013 at 03:52 PM PDT
GunFAIL XIV

by David WaldmanFollow

Pop gun
Some very noteworthy happenings this week. Five GunFAILs among the "highly trained" class (cops and National Guardsmen) this time. Two concealed carry ninja FAILS: a drop & discharge in a WalMart, and a permit-seeker who shot himself in class. Speaking of which, we also had an instructor who accidentally put a bullet in the wall while lecturing a gun safety class. Two quick-draw artists had accidents this week, one shooting himself and one shooting and killing a 9-year-old girl. Speaking of which, this week's 11 child victims of GunFAIL are (or were) aged 2, 3, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14 and 16.

In the "most improved" category: just one cleaner of a loaded gun was found this week, and just three shot through walls and into their neighbors' property. Well done, and let's keep those numbers low!

Of special note: Rock Hill, SC scores its 5th mention in two months in our GunFAIL lists. I think that's probably some kind of per capita record. In case you're interested, here's a recap: 1) Man shot cleaning his gun, 2/15; 2) Man shot cleaning his gun, 3/06; 3) Man shoots own ass sitting down at Steak n' Shake, 3/19; 4) Man cleaning gun shoots into neighbor's apartment, 3/30; 5) Man shoots himself during target practice, 4/15.

Another special note: The Chief of Police of Medina, OH, who briefed the press there following that town's "Gun Appreciation Day" accidental shooting at the local gun show (one of three that day, if you recall) has... accidentally shot himself.

Finally, it might also be noted that for the second time this year, we had accidental discharges at multiple gun shows on the same day. On April 14th, there were discharges at shows in Hastings, MN and Garden City, ID. They are the 8th and 9th accidental discharges at gun shows this year, and the 10th and 11th since panicked buyers began packing gun shows following the 12/14 massacre in Newtown. In fact, with the exception of the weekend immediately preceding Christmas last year, there were accidental discharges at gun shows every single weekend, from mid-December 2012 all the way through the end of January 2013. That's six out of a stretch of seven weekends. Where and when? Hopkinsville, KY, 12/15; Mt. Clemens, MI, 12/28; Marietta, OH, 1/06; Monroe, WA, 1/12; Raleigh, NC, 1/19; Medina, OH, 1/19; Indianapolis, IN, 1/19; Des Moines, IA, 1/25; Trotwood, OH, 2/23; Garden City, ID, 4/13, and; Hastings, MN, 4/13.

This week's dishonor roll appears below the fold.

    TULSA, OK, 3/17/13: Tulsa Police are investigating after a woman was shot in her apartment near I-44 and Utica. The victim told investigators that she heard a loud bang and then noticed that she had been shot in the lower leg. Officers determined that the bullet was fired from an apartment two apartments down from where the woman was hit.
    WAUSAU, WI, 3/23/13: Carl Follie, 25, of Wausau faces felony reckless endangerment charges after he allegedly shot several rounds from a handgun into two homes and one car after an argument with a group of men. Follie, who had a concealed carry permit, told police he was protecting himself and his wife when he shot at the men. Nice shootin', Tex! Those two houses and the car won't bother you again!
    DURANGO, CO, 4/08/13: Security officers working for the Transportation Security Administration at the Durango-La Plata County Airport found a loaded gun while screening a passenger Monday. The officers discovered a .380-caliber Taurus, loaded with four rounds, at the security checkpoint. Sheriff Duke Schirard said the passenger, whom he identified as Gary Cleaver, although he was unsure of the spelling, has a concealed-weapon permit. “He just forgot he had a small pistol in his pocket,” Schirard said. “We secured the pistol and gave him a warning. He’s been investigated thoroughly to get that permit, and he seems to be an upright citizen who made a mistake.”
    NEW CASTLE, IN, 4/09/13: The police report said, "Kyle Tackett was very knowledgeable about the handgun and was very proficient in the way it functioned.” So knowledgeable and proficient, in fact, that he felt quite certain that it was OK when he was “joking around” by putting his .40-caliber handgun to his brother-in-law's face and pulling the trigger. Sadly, Kyle actually turned out not to be all that knowledgeable and proficient, though he totally thought he was. Right up until his brother-in-law died in his house. At least he did the ResponsibleTM thing and first told the cops the 18-year-old had shot himself.
    FORSYTH CO., GA, 4/09/13: A good guy with a gun got a little tired of waiting for his so-called "fast food" at a McDonald's. So, he got out of his car at the drive-thru, pulled a gun and shoved it in the face of the teenager ahead of him in line, helpfully warning him, "You don't know who you are [expletive]-ing with," and "You never know who you are [expletive]-ing with." In this case, it turned out that the person allegedly being [expletive]-d with was Detective Sgt. Scott Biumi, 48, of the DeKalb County Police Department. But being thoroughly trained in how to safely stick a gun in a teenager's face, I'm sure there was no danger, and there's no reason he couldn't safely be assigned to your child's middle school.
    DELHI TOWNSHIP, OH, 4/11/13: Another three-year-old finds dad's loaded gun under the bed and shoots himself. Additional note: After striking the preschooler, the bullet exited the home and got stuck in the roof of a nearby residence.
    SACRAMENTO, CA, 4/11/13: Just before 11 p.m. on Thursday night a man walked into Sutter Hospital with a non-life threatening gun shot wound. According to Sacramento Police, his friend accidentally shot him.
    STILLWATER, MN, 4/11/13: A gun safety instructor may face charges of discharging a firearm within Stillwater city limits after he accidentally fired a 1911 Colt 45 handgun inside Salem Lutheran School just prior to teaching a class. While the teacher was explaining the different types of safeties on the gun, the handgun discharged, causing a bullet to go through the wall of the cafeteria.
    JACKSON CO., NC, CHEROKEE RESERVATION, 4/12/13: The Cherokee Indian Police Department are investigating a reported accidental shooting at a mobile home in the Cherokee Indian Reservation. When they arrived on scene; a female had been fatally shot. The suspect was transported to the hospital for a possible over-dose and is in the custody of the Cherokee Indian Police Department.
    WAUSAU, WI, 4/12/13: A 76-year-old man was inspecting the gun and was not aware a bullet was in the chamber when he pressed the trigger. No injuries were reported.
    SALINA, KS, 4/12/13: 7-year-old boy accidentally shoots himself with 9mm while target shooting with his father and brothers. He died of his wounds the next day.
    AMITY, IN, 4/12/13: Yet another Patriot has liberated a neighbor's apartment. But not letting people shoot through your walls is infringing on their freedom, so shut up, losers. Besides, the only reason she shot at all was because she was trying to twirl her gun on her finger, like in "The Rifleman." And that shouldn't have been dangerous, because even though she knew the gun was loaded, she thought the safety was on. So what else do you really need to know, gun grabber?
    MURFREESBORO, TN, 4/12/13: A Tennessee Army National Guard sergeant “accidentally discharged” a handgun owned by a fellow Guardsman inside a room, according to Murfreesboro Police. The incident involving Sgt. Ryan Mitchell and Sgt. Matthew Wilson is being formally investigated by the Tennessee Army National Guard, according to Maj. Darrin Haas, deputy director of public affairs for the Tennessee National Guard.vMitchell was “checking out” a gun owned by Wilson at the Clarion when it “accidentally” went off in Mitchell’s room, according to a Murfreesboro Police incident report filed by Officer Charles Owens. The bullet from the unidentified handgun ricocheted off the wall, went through a sliding glass window and lodged in the tail light of a vehicle in the parking lot, Owens reported. But it's OK, because “neither subjects” had demonstrated “reckless intent," and Owens spoke with the owner of the vehicle, Michael Moseley, who “had searched and (found) a price for the tail light that the bullet had hit and broken.” So there you go.
    ASTORIA, OR, 4/12/13: Astoria Police responded to a residence on Alameda Avenue where a neighbor reported a bullet came through his wall from the apartment next door. Officers arrested Branden Lee Niemi, 29, of Astoria, for reckless endangering and second-degree criminal mischief. Niemi reportedly told police he was trying to disassemble his gun to clean it when it accidentally fired.
    KANSAS CITY, MO, 4/12/13: A police officer involved in an armed standoff with a robbery suspect holed up inside a beauty salon accidentally shot himself in the foot with an AR-15.
    GARDEN CITY, ID, 4/13/13:  Ada County Sheriff's deputies are investigating an accidental shooting that took place Saturday at the Fort Boise Gun Show at Expo Idaho. Deputies say the firearm that caused the injury was part of a vendor's display at the gun show. A person attending the show picked up a large-caliber handgun and unintentionally fired it into a display, not realizing a round had been left inside. Officers say the single round hit two other guns in the display. Flying shrapnel hit two bystanders. Other reports indicate as many as five injured.
    JACKSONVILLE, FL, 4/13/13: A 13-year-old old girl was found dead inside a Northside home Saturday afternoon in what appears to be an accidental shooting, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Several children -- ages 13, 11, 10, 9 and 1 -- were in the home without adult supervision when a shooting occurred. It appears the children were playing with the firearm when it went off, hitting the 13-year-old.
    VICTOR, NY, 4/13/13: You can have my gun when... I forget it at the motel. A South Carolina man's gun was so important to him that he took it with him all the way to upstate New York, where he was attending a wedding. So important to him, in fact, that he forgot all about it and left it behind in his motel room.
    TOLEDO, OH, 4/13/13: JAMboree has entered its fourth year as a music festival, boasting Every Time I Die as headliners for the fest’s first day and Hatebreed as closers for the second and final day. Unfortunately, the April 13 date was cut short due to gunfire during Every Time I Die’s set. There have been no injuries or arrests reported, and the JAMboree festival organizers have not offered a comment on the situation.
    DALLAS, TX, 4/13/13: A six-year-old child is in critical condition after shooting himself in the chest. Police said it happened Saturday night in the parking lot of Ridge Pointe Fellowship Church, 11440 Ferguson Road, in East Dallas. Police said the little boy got into a vehicle, found a loaded handgun, and pulled the trigger. The gun's owner, 24-year-old William Ross, was arrested and charged with injury to a child.
    FORT WAYNE, IN, 4/13/13: Concealed carry ninja drops gun from holster in WalMart, fires a round. No arrests. Just an accident! Everybody forget about it until someone dies, then send your "thoughts and prayers."
    JACKSON, TN, 4/13/13: Those of you who are curious to hear about successful self-defenses with guns will be pleased to know that this is a case of a homeowner defending his home from a break-in, during which he shot the would-be robber in the leg. But if you don't stop reading right here, you'll be disappointed to know that the homeowner also accidentally shot someone who was asleep on the couch, as well. Which is the sort of thing that really happens when you start shooting, even in self-defense, and there are other people around.
    BORING, OR, 4/13/13: Two 19-year-olds were out hunting coyotes (because they're delicious), and one accidentally shot and killed the other.
    BISMARCK, ND, 4/13/13: Bismarck Police Officer Pat Renz said a 27-year-old Bismarck man told police he accidentally fired his Colt .45 revolver in his apartment on the 400 block of West Century Avenue. Police responded to the incident at 12:36 a.m. Saturday. The man told officers he did not think the gun was loaded, Renz said. Really? He didn't think his revolver was loaded? Isn't that kind of easy to check?
    HASTINGS, MN, 4/13/13: And another gun show accident! On the same day! That hardly ever happens, unless you count the time it happened three months ago, when there were three on the same day. "Gun Appreciation Day," I believe it was. Anyway, this one went like this: During the show, a vendor was showing a customer a handgun. The customer asked the vendor how to disassemble or field strip the weapon. The vendor inserted his clip and ended up accidentally loading a round into the chamber. When he went to strip down the weapon, he had to pull the trigger. He pointed the gun at the floor, pulled the trigger, and a shot rang out. And not only did a shot ring out, a bullet came out, as well! Mercy me! But really, how could he have known that would happen?
    NORTH PRAIRIE, WI, 4/14/13: Nothing impresses the ladies more than blasting a hole through your own hand! Except maybe blasting a hole through your own hand, and then her face and chest!
    OREGON CITY, OR, 4/14/13: A 9-year-old girl who was shot in the face by a man cleaning a gun died at the hospital Sunday night, police said. The shooting happened at a home near 12th and Division streets in Oregon City just before 5 p.m. Police said the girl was in her back yard when she was shot from inside the house, and it appears to be an accident. Her mother's boyfriend was cleaning the gun when it fired. By the next day, apparently the "cleaning" explanation wasn't quite cutting it, and it became "practicing holstering and unholstering" the gun.
    FITCHBURG, MA, 4/14/13: A Leominster teenager accidentally shot himself today and was taken to the hospital with a gunshot would to his abdomen, according to news reports. Police said a gun went off around 4 p.m. at 152 Meadowbrook Lane, injuring a 16-year-old boy, according to NECN and the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise. Police said the injury appeared to be an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound to his abdomen, according to the reports.
    LINCOLN, NE, 4/14/13: Lincoln Police said the 52-year-old was taking a concealed carry class, when he went to put the .22 caliber gun in a holster on his hip and it went off. Police said the bullet was lodged in his thigh. LPD said the man was under the guidance of an instructor. Big Shots Indoor Shooting Range did not comment on the incident.
    GREENEVILLE, TN, 4/14/13: Deputies responded to Takoma Regional Hospital on a report of an accidental gunshot wound. They spoke with Timothy Gray, 44, who said "he was attempting to attach his gun and holster to his left hip in a cross-draw fashion, when he accidentally discharged the firearm," the report said. Gray shot himself with a .410 double-barrel Derringer.
    YORKTOWN, VA, 4/14/13: A 23-year-old Yorktown woman was accidentally shot on Sunday when her boyfriend accidentally discharged his gun while putting it away.
    SAUCIER, MS, 4/14/13: A 6-year-old boy accidentally shot his 7-year-old cousin in the chest child Sunday night after he found a loaded 9mm gun in a bedroom nightstand at his home in Saucier, sheriff's officials said.
    BIBB CO., GA, 4/14/13: A man who was cleaning his gun accidentally shot his girlfriend Sunday about 9:30 p.m., according to a Bibb County Sheriff’s Office incident report. Wesley Drawhorn was sitting on his sofa cleaning his .45-caliber gun when he heard a pop and his girlfriend scream. The girlfriend said she looked down and saw blood. Drawhorn told law enforcement he thinks he accidently pulled the trigger, according to the report. Drawhorn said he didn’t know a bullet was in the chamber.
    DES PLAINES, IL, 4/15/13: Here's something happening that won't ever happen. A retired cop dropped his gun and shot himself. In a school. At a Boy Scout meeting. But lighting can't strike twice, right? So stop worrying.
    ROCK HILL, SC, 4/15/13: A Rock Hill man accidentally shot himself after target practicing with friends, officials say. The 36-year-old man was in the woods at the end of Leach Road with a group of friends Monday evening. They planned to fish, and he also brought his .22 rifle along for target practice, according to a York County Sheriff's Office report. After several people took turns shooting the rifle, the man went to unload the gun and it went off. The bullet went through his right hand and struck his right thigh.
    MISSION, KS, 4/16/13: Mission police are investigating after a 6-year-old girl was shot by a teenager Tuesday morning. The shooting, believed to be accidental, happened at a doctor's office in the 6000 block of Martway. A maintenance worker at the building told Mahoney that one of doctors at the office heard a loud pop in lobby and came out and saw a teen with a gun. The worker said the doctor asked the teen to hand over the gun, which he did before running off.
    GURLEY, AL, 4/16/13: A 2-year-old boy is recovering from a gunshot wound after an accident, according to Madison County deputies. According to the sheriff's office, deputies responded to a home on Church Street around 7:20 p.m. Tuesday and found a child with a gunshot wound to the hand. Deputies said the unsupervised child shot himself.
    LAPWAI, ID, 4/17,13: Northern Idaho authorities say an 8-year-old Lapwai boy has died after being shot in the chest on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. Nez Perce County Sheriff Joe Rodriguez tells the Lewiston Tribune that the Wednesday shooting was accidental.
    COLUMBUS, OH, 4/17/13: WBNS-TV reports that the man was a regular customer who tied his dogs to a flagpole outside while he ate. Witnesses said that on Wednesday, another man walked by and the dogs barked and lunged at him. The dog's owner left the restaurant to talk to a man who pointed a gun at the dogs. Witnesses said the man shot the dog owner in the foot and then fled. Responsible!
    WINAMAC, IN, 4/17/13:  A rural Winamac man has died in a Fort Wayne hospital as a result of an accidental gunshot wound to the head which happened late Wednesday night at his residence. John W. Heck, 60, was found breathing, but unresponsive by police on the floor of his home, after a 911 emergency call was placed by the victim's brother-in-law, Robert J. Sommers, at about 10 p.m., April 17.
    MEDINA, OH, 4/18/13: The Medina Police Chief who briefed the media when that town hosted one of the "Gun Appreciation Day" gun shows that experienced an accidental shooting... has accidentally shot himself. Chief Patrick J. Berarducci suffered minor injuries when he was holstering his Smith & Wesson .40 caliber Shield handgun when the trigger guard got caught and discharged a round into his upper thigh.
    WEIRTON, WV, 4/18/13: The Weirton police chief said a 14-year-old boy suffered a gunshot wound to his hand in an accidental shooting in the city. Police and emergency medical workers responded to an Orchard Street home in the downtown area of the city late Thursday afternoon, Chief Bruce Marshall said. Marshall said the firearm in the case had been reported stolen from the downtown area.

Originally posted to David Waldman on Fri Apr 19, 2013 at 03:52 PM PDT.