Gun Fail 57

Wed Feb 19, 2014 at 12:30 PM PST

First gun show accident of 2014 continues avg. 1-per-month streak into 3rd year: GunFAIL LVII

by David Waldman

Eight of 41 guns discovered by TSA agents on passengers attempting to board flights last week.

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I could get used to this pace! Another sub-40 incident week for GunFAIL! Good job, everyone! Of course, there were still some accidents in all the usual categories. Two law enforcement GunFAILs, two target shooting mishaps, four unsolicited freedom projectiles shared with neighbors, four hunting accidents, and five assorted accidents involving guns being cleaned, cleared, repaired or broken down. 

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By far, the greatest danger was, as usual, posed to the person handling the gun. Twelve people accidentally shot themselves in this latest collection of stories, and there were nine children accidentally wounded by gunfire, raging in from ages 3, 4, 8, 16, and 17.
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Our title story this week comes to us from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where we found the first accidental discharge at a gun show in 2014. How often does this really happen? Well, this latest incident continues the streak stretching back to 2012 during which we've averaged about one such accident per month, according to the stories I've been able to find. Though it should perhaps be noted that the average was padded by a whopping seven accidents at gun shows during the month of January 2013 (Marietta, OH; Monroe, WA; Laporte, IN; Raleigh, NC; Medina, OH; Indianapolis, IN, and; Des Moines, IA), including three on "Gun Appreciation Day," last January 19th.
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Here's hoping the slow pace of accidents continues! Now, below the fold, last week's compilation.
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1. HOLYOKE, MA, 11/24/13: Police Sgt. John P. Hart has been suspended 10 days without pay for leaving his gun, which was recovered, in a restroom at the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside Nov. 24, Chief James M. Neiswanger said Wednesday. This was Hart's second weapon misplacement in two years; he was suspended for losing a sniper rifle in 2011 that was recovered as well. Neiswanger said in an email that an investigation found Hart "violated several rules and regulations" of the Police Department in relation to temporarily losing his gun at the mall, though Neiswanger didn't elaborate, and he couldn't be reached for comment. "Additional administrative restrictions have been imposed upon (Hart) for the next year," Neiswanger said in the email without elaborating.
2. LAKESIDE CITY, TX, 1/08/14: The body of 55-year-old Paul Morath, Junior was found in early January in a small metal building off Highway 79 near Bowman Road. Authorities say Morath died of an accidental gun shot wound. Officials say the firearm was not functioning properly and had either been intentionally modified or had broken. It's unclear why Morath had the gun or what he was doing when it went off. Morath was seen earlier that morning checking into work, and investigators say he probably had been dead for a few hours before being discovered by a co-worker.
3. CHATTANOOGA, TN, 1/12/14: Chattanooga Police are continuing their investigation after a 17-year-old was shot in the head at a home on 13th Avenue Sunday afternoon. The incident report reveals detectives were initially told an unidentified suspect pulled up in a vehicle, got out of the passenger seat and started firing shots towards the victim and his two friends as they headed back from the store on Rossville Boulevard. After doing a little digging, detectives found holes in that story. They believe the first story the victim's friend told the arriving officer. The juvenile said, they were playing with a 22 caliber pistol. Detectives believe one of the teenage boys accidentally shot the 17-year-old in the back of the head.
4. ORRINGTON, ME, 1/30/14: A local resident said he is worried about the safety of people in his neighborhood and those who use his land after he was told that five stray bullets whizzed through the treetops above his property recently. Jerry Perkins, 69, who owns 375 acres of land off Perkins Point Road and whose family has lived in Orrington for 150 years, said he believes the shots were fired from the Orrington Rod and Gun Club’s rifle range, located on East Bucksport Road. The club’s property abuts Perkins’ land. Perkins, a retired school teacher and coach, said he learned about the stray bullets from a commercial logger who has been harvesting trees on his land. He said he believes the shots were fired from a high-powered rifle. “I want to be a good neighbor, but also I’ve got to protect our property here. We’ve got people who live down here. We’ve got families that live down here,” Perkins said, adding that there are eight households on his stretch of road along Brewer Lake. The Jan. 30 incident resulted in some tense moments for Dustin Young, a 22-year-old commercial logger from Waltham, who said he was changing a flat tire on a log harvester on Perkins’ property when he heard bullets going overhead. “I was standing here next to my machine which had a flat tire, and I heard some gunshots go off. I didn’t think anything of it, I figured it was just a normal thing in the neighborhood,” he said Tuesday. “Then I heard a bullet [go through the trees] over my head [which] I thought was a little funny. I was waiting and waiting, and then I heard another one. “So I started getting a little nervous. I started standing behind the machine and then I heard three more after that,” he said. “I was thinking a bullet might ricochet off something and hit me. I was thinking I was gonna get hit in the back of the head with a bullet or something, or in the arm, or [that it would] take out the windshield of my truck.”
5. AURORA, CO, 2/01/2014: A 17-year-old boy charged as an adult with murder told police he accidentally killed his girlfriend — the mother of his infant daughter — during a bungled robbery early this month. Duantae Jerome Terrell told police he shot his girlfriend, 18-year-old Korin Lijah Williams, in the chest while the couple and another man, Abdullah Jhalil Ratcliff, 19, tried to rob a man Feb. 1 at the Weatherstone Apartments in Aurora.
6. CANTON, MI, 2/04/14: Police reported a 14-year-old boy to Wayne County juvenile authorities after he said he accidentally fired his father’s 20-gauge shotgun through a mobile home window on the night of Feb. 4, puncturing a tire on a neighbor’s vehicle. The other incident happened about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, inside a mobile home in the 51000 block of Mott Road, when a 14-year-old boy initially claimed someone had shot a pellet through a window, a police report said. The teen said he, his brother and a friend were sitting inside the mobile home when the incident occurred. However, a police investigation revealed the 14-year-old boy caused the damage after he got a shotgun from his father’s bedroom and it went off, a police report said. As the investigation unfolded, the teen told police he had been threatened on Facebook and had gotten the shotgun for his own safety. The police report indicated he racked the weapon and accidentally fired a shot through a window, damaging a car tire outside. The teen had put the shotgun back in its case before police arrived. Authorities indicated the boy has a hearing on the matter in Wayne County Juvenile Court.
7. SPRINGDALE, AR, 2/04/14: Springdale police are searching for a man they say shot himself in the leg, then lied to officers about it. He may still be on crutches. Police are looking for 23-year-old Remberto Alexander Rivera, who told police Feb. 4 that he was shot during a fight near Murphy Park. Rivera was treated at Northwest Medical Center in Springdale for a gunshot wound to the leg. He was later released, according to Springdale police. Detectives determined through the investigation that Rivera had lied to them, and that he instead had accidentally shot himself in the leg, police said. Two felony warrants have been issued for Rivera’s arrest, including possession of a firearm and filing a false police report.
8. JACKSON, TN, 2/05/14: Jackson Police are investigating a Wednesday evening shooting and for now they are releasing no suspect information. Officers were called to the 600 block of Rich Smith Way just off the Highway 70 By-Pass in east Jackson just before 7 p.m. Investigators said they found a man who had been shot in the leg. Though officers said he originally said someone shot him, they have since determined he accidentally shot himself. He is expected to fully recover.
9. GALLATIN, TN, 2/06/14: A young man is fighting for his life after an accidental shooting overnight in Gallatin. Police say a 23-year-old was shot in the chest at a home on Hale Avenue. He was airlifted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in critical condition.
10. EUTAWVILLE, SC, 2/08/14: The Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Saturday’s shooting death of a man on Yearling Drive in Eutawville. “Officers were called to the Yearling Drive residence at 2:18 p.m. in reference to a shooting incident,” Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said in a release. “Our preliminary investigation indicates a 59-year-old male asked his 14-year-old grandson to retrieve a gun,” Ravenell said. “As the 14-year-old was retrieving the weapon, it accidentally discharged ricocheted through the house and struck the grandfather, fatally injuring him.” The incident is still under investigation.
11. SPARTANBURG, SC, 2/08/13: Spartanburg County deputies are investigating an armed robbery early Saturday at a Waffle House. Lt. Tony Ivey, a spokesman for the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office, said a gunshot was accidentally discharged but no one was hurt. According to an incident report, a deputy responded to the report of a robbery at the Waffle House at 8121 Warren H. Abernathy Highway near Spartanburg before 3 a.m. An employee stated a man came into the restaurant and pointed a black handgun at another waitress and demanded money, according to the report. At one point, the man's face covering fell off and when he bent over to hide his face again, his handgun discharged, the report states. The man then ran out of the establishment with an undisclosed amount of money. Multiple witnesses reported seeing the gun discharge, the report states.
12. PORT ORCHARD, WA, 2/08/14: A 17-year-old girl shot herself in the foot late Saturday afternoon. The teen was at her Kerry Lane home at about 4:30 p.m. when Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputies were sent there. She was home alone trying to familiarize herself with a .22 caliber rifle. She didn’t know it was loaded, it went off and the bullet hit her in the foot, according to the sheriff’s office. She was treated at a Tacoma hospital.
13. WEWOKA, OK, 2/08/14: The life of an 8-year-old boy was claimed Saturday in a tragic accident. Katie, a Wewoka resident, said, “Everyone is talking about it. Everybody’s mourning about it.” On Saturday, officials say 8-year-old Lane Azlin slipped on ice while hunting. As he fell, his .22 pistol went off, causing him to shoot himself. A short time later, Lane died from his injuries. It happened just north of the town of Wewoka. While not everyone in town knew Lane, most know of his family. Undersheriff Chris Conn, with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, said, “I know the mother and father, they’re very good people and probably taught him everything he would need to know about safety with the gun.” Conn added, “One of the kids said the kid slipped on some ice, everything points to that’s what happened.” The sheriff’s office tells us they have ruled this an accidental shooting and no charges will be filed in the case.
14. TACOMA, WA, 2/09/14: Police said a woman was cleaning a gun in her Tacoma apartment early Sunday when it fired into the unit above her where a family was sleeping. No one was injured when the gun fired about 12:20 a.m. The family awoke and called 911, and the woman was booked into jail on suspicion of reckless endangerment, Tacoma police spokeswoman Loretta Cool said. A one-year-old child and three-year-old child were in the apartment when the shot fired through the floor, Cool said.
15. FOREST GROVE, OR, 2/09/14: A woman called police after her husband accidentally shot himself in the leg while trying to clear his gun. The man was intoxicated, which was another factor in the incident. He was transported to the hospital for treatment.
16. MCLURE, OH, 2/09/14: A McClure woman was critically injured after she was accidentally shot by her husband Sunday evening. At 6:47 p.m. Sunday, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from the area of K-486 Township Road 1C in Richfield Township when Noah W. Smith, 45, of McClure reported he was hunting a squirrel in his barn with his wife, Becky L. Smith, 42, of McClure, and his gun went off, shooting her in the head.
17. MUSCLE SHOALS, AL, 2/09/14: The operator of a local gun and knife show said a vendor was escorted out of the North Alabama State Fairgrounds on Sunday after a rifle accidentally discharged. “No one was injured,” said Brent Oliver, of Valley Productions Inc., on Monday. “It didn’t hit anybody. The vendor was escorted out of the show and banned from future shows. It’s an unfortunate accident. Thankfully, nobody got hurt.” Valley Productions Inc. operates the Shoals Gun and Knife Show Expo. The incident happened Sunday afternoon on the second day of the two-day expo. Organizers checked and secured the 30-30 rifle after it discharged. “We gave it back to the vendor and asked him to pack up his stuff,” Oliver said. “We’re very humbled by this. Mistakes happen, but that type of mistake does not need to happen at a gun show. I didn’t sleep well last night, I know that.” He said workers check vendors at the door to make sure weapons are secured. All firearms are required to be unloaded. “We do everything we can to make it safe for the public,” Oliver said. “We take extra measures. All weapons must have wire ties placed on them, and apparently this was put on incorrectly. He didn’t check it.” Announcements are made at the show reminding vendors to double check and be sure firearms are unloaded and make sure they are properly secured with a wire tie, Oliver said. Organizers met after the show Sunday night to discuss security measures and are working on additional operating procedures to enhance safety, Oliver said. “We take every measure possible to make it safe for the public,” he said. “It may make a lot of people mad, but they’re just going to have to get over it.”
18. CRAWFORD, AL, 2/09/14: A father and his daughter along with Sheriff's deputies had to duck for cover from a barrage of bullets Sunday afternoon. "The dad took his 11-year-old daughter with him to his boss' property to get firewood, and suddenly they started getting bullets raining all around them," said Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor. The bullets from a shotgun, AR-15, handguns and other assault rifles were coming from an area that's about 150 yards into the woods. Three men were allegedly shooting at their targets that were posted right at the fence line, which is where the man and his daughter were gathering firewood. The problem is the bullets were going into property that the trio does not own. This happened on North Richardson Rd. in Crawford near Highway 169 at around 4:00 p.m. Frantically hoping to get out alive, the father called 9-1-1. When deputies arrived on the scene, they walked into the same line of fire as the first two victims. "They were all pinned down behind their cars; the 11-year-old was terrified," says Taylor. "The dad was behind a tree and she took cover behind a car…He couldn't get to his daughter at the time." No one was hurt. They three men are now charged with reckless endangerment. Richard Cleveland Ward, Zachary Ward, and Kenneth Dolly have been named suspects.
19. CANTON, MI, 2/09/14: Canton police ticketed a 32-year-old man for negligent discharge of a firearm Sunday following allegations he accidentally fired a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol inside a car, injuring his hand and wounding a friend’s leg, a police report said. Police cited the 32-year-old Taylor man for an incident that happened about 4 p.m. Sunday on Nectar, in The Crossings apartment complex, southeast of Joy Road and I-275. Two men had been to a Livonia gun range and had driven to a friend’s apartment in Canton when the shooting occurred, the police report said. The suspect indicated he was showing his friend how to break down a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson when the gun fired, injuring his left hand and striking his friend, a 32-year-old Garden City man, in the leg, the report said. The bullet also pierced a pop bottle and went through the center console of a Dodge Charger. Canton paramedics took the men to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti for injuries police said were not life-threatening.
20. SPANISH FORK, UT, 2/10/14: A Spanish Fork man was taken to the hospital in critical condition after accidentally shooting himself in the stomach. The 50-year-old man was unloading a .270 caliber rifle from his truck when it discharged early Monday morning. The man was conscious and breathing when medical arrived. UPDATE: He didn't make it.
21. PLANT CITY, FL, 2/10/14: A retired dentist who served four years on the city commission died Monday of an apparent accidental gunshot, Plant City police said. Officers were called to James R. Hoover's Sandalwood Drive home about 12:30 p.m., police Sgt. Tray Towles said. Hoover was reportedly handling a gun when it fired, said Towles, who had no other details. Hoover, 72, served on the city commission from 1978-1982.
22. COCOA, FL, 2/10/14: Brevard County Deputies say the shooting death of a Cocoa teen on Monday was accidental. Deputies say they responded to a home on Tomlin Drive in Cocoa around 4:15pm Monday after a man had been shot. Investigators say 18-year-old Reginald Von Wright Jr. was unresponsive when they arrived because of an apparent gunshot wound to his chest. Officials say Wright was airlifted to Holmes Regional Hospital where was pronounced dead. Investigators say they believe that 25-year-old Steven Donte Speed accidentally shot Wright as he was making repairs to an AR-15 rifle while sitting in the living room. Speed told investigators Wright was sitting on the couch when the rifle discharged once and the bullet struck him in the chest. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
23. CLARKDALE, AZ, 2/10/14: Just before 9 p.m. Monday night, Clarkdale Fire crews were dispatched to the 400 block of Bent River Ranch Road. The incident was described as an accidental gunshot injury. Emergency crews found a man with wounds in his leg. They provided medical care and the patient was transported to Verde Valley Medical Center by Verde Valley Ambulance Company.
24. CINCINNATI, OH, 2/10/14: Two people were transported to University of Cincinnati Medical Center after being shot at an apartment complex Monday afternoon in Hartwell. A 27-year-old man told police that he was shot outside his vehicle in an apartment complex parking lot in the 7400 block of Constitution Drive. The victim told police that he was shot in the back and robbed. According to the incident report, the man suffered a possible internal injury. Meanwhile, a stray bullet went through the wall of an apartment and struck a 67-year-old woman in her knee.
25. BELTON, SC, 2/11/14: A Belton woman was hospitalized Tuesday night after accidentally shooting herself, according to police. A neighbor called emergency dispatchers with a report of a shooting at 211 Lewis St. just before 6:30 p.m. Belton police arrived to find the victim, whose name has not been disclosed, suffering from an unspecified gunshot wound. Chief Tommy Clamp said the woman was able to tell police that she had accidentally shot herself. She was taken to AnMed Health in Anderson, but her condition is unknown. Clamp did say the woman was responding to questions at the hospital from police. Clamp said the investigation was continuing but the shooting appears to be accidental. He doesn’t anticipate any charges being filed “unless something changes dramatically.”
26. BRIDGEWATER, MA, 2/11/14: A 22-year-old Grove Street resident accidentally shot himself in the leg as he was cleaning a handgun Tuesday evening, Bridgewater police said. The man’s girlfriend called 911 at 5:20 p.m. on Tuesday Feb. 11 saying her boyfriend had just shot himself, Bridgewater Police Lt. Thomas Schlatz said. Brian Cunha, 22, of 21 Grove St. was transported to South Shore Hospital by ambulance with a non-life threatening wound to the lower leg. Bridgewater police officers secured the scene and medical personnel from the Bridgewater Fire Department treated the injury. "Initial reports reveal the gun shot was an accidental discharge of a .45 caliber handgun," Schlatz said. The incident is under investigation by Bridgewater police detectives. No charges have been taken out at this time.
27. HOUSTON, TX, 2/11/14: A woman was sent to the hospital with a gunshot wound to her buttocks after deputies say a shootout occurred in the parking lot outside her apartment. It happened around 9 p.m. Tuesday in the 5700 block of West Mount Houston Road, according to deputies with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Witnesses said several shots were fired after a group of men got into a fight. One of the rounds pierced the wall of a nearby apartment, and deputies said a woman inside was shot in her rear as she relaxed on couch. Deputies were told by witnesses that one of the men involved in the fight was shot as well, but he was gone when authorities arrived. No arrests were made. The injured woman was sent to the hospital in stable condition.
28. VIVIAN, LA, 2/12/14: Caddo Parish deputies are investigating after a teenager was shot in the face in Vivian Wednesday morning. Deputies say around 11:30 a.m. they responded to a report of a shooting in the 300 block of Choctaw Drive. Deputies say a 16-year-old boy was playing with a .38 loaded with rat shot when he accidentally fired the gun hitting another 16-year-old boy in the cheek. The victim was taken to North Caddo Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
29. LAKE WORTH, FL, 2/13/14: Authorities say a 3-year-old Lake Worth girl died after what appears to be an accidental shooting at her home. Palm Beach County Sheriff's officials say Zuri Chambers was shot with an unsecured weapon Thursday. She and her father were the only two people in the house. Zuri was flown to Delray Medical Center, where she died Thursday night. A neighbor told the Palm Beach Post that a young couple moved into the home less than a year ago and she often saw the man playing with the little girl. Another 8-month-old child also lives in the house. A sheriff's spokeswoman said charges are possible because Florida law requires that weapons in homes be kept securely. It's not yet clear how the girl came into contact with the weapon.
30. BULLOCK CO., AL, 2/13/14: 61 year old Billy Wayne Stinson of Montgomery was killed Thursday in a hunting accident in Bullock County. The incident took place while Stinson and a friend were quail hunting. Police are still investigating but are calling the death accidental.  No charges have been filed against the man who shot him. Stinson was shot in the neck and chest. His body was taken to a hunting lodge in Bullock County. The information was confirmed by the Bullock County coroner and an official with the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries.
31. CARLISLE, PA, 2/13/14: The victim of a shooting incident in Carlisle on Thursday was out of the hospital and in good condition Friday as police continue to search for the suspects in the brazen daylight shooting. Carlisle Police released surveillance photos Friday from the downtown camera system that show two suspects they say were involved in Thursday afternoon’s shooting in the first block of West Pomfret Street. Police said they narrowed it down to two people after reviewing the camera system and interviewing witnesses. The incident happened near Buzz Express, 39 W. Pomfret St., when four to six shots rang out from near the intersection of Pomfret and South Hanover streets. One bullet hit a girl in the head, and another bullet grazed a second person on the arm, police said. A loose round went through her clothing, but she was not injured. “We are believing that it was a stray bullet, so we are thinking two innocent victims,” Carlisle Police Lt. Stephen Latshaw said. Police say the two victims were not intended targets, and the girl shot in the head was taken to Carlisle Regional Medical Center.
32. FAYETTEVILLE, AR, 2/14/14: Detectives are at a home on Calver Court in north Fayetteville after police said an 8-year-old girl accidentally shot herself Friday. Fayetteville Police Lt. Todd Joyce said the child was shot in the leg and that the injury was not life threatening. Officers were still investigating Friday evening. The shooting happened about 4:15 p.m. on the 4000 block of Calver Court. Joyce said a grandparent was in the home with the child when the shooting occurred. The child found the handgun in the master bedroom of the home, a news release said. The girl was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, Joyce said.
33. GAITHERSBURG, MD, 2/14/14: Montgomery County Police are investigating a shooting that happened near the Gaithersburg Library, which was closed today. They are still trying to figure out why this happened. WUSA9 has learnt that a 17-year-old girl was shot and is expected to survive. Police are looking into the possibility that the shooting may have been over a jacket but they cannot say for certain. They also say they do not believe it was a robbery. They are calling this an accidental shooting. The call came out around 1:00 p.m. at 18330 Montgomery Village Avenue and Christopher Lane. Chopper 9 was above the scene where police were actively investigating and collecting evidence. The 17-year-old girl was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
34. GAINESVILLE, FL, 2/14/14: Alachua County Sheriff's Office Court Security Supervisor accidentally discharged his weapon...inside the courthouse. Now, the incident is under investigation. Lieutenant Calvin Decoursey was getting ready to clean his gun when a live round discharged into a briefcase in his office. No one was hurt in the incident. The Alachua County Sheriff's Office said that Lieutenant Decoursey followed all the protocols for reporting this incident. He has been put back on patrol, something the Sheriff's Office says was already in the works.
35. BRUNSWICK, GA, 2/14/14: A morning shooting at a motel that triggered a massive search and the lockdown of nearby businesses was accidental and self-inflicted, Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering said. Acting on statements made by the victim and at least one other man, police searched for hours for a gunman who did not exist. Doering said at 11:45 a.m. that investigators had just developed evidence that the male victim shot himself accidentally and that a friend had hidden the gun for him so he would not get in trouble for having it, Doering said. The man was shot in the leg at Baymont Inn & Suites on Center Drive after 8 a.m. and was airlifted to a trauma center for treatment, said Capt. Marissa Tindale of the Glynn County police shortly after the shooting. In the wake of the shooting, police searched the area for a 5-foot-6, black male who was said to be wearing a mask and a multicolored long sleeve shirt. Police were told he fled on foot and had a handgun. Doering estimated that 20 uniformed officers plus detectives and a dozen special operations team officers responded to the shooting scene to search for a gunman who didn’t exist. He identified the wounded man as Mario Walden, 30. Doering said he was taken to UF Health Jacksonville but said he did not know Walden’s condition. Police methodically knocked on the doors of and checked all 100 rooms in the Concorde as a day-care center, Gateway Behavioral Health Services and other nearby businesses remained locked down. As officers continued searching, a friend of the wounded man told police he had hidden the gun in the trunk of his car and driven it across to the Concorde, Doering said. The man said police were taking the matter so seriously that he had to tell the truth, Doering said. Police learned that Walden had a handgun in his waistband underneath his shirt and it accidentally discharged as he left his hotel room striking him in the leg, Doering said. Walden is a felon who is not allowed to have a gun under Georgia law, he said.
36. EL DORADO CO., CA, 2/14/14: A 11-year veteran California game warden is in the hospital with serious injuries after a shooting incident in a rural stretch of El Dorado County. Warden Bob Pera was approaching two hunters just after dark Friday for a compliance check when a shot was fired. California Department of Fish and Wildlife Lt. Patrick Foy said Pera was hit in the hand and bullet fragments entered his neck. After he was shot, Pera was able to use his radio to give sheriff's deputies his location. "It was pretty complicated just to get help to him," Foy said. "He had to give almost step by step directions on how to get through some of these dirt roads." Pera got the hunters to stay, and they eventually helped him with his wounds. The El Dorado County Sheriff's Department is leading the officer-involved shooting investigation. Details about the shooting are limited as the investigation continues. For now, Foy said investigators haven't determined if this was an accidental shooting or something else. "Everything's possible at this point, so we just don't know," Foy explained. Investigators detained the two hunters, but by Saturday morning they were not in custody. No arrests have been made in the shooting.
37. WASHINGTON, DC, 2/14/14: A little girl leaving her aunt’s home on Valentine’s Day had just opened the door to the apartment building for two men, District police said, when minutes later six gunshots rang out. Children who were in the apartment complex’s courtyard ran, pointing and screaming, “There they go!” as the men fled, according to a detective. One of the children who ran was the 8-year-old girl who had opened the door. She had been struck in the upper left chest by a stray bullet, police said. On Saturday, as the girl remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition after surgery, D.C. police charged two men in the shooting that occurred about 3 p.m. Friday in the 1200 block of Valley Avenue SE.
38. ARANSAS PASS, TX, 2/14/14: A 4-year-old in Aransas Pass is in stable condition after being shot in the chest Friday night, police said. Emergency crews were dispatched to a shooting at 9:50 p.m. Friday in the 2000 block of W. Wheeler Ave. Police arrived on scene and found a 4-year-old child with a gunshot wound in the chest. Police said the child was alert and communicating when law enforcement arrived. The child was transferred to the hospital for treatment while officers and investigators continue to investigate the shooting. According to Aransas Pass officials, the shooting is said to be an accident.

Originally posted to David Waldman on Wed Feb 19, 2014 at 12:30 PM PST.