Acerbic Politics: Gun Fail 79

Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 07:51 PM PDT

100 More GunFAILs, which brings us to GunFAIL LXXIX, but we're still not caught up.

Five of 39 guns "forgotten" by their owners and found by TSA agents at airports across the country, Oct. 10-16. A total of 268 guns were discovered since the last GunFAIL list was published in mid-September.

Okay, it's time to get out of the summer doldrums, already. It's October, and time to get caught up and back to the weekly posting schedule. By the way, if you were keeping score at home, we would be somewhere around GunFAIL XCI if we'd published weekly during the summer.

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Anyway, here's a quick and dirty rundown on the numbers in our most-frequently reported categories. From around mid-August to early September, we saw 11 "home invasion" shootings, that is, where someone has accidentally fired into their neighbors' home or property, not counting two additional instances of firing into a neighboring hotel room. There were also 11 target shooting accidents of various kinds, five hunting accidents, five accidents while cleaning still-loaded guns, six various FAILs involving law enforcement or security officers, three shootings of people mistaken for intruders, two accidental shootings arising from attempted interventions in ongoing attacks or robberies, three accidental discharges while out shopping or dining in public, and the first accidental discharge in the classroom of the still-young school year.
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The really alarming numbers, though, were among those who accidentally shot themselves (33), those who accidentally shot a family member or significant other (11), and kids who were accidentally shot (29). Among all the carnage, 17 of the 100 incidents on the list resulted in fatalities.
Which were our most spectacular GunFAILs this time around? Number 14, which demonstrates the need to keep track of your weapon at all times and not accidentally throw it into a bonfire. Number 32, in which a grandmother mistook her 7-year-old grandson for an intruder and shot him. Number 37, in which a son argued with and then shot his father and fled, the mother called police, and when a deputy arrived, mom shot him, thinking it was her son returning. Number 52, in which an angry driver attempting a road rage shooting of a nearby driver accidentally shot himself in the head and killed himself. Number 91, the Idaho State University professor who accidentally shot himself in the foot in the middle of chemistry class. Number 65, in which a cameraman from the long-running TV reality show Cops was accidentally shot and killed during filming, by a cop. And finally, number 17, in which a man carrying his gun under Georgia's new "guns everywhere" law to a German-style biergarten in the Bavarian-themed tourist town of Helen accidentally shot himself in the hand, and the same bullet killed a visitor across the street.
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That's some Responsible Gun Ownin', people. Details on the Hot 100 below the fold.

PIEDMONT, OK, 6/14/14: Neighbors in Piedmont had to dodge bullets after they were fired into a nearby lake June 14. “You can skip a rock on a lake, same thing with a bullet, only it goes a lot faster and goes a lot further,” said Piedmont Police Chief Alex Oblein. On June 14, Piedmont police received a frantic call for help. “I got a neighbor that's out here shooting a high-powered rifle or gun. He zinging bullets over my head. Get me a policeman out here or there's going to be a killing. I mean it. I need someone now,” the 911 caller told the dispatcher. An officer rushed to the Falcon Lake neighborhood while the gunfire continued. The bullets flew by children playing outside. One bullet pierced a home’s roof. The gunfire didn't stop once the officer arrived. “While he was standing out there he heard a shot fly over his head also,” Oblein said. Investigators said the bullets were coming from the southern side of the lake traveling about a quarter mile northward. Police tracked down the suspected shooter, who told them he had been firing a gun but was aiming at the water. He said he did not realize the bullets ricocheted. Police arrested Sebastian Olejniczak in connection with the shooting. They recovered 49 shell casings, an AK-47, an AR-15, an “Uzi” style pistol and a couple other pistols according to a police report. Police said Olejniczak didn't live in the area but did get permission from the land owner to be on the property. Public records indicate Olejniczak has no previous criminal history in Oklahoma.
DELAWARE TOWNSHIP, NJ, 6/29/14: An Arabian horse continues to recover after she was struck by a stray bullet fired from a neighboring property in late June. Juno, a Straight Egyptian Arabian mare valued at $250,000 spent several weeks at Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center in Ringoes after being injured on June 29. She returned home to Thornewood Farm on Aug. 19. Although she went off her feed for a time, she started eating again and she is slowly getting better. She will be on stall rest for a little while longer, co-owner Lisa Cifrese said. Cifrese also warns other horse owners to be aware that hunting season is on the horizon, although this was not a hunting accident. "I would never have imagined moving to New Jersey that my horse would get shot," she said. Thornewood attorney John R. Lanza said on July 16 that multiple bullets had since been found that pierced the metal shed wall. Police and private investigations have led authorities to believe that the shooting was accidental. No charges had been filed as of Sept. 9 that Cifrese was aware of. More than one person was target shooting nearby when the horse was hit, Lanza said. "There were bullets from an AR-15, .223 caliber rifle found in the shed. "We have the bullet" that hit Juno, and "the police have interviewed the subjects and obtained their firearms. They're matching bullets to the firearms." Lanza said the people believed to have been target shooting are "very remorseful that anything like this happened. It's a shame for everybody."
BERTHOUD, CO, 7/11/14: Bob and Darla Starman were in their front yard getting ready for a garage sale on July 11 when Bob thought he heard a bullet whizz past his head. Then they heard a second shot, and Darla screamed. A.22-caliber bullet had lodged in her leg above the knee, not far from the femoral artery. "It's a hurt I've never felt before," said Darla, who still suffers aches and soreness from the injury, which is healing. "It hurts really bad, and it burns and it stings." The Starmans knew right away that Darla had been shot, but they didn't know who had fired the shot or why. The answer was one rural property away, with neighbor Matthew Kuber, who reportedly was shooting at rabbits that had been feasting on his garden. His shot instead hit an unintended target — the woman having a garage sale next door.
SAN ANTONIO, TX, 8/14/14: A 12-year-old boy who was shot in the face early Thursday morning inside an East Side townhome later died at University Hospital. Police said the boy, Julian Karnazuta-Gomez, was with his 14-year-old cousin at the younger boy's home in the 4600 block of East Houston Street when the gun went off around 2 AM. Police responded to the Place at Houston Street Townhomes. According to police, Karnazuta-Gomez, the 14-year-old shooter and two other children were playing with the gun when it was fired. The boy's cousin reported that he discovered the gun near the home. "They were walking in a field, and they found a handgun. They returned the gun to the victim's residence, went to his room, and the suspect started playing with the gun," said Doug Greene, public information officer for the San Antonio Police Department. According to police, Gomez's parents told investigators they were downstairs when the shooting occurred putting two other little children to bed. They told police they had no idea the gun was brought into their home. SAPD officials took the alleged shooter and another teen who was inside the room in for questioning.
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX, 8/14/14: Police determined a man who walked into a hospital Thursday night saying he had been shot by someone else instead accidentally shot himself, according to a news release. Corpus Christi police were called to Christus Spohn Hospital South about midnight Thursday. A 22-year-old man had a gunshot wound in his right thigh and said he had been shot and robbed at a convenience store, according to the release. His story changed as officers questioned him, according to the release. Officers went to the man’s apartment in the 5200 block of Weber Road near Carroll High School. Witnesses there said he was handling a .22 caliber rifle and was intoxicated when he accidentally shot himself, a police spokesman said. The man remained in the hospital Friday morning with injuries that weren’t life threatening and was charged on suspicion of discharging a firearm, a class A misdemeanor, according to the release.
MIDWEST CITY, OK, 8/14/14: A 14-year-old boy is dead after being shot in the chest with a rifle. On Thursday, Midwest City police say they received a 911 call about a possible shooting in the 4200 block of N. Shadybrook Dr. When officers arrived, they found the body of a 14-year-old in the garage of the home. Two other teenagers, who were at the home at the time of the shooting, told investigators the victim shot himself. A short time later, both admitted they were all in the garage when the 14-year-old was handling the rifle. Authorities say it unintentionally went off and hit the 14-year-old in the chest. The rifle that was allegedly used in the shooting was reported stolen from a Midwest City home in 2011. So far, no charges have been filed in the case. Updated: Initial reports were the victim was 13 but the school tells KFOR the victim had recently turned 14. UPDATE: Police have released the name of a 13-year-old boy who was found dead after a shooting incident at a Midwest City home last week. Police received vague 911 calls about 1:30 PM Thursday about a possible shooting at the 4200 block of N Shadybrook Drive. When officers arrived, they found Lebron Davis dead in the garage. Police said they think Davis was shot once in the chest with a rifle. Davis attended Crutcho Public Schools, according to a statement on the school district’s website. He would have started eighth grade Tuesday.
ATLANTA, GA, 8/14/14: A 3-year-old boy was in stable condition Friday after what police believe was an accidental shooting overnight in northwest Atlanta. Authorities said the shooting occurred just before 10 PM Thursday in the 2900 block of Middleton Road at the Allen Hills Apartments, a gated complex off Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The preliminary investigation indicates the boy may have been playing with a handgun and shot himself in the face, Officer Officer John Chafee with Atlanta police said. The child was transported to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite. Neighbor Ivey McMullen told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she heard people screaming, “the baby shot himself.” Charges are possible in the incident, Officer John Chafee said.
LONGVIEW, WA, 8/14/14: A Longview teen is in a Portland hospital after his friend accidentally shot him in the face Thursday, Longview police said. A 15-year-old resident in the 200 block of 26th Avenue told officers he found the hidden key to his parents’ gun safe and was handling the gun about 3 PM Thursday. As he was placing the gun back into the safe the gun fired into the face of his 14-year-old friend, according to Longview police. The friend, bleeding from his head, was taken to St. John Medical Center and later to Oregon Health and Sciences University by Life Flight helicopter. The boy’s condition was unavailable Thursday night. The 15-year-old’s parents told officers they were working during the time of the shooting. They were not aware their son knew where the key to the gun safe was hidden, police said.
VALLEJO, CA, 8/14/14: A Vallejo man died Thursday morning after he accidentally shot himself in the chest while he was cleaning a firearm. The man, described as a Caucasian man in his 70s, was in his garage on the 100 block of Sunrise Way, when according to Vallejo police, the weapon accidentally discharged and was legally owned by the man. Police said that no foul play is suspected. There were no other injuries reported.
CLARION TOWNSHIP, PA, 8/14/14: Clarion-based State Police say around 10:20 AM on August 14, an accidental shooting occurred on Fisher Road, in Clarion Township. According to police, a 21-year-old Fisher man had just purchased a handgun and was on his way back to his residence when he accidentally shot himself in the foot. The name of the individual was not released. No other information was provided.
NEWTON, KS, 8/15/14: A 2-year-old child is expected to recover after accidentally shooting himself in the hand at a Newton home. Officers were called to Newton Medical Center at 10:39 AM Friday. Police say the boy was at his grandparents' house in the 900 block of Cherry Hills Drive, where a handgun had been left on a table. As the boy's grandmother went to answer the telephone, police said the child picked up the handgun and fired one shot, grazing his finger. The bullet went through the front door and hit a neighbor's house. The child was treated and released. The Harvey County Attorney will determine if the grandparents will face charges in the case.
FARMINGTON, UT, 8/15/14: A 45-year-old man is expected to recover after he was accidentally shot in Lagoon campground. The man and his 43-year-old brother were showing each other a small handgun inside a motor-home Friday night when, about 9 PM, a round discharged and hit the older brother in his lower abdomen, said Farmington Police Lt. Parish Snyder. Emergency responders arrived at the campground, located just south of the amusement park, and took the wounded man to Intermountain Medical Center. He is expected to survive the injury, Snyder said, adding that the shooting was an accident.
WALLA WALLA, WA, 8/15/14: Detectives are continuing their investigation into the shooting death of a 20-year-old Walla Walla man. Ramiro Lopez Jr. died Friday morning from a single gunshot wound to the head. The shooting took place at a home on the 300 block of West Chestnut Street. Police say the shooting was witnessed by a least three other subjects who were with Lopez at the time. The witnesses are cooperating with officials conducting the investigation. No suspects are being sought at this time, and it is possible the shooting was accidental. The weapon used in the shooting, a semi-automatic pistol, had been reported stolen to the police department earlier this month.
NORTH BEND, OR, 8/15/14: A handgun accidentally thrown in a fire discharged 3 rounds, hitting one man in the leg and grazing another man's abdomen, the Coos County Sheriff's Office said. Dustin Shermer, 27, of Grants Pass called 911 around 9:42 PM Friday to report he had accidentally shot himself in the leg. Deputies met Shermer at the hospital. Shermer said he and 2 friends had built a fire with brush they'd brought with them to the North Spit, north of North Bend. He told deputies he had placed his 38 Smith and Wesson pistol on the tailgate of his truck. At some point, the gun got caught in the brush and was thrown into the fire. Once the fire heated up the gun, it fired three rounds. One hit Shermer in the thigh. Another grazed the abdomen of 25-year-old Matthew Parker of North Bend. Deputies determined Shermer's account was accurate and that no criminal activity took place, the sheriff's office said.
BIRMINGHAM, AL, 8/15/14: Birmingham Police are investigating a shooting at Kingston Projects in the 900 block of 44th Place North that left a 5-year-old girl wounded late Friday night. Police say the girl was an innocent bystander when a gun was fired during an altercation nearby. Authorities say she was taken to Children's of Alabama and doctors expect her to recover. No suspect has been named.
LOUISVILLE, KY, 8/16/14: Just before 2 AM Saturday, emergency officials received a call about a shooting on Routt Road in Jeffersontown. "They were at my son's mother's house on Routt Road. They're friends of my son's," Joe Mohr, of Frankfort, told WDRB. Mohr says his son, the suspect and the victim, 18 year-old Dillon Walker, all of Franklin County, were good friends. He said they were at his house Friday night before heading to J-town to stay the night. "What happened was the other two boys were out after my son had gone to sleep. He woke my son up and said he had accidentally shot Dillon," Mohr told WDRB. According to the coroner's office, Walker died at University Hospital from a gunshot wound to the head. "We didn't know for a long time whether he was going to make it or not," Mohr said. Police have charged a 17-year-old juvenile with Walker's murder. "This murder charge has just really floored everybody. That's much more serious than I think anyone's going to find it to be. It's a serious situation and there's maybe carelessness involved but that's the worst. It's a terrible, terrible accident. It's a tragedy for many people," he said. Mohr said he isn't sure where the boys got the guns but knows many people shoot recreationally in that area. "They need to live a little more cautiously," he said. Mohr said Walker will be missed. "Dillon was getting ready to go to college Sunday. This was a weekend with his friends and there was certainly no mal intent amongst those boys," he told WDRB. "This is just a terrible tragedy. There are a lot of broken hearts here in Franklin County right now. A lot of the young people are just sick over this," he said. Clark Legacy Funeral Home in Frankfort will hold services this week.
HELEN, GA, 8/16/14: A Texas woman died late Saturday after she was struck by a stray gunshot in the town of Helen in North Georgia. Police said the bullet came from a small-caliber handgun carried by a 53-year-old man from Jasper, Ga. The gun accidentally discharged, and the bullet traveled across Helen’s tourist-laden Main Street and struck the woman in the side. Bystanders attempted to administer first aid, police said, but authorities pronounced the woman dead at the scene. The shooting took place outside the Old Heidelberg restaurant and bar, one of many Bavarian-themed businesses in Helen, a town of about 500 residents in White County, 90 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. The town’s main route, Ga. 75, is often crowded with visitors, many of them motorcyclists attracted by the area’s twisting mountainous roads. Officers from the Helen Police Department responded to a call of shots fired at 10:41 PM Saturday. They first found the 53-year-old man, identified as Glenn Patrick Lampien, sitting on a bench, his hand bleeding. Officers then learned of a second victim, the Texas woman across the street, apparently struck by the same bullet. Authorities did not release the woman’s name Sunday. In a statement Sunday, the police said Lampien would be charged with involuntary manslaughter. An employee who answered the telephone Sunday at the Old Heidelberg said the police had instructed the restaurant’s staff not to speak to reporters. In a brief telephone interview, Lampien’s wife, Valerie, said her husband was recovering. She was not with him Saturday night in Helen. “I don’t know what happened myself,” she said. “It’s an unfortunate situation.” Lampien is the owner of Lampien Mechanical Services in Jasper, which installs and services commercial and industrial air conditioning systems. Public records indicate he was convicted of driving under the influence in 1999 and sentenced to probation. The shooting occurred less than two months after a new law took effect in Georgia that greatly extended gun owners’ rights to carry weapons in public places. Bars are among the locations covered by House Bill 60. In an online forum sponsored by GeorgiaPacking.org, a gun-rights advocacy group, one commenter said Sunday: “Of course, HB 60 will be blamed.” A woman posting to the Helen Police Department’s Facebook page took a different view: “Guns everywhere! This is our brand new law in action.”
SAN DIEGO, CA, 8/16/14: Four people who were out shooting may have sparked a 20-acre brush fire Saturday afternoon in Otay Mesa about a mile from the state prison, authorities said. Cal Fire air tankers and helicopters worked with ground crews to control the blaze, burning off Kuebler Ranch Road near Otay Mountain Truck Trail, Cal Fire Capt. Kendal Bortisser said. No structures were threatened. The fire was reported about 4:20 PM about two miles north of the Mexican border and a mile east of Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility on Alta Road. Several sheriff’s jails lie further north along the same road. Fire officials initially said the blaze had charred about 100 acres in the first hour, but then scaled back their estimate to 20 acres. The fire was said to be dying down by about 5:40 PM. A Border Patrol helicopter crew saw a vehicle leaving the area near the fire, and agents stopped the vehicle nearby at Alta Road and Paseo de la Fuente, sheriff's Lt. Christine Robbins said. She said deputies said the people in the car had been shooting guns. Cal Fire is investigating the cause of the fire.
LAKE CO., CA, 8/16/14: A Petaluma man on a deer hunting trip with family and friends in the rugged Mendocino National Forest was accidentally shot and killed Saturday evening, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The 52-year-old man was airlifted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was pronounced dead shortly afterward, said Lake County acting Undersheriff Chris Macedo. “There’s nothing to make us believe foul play has occurred,” acting Undersheriff Chris Macedo said. The victim’s family members phoned for help at about 5 p.m., according to Cal Fire Capt. Amy Head. Emergency crews from Calstar and Cal Fire arrived on scene — about eight miles northeast of Upper Lake — by air while the Northshore Fire Protection District and Forest Service personnel arrived by ground after determining where the victim was located. While the victim’s family had cell phones, the signals weren’t strong enough for their GPS systems to be utilized and they had difficulty communicating their location because they spoke only Spanish, said Pat Brown, Northshore’s deputy fire chief. “There was a huge language barrier,” he said. The victim was located near French Ridge, just below the High Glade lookout tower, he said. Cal Fire’s crews lifted the victim out by helicopter, then transferred him to the Calstar helicopter, which flew him to the hospital, Brown said. At least 16 emergency workers responded to the location, he said. “It takes a lot of people to do this,” Brown said.
NASHUA, NH, 8/16/14: New details about a weekend shooting that left a woman in critical condition reveal the victim told police she was shot twice, while the man who shot her said he was cleaning his gun when it accidentally fired, according to court documents released Monday. Christopher Martini, 41, of 3 Balcom St., Apt. A, Nashua, was held on $25,000 cash or surety bail following his arraignment at Nashua district court. He was charged with first-degree assault, reckless conduct and criminal threatening, all of which are domestic violence-related and are felonies, according to court documents. Police were called to 1011⁄2 Gilman St. shortly before 7:30 p.m. Saturday for a report of shots fired. Officers found Martini sitting on front porch with blood on his hands. They also found a trail of blood spatter leading from an upstairs bedroom that led out the front door and to a basement residence.
HONOLULU, HI, 8/16/14: The family of a 39-year-old Honolulu police officer said his death Monday morning was due to a gunshot wound from an accidental discharge of a handgun at his Wilhelmina Rise home Saturday evening. Jens Magelssen, a Honolulu police officer, was showing his handgun to a friend during a barbecue at his home on Sierra Drive when it accidentally discharged, his uncle Mark Magelssen said. "There was no intention for anyone to get hurt," he said. "Jens was just showing the gun to someone, and it accidentally went off. No one else shot him and he was not attempting to shoot himself. It was just a terrible, tragic accident. "It's carelessness on Jens' part, which is unusual because he's usually a very careful person," he said. Jens Magelssen died Monday morning at the Queen's Medical Center Monday after he was taken off life support, his uncle said.
ELGIN, SC, 8/16/14: An Elgin man was shot in the arm on Saturday after the rifle he was cleaning misfired, according to an incident report filed with the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Department. The 24-year-old said he was in a shed and had taken out his father’s .22-caliber rifle to clean. The victim was struck by a bullet in the right arm after the rifle he placed in his lap to clean misfired, the report said. The report said the victim then drove himself to a local emergency room in Camden, where officials determined the bullet had broken a bone in his arm and would need to be fixed with surgery. The victim said he was the only one in the shed when the rifle misfired. Officers investigating the incident determined it was an accidental shooting.
ANDALE, KS, 8/17/14: A stray target shooting bullet sent one man to the hospital Sunday afternoon. It happened west of Wichita near Andale, and now Sedgwick County deputies are urging gun owners to know their surrounds before they shoot. Around 2 PM Sunday a homeowner was walking in his backyard when he was hit by a bullet fired from a half-mile away. The victim's family said it was a very scary situation. "He was just out in the yard, his son Ryan was out here with him," said the victim's sister-in-law Brenda Mies. The homeowner was struck by a bullet in his behind. Sedgwick County Officers said it came from across a farm field behind his backyard. Five men ages 18-20 were shooting several rounds from the other side of the field. They were aiming at a dead stump with no back stop. Sedgwick Co. Sgt. Kevin Berry said it was a wreckless mistake. "When you're shooting rifles that are made for long distance shooting you definitely need to know what's behind your target when you shoot," said Berry. Fortunately the victim was released from the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Mies said this isn't the first time bullets have wound up on her brother-in-law's property. "Sheds have been shot out here, our cars have been shot," said Mies. It's not illegal to shoot guns on private property in the country, but everyone who does needs to know the dangers. "Hunters have to know where they're shooting at, it's the same thing with anybody that has weapons," said Berry. "You have to know what's on the other side of those trees before you shoot." Mies hopes this accident can serve as a lesson to be learned for everyone who uses sporting guns. "It's dangerous, people need to learn that guns aren't toys, said Mies. "Go to shooting ranges where it's safe." The five target shooters were brought in for questioning with investigators Sunday afternoon. Berry said they could face aggrivated battery charges. KAKE-TV also spoke with the home owner where the target shooting took place. He said his son and friends will no longer be shooting long distance rifles from that spot until he builds a back stop. The shooters were brought in for questioning. Berry says they could face aggravated battery charges.
CLARKSVILLE, TN, 8/17/14: A 4-year-old boy died Sunday in Clarksville after police said he accidentally shot himself. Officers with the Clarksville Police Department were called a home on Arthurs Court around 5:45 PM When officers arrived, they found the 4-year-old with a gunshot wound to the chest. The child was taken by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he died. The preliminary investigation showed the child got access to the loaded handgun and accidentally fired the fatal shot. The investigation was ongoing. The child's identity was not immediately released.
CALHOUN, GA, 8/17/14: A Georgia man was arrested Sunday in Calhoun after firing a gun inside a hotel room police say nearly struck a sleeping child. According to the Calhoun Police Department incident report: Police officers about 12:42 AM were dispatched to the Holiday Inn Express at 125 Hampton Drive, after a patron staying in Room 228 reported a bullet hole in the wall caused by a projectile that came from the room next door. The men who were staying in Room 226 were found in the parking lot sitting in a gray 2013 Ford Fusion. After first denying having a gun, the two told police they wanted to tell the truth. The duo said they had been to a wedding in Ranger and a friend brought them back to the hotel. One of the men stayed in the car while Chadwick Monroy Langway, 25, of Big Canoe, Ga., went to the room to get his friend’s 9 mm pistol. Langway said he “was holding the pistol in his left hand and playing around with it,” the report says. “He did not think it was loaded and pulled the trigger.” The gun was loaded and Langway fired a round. He told police he panicked and knocked on the door to the room next door, but no one came to the door. He knocked on other doors then ran to the parking lot to tell his friend what happened. The two sat in the car until officers arrived. Police found the spent round in a bag of clothes on a table in Room 228. “If the bags had not stopped the round it would more than likely have struck a 4-year-old male (who) was lying on the bed asleep,” an officer wrote in the report. No one was injured. Police believe the shooting to be accidental, but reported Langway and his friend smelled strongly of alcohol, had bloodshot and watery eyes, and slightly slurred speech. They arrested Langway on charge of reckless conduct causing harm or endangering safety.
GRAND TERRACE, CA, 8/18/14: A 63-year-old woman was arrested Monday after she shot her own hand during a dispute over an Xbox console, authorities said. Bonnie Rucker, a Grand Terrace resident, was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to kill her relative, Scott Adcock, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. The argument over the Xbox broke out about 12:40 PM in a home in the 12000 block of Honey Hill Drive when Rucker allegedly pointed a loaded .357 caliber handgun at Adcock, threatening to shoot him, authorities said. A struggle ensued, and the handgun discharged into Rucker's hand, authorities said. Adcock was not injured in the shooting. Rucker's hand was treated at Loma Linda Medical Center and she was later booked at the West Valley Detention Center.
AURORA, CO, 8/18/14: Police say they're surprised no one was hurt after an Aurora homeowner mistook an insurance adjuster for an intruder and fired his gun. Aurora Police Sgt. Chris Amsler says 63-year-old Maurice Giles fired two rounds into an empty bedroom after hearing strange noises Monday morning. Amsler says the noises were actually coming from the roof, where an insurance adjuster was studying recent storm damage. No one was struck, and the bullets did not damage the home. Amsler says Giles was issued a ticket for discharging a firearm in the city, a misdemeanor code violation.
BRACKEN CO., KY, 8/18/14: A 17-year-old Bracken County boy is expected to recover after being shot in the chest with a hunting rifle. An ambulance was called to Belmont Road Monday night, August 18 at around 9. Investigators believe the shooting was accidental. Officials have not yet been able to talk to the teen. He is in critical condition. UPDATE: Local 12 learned the 17-year-old boy has died after being shot in the chest with a hunting rifle Monday.
FLAGSTAFF, AZ, 8/18/14: A Kansas man was taken to Flagstaff Medical Center this week after accidentally shooting himself in the finger. According to police reports, Flagstaff police and emergency medical personnel were dispatched to the parking lot of the Sizzler restaurant in the 3500 block of East Route 66 Monday around 6:50 PM in response to a report of a weapon being discharged. The victim, who had been trained in the safe use of firearms, told police he was walking back to his car after eating dinner at the restaurant when he decided to clear the live ammunition from his firearm for the sake of safety. He grabbed the 9 mm Springfield handgun and locked the slide back, but when he released the slide, the gun accidentally went off. The bullet shot through the middle finger on the victim’s right hand, causing soft tissue damage but not severing the finger. He was transported to the hospital for treatment. Officers removed the handgun from the scene and held it at the police station. They told the victim he would be able to retrieve it after he was discharged from the hospital. No charges have been filed.
TAYLOR, AZ, 8/18/14: A man accidentally shot his wife while handling a shotgun on Aug. 18. Police responded to a residence on Indian Village Road in Taylor at 11:17 AM following a report of a woman who had been shot. Officers discovered her husband had been handling the firearm when he accidentally shot her, police said. The husband told officers he was looking for numbers on the shotgun while putting it back together when he accidentally pulled the trigger. “The shot went through the wall and hit (the wife) in the leg and the shoulder while she was sitting at the table in the next room,” the police report stated. She sustained a buckshot wound to her leg and shoulder. She was transported to the hospital for treatment. No arrests were made nor were charges filed against the man.
STOUGHTON, MA, 8/18/14: Mike Everett was working in his yard Monday afternoon when, he says, a bullet whizzed by his head. The sound of gunfire is common on Highland Street in Stoughton with the Ames Rifle and Pistol Club just a mile through the trees in Easton, but this one came close. When two more bullets sped through his wooded yard, Everett called police. Police from Easton responded to the range and his house. “The last thing you want to do is catch a round in the hip or the head,” said Everett, who was building a rock retaining wall along the side of his yard. When police visited Everett’s home Tuesday, the officer told him two men were shooting at a metal target, 300 feet away. Everett looked for the round that came close to him, but he couldn’t locate anything in the dirt and leaves. Everett has lived in the neighborhood since the house was built in 1997. The range was already there. He made it clear he had no problem with the rifle club, but was concerned the bullets got so close. In almost two decades at the house, Everett said he has found four bullets. He’s also had two unexplained leaks in his roof that may be related to flying bullets. Two years ago, he found a round stuck in the back of his garage. In the past, Everett has been told bullets at his house are likely from hunters, not members of the club. He said the direction the bullets come from tell a different story. “If the bullets are coming from that way, they’re coming from the gun range,” said Everett, motioning toward the trees, in the direction of the range. No one was available for comment at the Ames Rifle and Pistol Club after the police call Tuesday. Multiple phone calls and an email were also not returned.
TOWN 'N' COUNTRY, FL, 8/19/14: A woman accidentally shot her grandson early Tuesday morning in Town 'n' Country, Hillsborough deputies confirmed.
The report of the shooting at 6505 Altamonte Drive came in at about 1 AM. Deputies said Linda Maddox, 63, who lives at the address, was asleep with her twin grandsons. The boys' dad had gone to work and Maddox put a chair against the door for extra protection. Suddenly she heard the chair sliding against the wood door. She thought it was an intruder. She grabbed the loaded .22 [cal] revolver she always keeps by her bed and fired one shot towards the door. Seconds later she heard her grandson Tyler Maddox, 7, scream. She had shot him in the upper body, Hillsborough deputies said. Paramedics took the boy to St. Joseph's Hospital. He is in critical condition but stable.
ORLANDO, FL, 8/19/14: A bullet from the gun of an Orlando police officer killed an innocent woman in a downtown bar early Tuesday morning, Orlando Police Chief John Mina said. The shooting happened at the Vixen bar at Pine Street and Orange Avenue. Mina said Maria Godinez, 22, was inside the club when she was struck and killed by a bullet from the gun of Officer Eduardo Sanguino. "The preliminary indication is that during this situation a bullet was discharged from Officer Eduardo Sanguino's firearm and fatally struck Maria inside the establishment," Mina said. Officers said that a little before 1 AM Tuesday, they received a call that an armed man was in the downtown area making threats. Several 911 calls were made by different witnesses who were in the area just prior to the shooting. Police said when they arrived, an officer got into an altercation with the man, Kody Roach. Police said Roach didn't respond to commands to get on the ground, and didn't respond when they used a Taser on him, so they opened fire. "I heard six loud, consecutive gunshots" said Chris Dinger, who said he witnessed the shooting. Another witness told Channel 9 that Godinez was standing inside the bar because after Roach was thrown out of the bar, the bouncers kept other patrons inside. Roach was shot multiple times during the incident and is at Orlando Regional Medical Center in stable condition, according to Mina. Orlando Police Lt. Frank Nunez was also struck by one of the bullets during the incident. He was treated at ORMC and released. Roach has been charged with carrying a concealed firearm and other charges, including felony murder, are pending, Mina said. Mina said none of the shots fired came from Roach's gun.
JACKSONVILLE, NC, 8/19/14: A Havelock man was arrested on Tuesday after what police described as an accidental shooting that sent one person to the hospital. Police responded to a call of shots fired at a mobile home near Lejeune Boulevard. There, Desmond Hill, 21, of Glen Drive in Havelock, was charged by the Jacksonville Police Department with discharging a firearm within the city limits and resisting, delaying or obstructing a police officer. He is being held in lieu of $1,000 bail at the Onslow County jail. Capt. Patricia Driggers, a spokesperson for the Jacksonville Police Department, officers were called to the mobile home at 336 Helen St. at about 1:30 AM on Tuesday. Investigators believe the shooting was accidental, Driggers said, but added that the case is still under investigation. Driggers said one person was injured during the shooting but was not seriously injured. The victim was taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, she said.
JACKSON TOWNSHIP, PA, 8/19/14: A Jackson Township woman was injured after accidentally shooting herself in the right foot with a small caliber firearm in the 100 block of Della Lane, Jackson Township, at 12:30 PM Aug. 19. Police said the woman was taken to Harrisburg Hospital by Blain EMS.
WHEATON, MD, 8/20/14: Police said a teenager accidentally shot a dog in Wheaton, Maryland Thursday afternoon. Montgomery County Police said the incident happened around 1 PM in the 12000 block of Bluhill Road. The dog survived the injury and is reportedly at a local vet discharge clinic. The teen was handling the gun inside a home when it went off and hit the dog, according to police. Police officers are investigating to see if any adults were in the home at the time and whether any laws were broken.
WASHINGTON CO., AR, 8/20/14: The Washington County deputy who was shot in the chest Wednesday night is in good spirits while awaiting surgery scheduled for Friday, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Another man shot the same night in a related incident died from his injuries. Cpl. Taylor Reed was walking toward a house on South Whitehouse Road outside of Fayetteville on Wednesday night to investigate a shooting inside. The woman who called 911 to report the initial shooting—Roberta Hill—accidentally shot Reed in the arm through the darkness with a .38-caliber revolver. The bullet then traveled into Reed’s chest, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Reed, 29, was wearing a bullet-proof vest and holding a long-rifle at the time of the shooting, but the bullet missed the vest and hit him in the armpit area, according to the Sheriff’s Office. His K-9 unit dog Cody was not injured, a family member told 5NEWS. An investigation into the situation revealed 26-year-old Sam Hill shot and killed his father Wednesday night following an argument at 12397 S. Whitehouse Road, according to the Sheriff’s Office. His mother Roberta Hill, 55, escaped out of a window during the shooting and later accidentally shot Reed, thinking he was her son in the darkness. She was not arrested and may not face charges, although the investigation is ongoing, according to the Sheriff’s Office. A representative for the Sheriff’s Office told 5NEWS deputies believe Roberta Hill legitimately feared for her life at the time she shot Reed.
PIKE CO., MO, 8/20/14: A Pike County Missouri man was arrested on multiple charges following a shooting in rural Pike County Wednesday. Steven Rusher, 47, was taken to the Pike County Jail. According to Pike County Sheriff Stephen Korte, he was arrested after calling the sheriff's office saying he accidentally shot his wife, 42-year-old Colleen Rusher. She was taken to a hospital in St. Louis in serious condition by Air Evac helicopter. Rusher is charged with domestic assault, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and felony armed criminal action.
DETROIT, MI, 8/20/14: A 40-year-old woman suspected of having an affair was shot by a police officer's 58-year-old wife. The shooting took place around 4:00 AM Wednesday in Detroit on the off-duty officer's boat, Police said. WXYZ learned that the officer's wife thought he was out of town, but she wound up finding him on his boat named "Market Driven." Detroit Police Officer Kevin Chambers, 58, was on the boat with his reported mistress when his wife walked in carrying her .38-caliber revolver. Chambers' wife reportedly told investigators that she happened to be driving by early Wednesday morning and noticed the light on and went to investigate with her gun drawn. The wife is licensed to carry a concealed firearm. We're told Detroit Police investigators are trying to get to the bottom of exactly happened next. What we know for sure is that the officer's reported mistress was shot in the thigh. Detroit Police say their investigators are trying to determine if the shooting was intentional or an accident. Police had told WXYZ that the officer's wife was locked up pending a possible arraignment, but we learned late Wednesday afternoon that the officer's wife was not in custody and had not been arrested. A Detroit Police spokesman confirmed that the officer's wife was not in custody, saying that until they talk to the shooting victim, they don't have probable cause to think it was anything other than an accident. Police say they are investigating the possibility that officer Chambers tried to grab his wife's gun and it accidentally discharged causing a round to strike his reported mistress. We're told the officer's wife rendered first aid to the woman. Online records show she is a registered nurse. Police say they will also be asking the shooting victim if she wants to pursue criminal charges.
CORBIN, KY, exact date unknown: A Laurel County man is in jail after allegedly shooting a gun from his apartment into his neighbor's home, narrowly missing the occupants. It happened on the 800 block of American Greeting Card Road in Corbin. Karen Hollin says she left the living room of her home just ten minutes before a bullet hole appeared in her living room ceiling. "The ceiling was lying like, on the floor and on the couch. It was really scary," says Hollin. Police say her upstairs neighbor, Kenneth Adams, accidentally fired the bullet into his floor while he was cleaning up a spill. Adams told police he was cleaning beer off his gun case when the gun went off. Police say that's not the only place alcohol was present. They say Adams had a strong odor of alcohol and there were several beer cans on his coffee table. The bullet hole was shot through his coffee table and his floor into Karen's apartment, right where she and her granddaugther sleep at night. Adams is charged with first degree wanton endangerment and second degree criminal mischief.
BANDERA CO., TX, 8/21/14: An accidental shooting ended with gruesome repercussions for a Bandera County teenager. An emergency 9-1-1 came through at 9:12 PM, Thursday, August 21, requesting EMS personnel to be dispatched to Mountain View Lane, off Highway 46, according to Bandera County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Matt King. According to information in the law enforcement report, three teenagers were getting ready to go hog hunting that night. During preparations, an 18-year-old male was attempting to unload a 20-guage shotgun. He was aware that the shotgun was loaded, but was having trouble with the firearm. "Apparently, the rounds were not ejected when he racked the gun and the guy fired the gun accidentally," King explained. "When the shotgun discharged, the shells hit a 16-year-old male in the groin." After a consultation, EMS had arranged to meet the injured teen and other members of his party at the intersection of Highways 16 and 46. However, AirLife was called and transported the injured teen to University Hospital in San Antonio where he remains. His medical condition remains unknown at this time.
HARLINGEN, TX, 8/21/14: Police are investigating an officer involved shooting that happened inside their department. Harlingen city officials are releasing limited information on the incident since it's a personal matter, but we're told no one was injured in the accidental shooting. According to city spokesman Dave Ralph, Harlingen police officers were at the San Benito shooting range Thursday training all day. On Friday when the officer in question returned to work, he was cleaning his police issued gun when it accidentally went off. At this time the officer's name and rank are not being released, and it's unclear if the officer is on patrol right now as an internal investigation is ongoing. When the weapon discharged, Ralph says, the bullet hit a metal beam on the ceiling then ricochet once, but again no one was injured. Right now, the Harlingen Police Department also not saying how long the officer has worked with the department as they continue an internal investigation and the officer's name will not be released until that's completed.
BANGOR, ME, 8/21/14: A 59-year-old man was arrested Thursday afternoon after he fired a bullet into the ceiling of his Bangor apartment in front of his caseworker, according to Bangor police. Officers arrested James Corbett, 59, of 60 Cumberland Street about 3:45 PM, about three hours after he allegedly raised a Glock 9 mm over his head and fired off a round inside his apartment. Corbett was upset about a dispute with a neighbor and brandished the handgun while “making several threatening statements about the neighbor” to the caseworker, who was in the room at the time, according to Bangor police Sgt. Tim Cotton. The caseworker is employed by OHI, a mental health services organization in Bangor. The gun was loaded, but the caseworker managed to talk Corbett into dropping out the magazine, according to Cotton. However, there was still a round in the chamber. At some point in the conversation, Corbett raised the gun over his head and pulled the trigger, firing a round into the ceiling. The space above Corbett’s apartment is an attic, and no one was there at the time. No one was injured, and only one round was fired, Cotton said. Corbett faces charges of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and terrorizing. He is being held at Penobscot County Jail.
CHICAGO, IL, 8/22/14: A 3-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital Friday evening after an accidental shooting in the West Garfield Park neighborhood, police said. The incident occurred in a residence in the 4300 block of West Monroe Street around 7:30 PM. Police say the boy discovered a gun, which went off while he or a playmate was handling it. The 3-year-old sustained a head wound. The weapon was not recovered; its male owner is being sought, police said. The child was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital in critical condition. He was in surgery late Friday.
RYE BROOK, NY, 8/23/14: An Englishman staying at the Hilton Westchester suffered bruises from a bullet accidentally fired through the wall Saturday by another hotel guest in the room next door, village police said. The two were in their respective rooms about 1 PM when one of the guests, described as an upstate New York man at the hotel to attend a wedding, unintentionally discharged his gun as he went to put it away, Rye Brook police said. The wall slowed the bullet and so, by the time it came out the other end and struck the other man's leg, it only bruised him, police said. The upstate man had all the necessary permits to own and carry a gun, said police, who were at the hotel investigating until close to 4 PM. Police released no further information on the shooting. A hotel manager said no one was available on the weekends to comment on the incident.
WINSLOW, ME, 8/23/14: A Winslow man is in the hospital after his wife accidentally shot him with a handgun on Saturday night, according to police. Paul Labrecque, 55, is recovering in a Bangor hospital from injuries that weren’t life-threatening, according to Winslow police who responded to Labrecque’s home on Morrill Road about 10:30 PM Saturday. His wife, Jane Marie Aucion-Labrecque, 53, called 911 after she said she shot him in the elbow. “We found Jane hysterical, stating she had shot her husband,” Winslow Police Chief Shawn O’Leary said Sunday morning about the officers’ arrival at the house. Winslow EMS and Delta Ambulance also responded to the emergency 911 call. Inside the home, first responders found Paul Labrecque sitting a chair with a gunshot wound to his elbow. He was taken to the Thayer Waterville campus of Maine General Medical Center initially for treatment but was transferred to Eastern Maine Medical Center, O’Leary said. O’Leary said police are conducting a full investigation into the shooting, and have requested assistance from the Maine State Police evidence team. He said that officials will forward a final report to the Kennebec County district attorney’s office. “It looks like it’s going to be accidental,” he said. At this point, police are not releasing any information about the circumstances of the shooting.
MILTON, FL, 8/23/14: The shooting of a 7-year-old in Milton on Saturday is being called "accidental" by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office. A release from the Sheriff's Office says the shooting appears to have occurred when the child found a gun inside the home. The injury was not life threatening. The shooting happened on Trailer Park Court off Carroll Road in Milton, according to spokesman Rich Aloy. According to Aloy, the investigation "could take several ... days."
HAYDEN, ID, 8/23/14: Police in northern Idaho say a 7-year-old boy has been shot in the head after two unsupervised children played with a handgun and it discharged. The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office says deputies responded at about 7 AM Saturday to the Midtown Mobile Park in Hayden. Police say the boy was struck by a small caliber bullet. He was taken to Kootenai Health in Coeur d'Alene and then transferred to Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital in Spokane, Washington. A hospital spokeswoman on Sunday said he was listed in critical but stable condition. The sheriff's office didn't release details about which child was holding the gun when it fired. Names haven't been released.
MEMPHIS, TN, 8/23/14: A man has been charged after he left a gun in a home Saturday, and a 4-year-old girl was shot in the foot after she and her 2-year-old brother found it. Charles Sanders, 25, is charged with reckless endangerment resulting in serious injury or the use of a deadly weapon and child abuse and neglect. He has been released on $50,000 bond. According to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department, the incident happened in the 1500 block of Bridgewater on Saturday. The children were playing in the living room when they found a gun under the couch. It’s uncertain which child fired the gun, however. The boyfriend of the children’s mother allegedly told deputies he brought the gun into the house two weeks before the shooting and hid it without telling his girlfriend. Deputies found the gun in a wooded area behind the house. The child was taken to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in stable condition.
NEWPORT, KY, 8/24/14: A 25-year-old man was shot in the leg early Sunday morning on West 10th Street in Newport. Newport police said the shooting that happened in a third floor apartment was accidental. The victim, who police did not name, was transported to a local hospital for treatment. A 26-year-old was questioned Sunday morning. Police had not charged anyone in the incident.
POTOSI, WI, 8/24/14: Authorities say charges will be filed after a rural Potosi, Wis., man was accidentally shot at his home Sunday. As of this morning, however, online court records do not indicate any new charges against either man in the incident.
SAN ANTONIO, TX, 8/24/14: The man fatally shot in the head Sunday during a race between pickup trucks on Loop 410 might have accidentally shot himself, according to statements from four witnesses. Casey Blanton, 23, of Abilene, had just left the downtown area and had stopped by a Whataburger to use the restroom after 1:30 AM, his passenger told police. The passenger told police he thought Blanton got onto Loop 410 from the Interstate 10 area. As Blanton was driving his pickup truck home, he and his passenger saw two people in a silver Dodge Ram pickup "taunting them as if they wanted to race," police wrote in a report released Tuesday. As they were passing Highway 151, the passenger in the Dodge Ram leaned halfway out the window and flashed a handgun toward Blanton's pickup, Blanton's passenger told police. Blanton then reached under his seat and grabbed an unspecified weapon, his passenger told police. Blanton's passenger turned to look at the other truck when he heard "a loud pop and the sound of glass breaking," according to the report. Having lost control of the truck, Blanton slammed into the concrete barrier in the middle of the highway. His passenger then noticed Blanton had been shot in the head, according to police. Blanton's passenger said he never saw anyone fire a weapon from the Dodge Ram. He said he wasn't sure how Blanton got shot, or if he "might have shot himself accidentally," according to police.
ODESSA, TX, 8/24/14: A stray bullet landed right here after striking a young woman as she sat in her room Sunday night. "She just felt like something hit her on the side of the head," said Christabel Rios. Rios thought a bug had bitten her stepdaughter. But quickly realized a stray bullet was to blame It's something she never expected. "At night, you know, every now and then we do hear like, loud bangs and stuff, but we think it's fireworks," Rios said. Ector County Sheriff officials say this marks the second time a stay bullet recently struck someone. "They're not an intentional act as far as trying to shoot these people, it's an intentional act that they shot the firearm in the air," said Ector County Sheriff Donaldson. Sheriff Donaldson says the first recent incident happened about a month ago. A stray bullet hit a 15-year-old boy working outside on a car with his father. "Apparently somebody fired a weapon up in the air. Of course the bullet's gonna go somewhere and gonna come down," Sheriff Donaldson said. "Those people were probably just fooling around or they probably don't even know where it hit," Rios said.
SACRAMENTO, CA, 8/24/14: A 12-year-old boy is recovering from his fifth surgery after allegedly being accidentally shot by his babysitter. “It just hurt me because I just asked Doug to watch my baby, and I just can’t believe he just really did that,” the victim’s mother Bridget Townsel said. On Aug. 24, Townsel was invited to a friend’s 49er game viewing party. So she asked her boyfriend’s acquaintance, 26-year-old Douglas Houghland to watch over her son, Keyonte Townsel and his friend. However, just minutes after kickoff, Townsel received a call saying Keyonte had been shot. According to her son, the boys were playing video games and with toy guns when suddenly, Houghland brought out his hunting rifle, and accidentally shot Keyonte in the right leg. He told his mother, instead of calling for help, Houghland left him at his home, and ran off. Had his friend not called for help, doctors said Keyonte would have bled to death at the home. “He [Keyonte] just told me, ‘Mom I didn’t even cry. I just kept asking him, why did you shoot me? And then he just left.’” Townsel said. Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department has investigated the case, and has since sent it over to the District Attorney’s Office. No arrest warrants have been issued.
WHITE HILLS, AZ, 8/25/14: Deputies said a 9-year-old girl accidentally shot a gun instructor in the head Monday morning at a range in Dolan Springs. The shooting happened about 10 AM at an outdoor range in the 20600 block of North Highway 93. Mohave County deputies said the girl was at the range with her parents when a gun she had fired. The shot hit the 39-year-old instructor in the head. The instructor was flown to a Las Vegas-area hospital for treatment. Neither his identity nor his condition were immediately released. This case is under investigation, deputies said. UPDATE: Charles Vacca, 39, of Lake Havasu City was shot Monday morning, airlifted to a medical center in Las Vegas and pronounced dead shortly before 9 p.m., the sheriff’s office said. Vacca was working at the Bullets and Burgers outdoor range in White Hills, about 60 miles southeast of Las Vegas, when the accident occurred. The girl and her parents were at the range while on vacation, a sheriff’s spokeswoman told the Los Angeles Times. He was standing next to the girl, instructing her how to use the Uzi, when she pulled the gun’s trigger and the recoil sent the weapon over her head, causing him to be shot, the sheriff’s office said.
PACE, FL, 8/25/14: A 20-year-old Pace man is in custody Tuesday morning, charged with homicide - negligent manslaughter in the Monday night accidental shooting of an individual who was at his house drinking. James Hunter Gates is also charged with underage possession of alcohol and using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol, according to his Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. The name of the victim has not yet been released, pending next of kin. Gates and the victim had both been drinking at his home on Keyser Lane when the victim picked up Gates’ 12-gauge pump action shotgun. The victim loaded a shotgun shell into the chamber and worked the action of the shotgun, which ejected a shell, according to Gates’ arrest report. “In a playing manner,” the victim then held the muzzle under his chin and waved the other end of the gun toward Gates and a female who was also at the house. “Bet you won’t pull it,” the victim said to Gates, referring to the trigger. Gates pulled the trigger, according to the report. The victim was pronounced dead about 10:30 PM. Further investigation revealed that Gates had loaded another shell into the chamber earlier that evening, but had forgotten he had done so, the report said. When he pulled the trigger, he thought the chamber was empty, the report said. Gates was intoxicated at the time of the shooting, according to the report.
NORTH BEND, WA, 8/25/14: A man is under arrest after he accidentally shot and killed his roommate in their North Bend apartment Monday evening, Snoqualmie police said. Dispatchers received a 911 call from the man around 10:30 PM reporting he had wounded his roommate, said Capt. Nick Almquist with Snoqualmie Police. When officers and medics arrived at the home in the 45000 block of North Bend Way, they found the body of the shooter's roommate. Almquist originally said the victim was the brother of the shooter, but later confirmed they were long-time friends and roommates. Almquist says their investigation is still ongoing, but it appears to be an accident. "He was showing his firearm to his (roommate) and he was checking to see if it was loaded and it went off," Almquist said. The suspected shooter was arrested and booked into the King County Jail for investigation of manslaughter. Almquist said the two had been drinking a small amount of alcohol before the shooting but "nothing that was substantial, whatsoever." The victim's name has not been released. Almquist would only say both men were in their 40s.
RICHMOND, IN, 8/25/14: A Richmond man was transported Monday night to Reid Hospital with what he told authorities was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Ronnie Simpson, 70, of 990 Smith Lane was taken to Reid Hospital with a leg wound after telling authorities he accidentally shot himself. He was listed Tuesday afternoon in good condition, according to a Reid Hospital spokeswoman. Deputies from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department continue to investigate the incident, which was reported at 9:40 PM Monday. The Richmond Fire Department also was called to the scene.
WEST JORDAN, UT, exact date unknown: A woman is in fair condition after she was accidentally shot by a family member while in a car they were both traveling in, police say. Two women were traveling to a Taylorsville pawn shop to sell a gun. The 33-year-old female passenger sitting in the back seat was manipulating the gun and accidentally discharged it, shooting the 53-year-old front passenger in the back, according to Unified Police officer Jared Richardson. The 53-year-old woman suffered minor, non-life threatening injuries, Richardson said. Investigators are still in the final stages of their investigation, but Richardson said all signs point to the shooting being accidental.
EARLINGTON, KY, 8/25/14: A 14-year-old male suffered a gunshot wound at a Sugar Creek Road residence while attempting to fix a malfunctioning 22 cal. rifle around 4:30 PM Monday, Aug 25. According to Deputy Troy Gossett of the Hopkins County Sheriff's Department, the weapon discharged during the repair effort and struck the juvenile in the abdomen. "It was an accidental discharge," Gossett said. "Someone was messing with a weapon, who probably shouldn't have been." The juvenile was transported via ambulance to Earlington Elementary School, where he was transferred into a PHI Air Medical unit bound for St. Mary's Medical Center in Evansville, Ind. His condition is unknown at this time.
EPPING, NH, 8/25/14: A manager at the Lowe's in Epping got a surprise Monday when he discovered a purse with a loaded gun in an unattended shopping cart. Police Officer Stephen Soares was called to the store just before 7:30 PM after receiving a report of a purse found in the cart. The manager told police that when he opened the purse to see if there was any identification, he found the firearm. Soares then went to the manager's office, where he met up with the owner of the purse. The owner told police that she never left the store and that someone took the purse from her cart, police said. After further investigation, police discovered that the owner had a valid license to carry the firearm.
DERRY, NH, 8/26/14: Police in Derry on Tuesday were searching for a gun that was stolen after a court security officer accidentally left it in the men's room. Officials said the gun was left in the men's bathroom at Derry Circuit Court on Monday. "About 10:30 in the morning, we received a phone call from Derry Circuit Court," said Capt. Vern Thomas. "They were concerned about a firearm that was missing over there." Court officials said the missing firearm belongs to a veteran court security officer who had his weapon at the beginning of his shift, but at 10:30 AM, he realized it was gone. "Apparently, a court security officer left the weapon accidentally in the restroom in the morning and discovered it missing and then called us," Thomas said. There are no security cameras in the restroom, but several are installed outside and inside the courthouse, and investigators said those could provide some leads. "We went over and helped them search the area and took the police report for it," Thomas said. "We later notified state police and requested that they come down and do an article search for the firearm, and they did that for us. We did not locate the weapon." Officials said the court security officer is "off the schedule" as the investigation continues. The officer's identity has not been released. Court officials said an incident like this has never happened before in Derry.
BATTLE CREEK, MI, 8/26/14: Officers with the Battle Creek Police Department are investigating a shooting that injured a 5-year-old boy on Tuesday. A press release from the police department says the parents of the child contacted emergency responders after the boy was shot near a home along Ann Avenue. The child’s condition wasn’t immediately released. Police say the parents reported the shooting was accidental.
PALMER, AK, 8/26/14: A man who went to the Alaska State Fair with his wife and two kids, ages 10 and 2, ended up leaving in a helicopter bound for an Anchorage hospital after he unintentionally shot himself, according to Palmer officials. Jon Owen, Palmer public safety director, said the man was in the yellow parking lot outside the equestrian entrance moments before 7 PM. The man told police he was attempting to remove the gun from a holster and stow it in his car when his finger tripped over the trigger, sending a round into the area of his upper leg and lower abdomen. Owen said the man was leaving the fair. The extent of his injuries is not immediately known, but he was taken to an Anchorage hospital by a LifeMed air ambulance helicopter. Guns are not allowed at the fairgrounds. Dean Phipps, Alaska State Fair marketing director, said that signs are posted all around the entrances as a reminder of that rule. "We're pretty much a family event," Phipps said. "It has nothing to do with the right to carry. It's just trying to keep up with our desire to have a safe event." Phipps said the fair ensures safety by having private security personnel – which provided the initial response Tuesday – and there is also a steady flow of local and state law enforcement that uses the fair for recruiting efforts. UPDATE: Marty Magro, 37 of Eagle River, was transferring a Glock .40 Caliber Model 27 handgun between a hip holster and one located in a vehicle when the gun discharged into his abdomen just above the pelvis, according to law enforcement and Alaska State Fair officials. The shooting took place on the yellow parking lot at the north end of the fairgrounds. “The first responders were told that when he was transferring it (between holsters) he dropped it, and when he tried to catch it, it went off,” said Fair spokesman Dean Phipps. Magro was moving the gun to his vehicle in order to conform to a State Fair policy prohibiting gun use on the fairgrounds, authorities said. No criminal investigation is planned because the shooting didn’t violate any state laws, according to Palmer Police Commander Lance Ketterling. Magro was moving the gun to his vehicle in order to conform with a State Fair policy prohibiting guns inside the fair, and had not yet set foot on the fairgrounds, according to Phipps.
OMAHA, NE, 8/26/14: A crew member working on a taping of "Cops" was inadvertently shot and killed by a police officer during a robbery in Omaha, Nebraska, local officials said Wednesday. Bryce Dion, an audio technician, is believed to be the first member of the "Cops" production staff killed in the 25-year history of the television show. The production company behind "Cops," Langley Productions, said in a statement that it was "deeply saddened and shocked by this tragedy and our main concern is helping his family in any way we can." Dion, 38, had been in Omaha all summer, helping with the production of future "Cops" episodes. The production company described him as a "long term member of the 'Cops' team and a very talented and dedicated person." His resume lists credits on "Cops" dating back to 2009. Todd Schmaderer, the Omaha police chief, confirmed at a Wednesday afternoon news conference that a bullet fired by an officer struck Dion during a shootout with the robbery suspect, Cortez Washington, who was also killed. Schmaderer described Dion as a friend to the officers that he'd been embedded with. "This is as if we lost one of our own," Schmaderer said. "That is the grieving process we're going through right now." Asked whether "Cops" would stop production in Omaha, the police chief said, "We haven't gotten that far." The investigation is ongoing, he said, and is relying in part on the "Cops" team's footage. "Mr. Dion played the ultimate price for his service -- to provide the footage of the real-life dangers that law enforcement officers face on a daily basis to television viewers throughout the world," Schmaderer said.
MOUNT CLEMENS, MI, 8/26/14: A 58-year-old Mount Clemens man was hospitalized late Tuesday after accidentally shooting himself in the hand and leg, police said. Macomb County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the man’s apartment at 325 N. Groesbeck about 8 PM Tuesday and saw him sitting on the living room floor, bleeding. He told deputies that he was “messing with” his .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun when it accidentally discharged, said Sheriff’s Lt. John Michalke, quoting the injured man. The bullet went through the man’s hand and into his right thigh. He told police he owned the gun but did not know to whom it was registered. Deputies checked a registered firearms database and determined the pistol was not registered. Police learned the man, whose name was not divulged by sheriff’s officials, is a convicted felon and also had warrants for his arrest for domestic violence and breaking and entering. Paramedics transported the man to a local hospital where he was in stable condition. Once he is released from the hospital, he likely faces criminal charges of felon in possession of a firearm; possessing an unregistered gun; and reckless discharge of a firearm, Michalke said. The man’s brother who resides with him in the Mount Clemens apartment was in a different room of the home when the incident occurred and was not hit by the gunfire.
BOVILL, ID, 8/26/14: A 52-year-old Bovill man accidentally shot himself in the hand just before 9:30 PM Tuesday on the 400 block of Alder Street in Bovill, according to the Latah County Sheriff's Department. The man, who hasn't been identified by the department, was walking out of his trailer and likely tripped or for some other reason fell into the door, and shot himself with a .410-caliber rifle.
GARDEN CITY, ID, 8/27/14: Police say a man found inside a Garden City trailer with a gunshot wound to the head likely accidentally shot himself. The shooting happened at about 7:45 PM Wednesday in a trailer in the 500 block of East 44th Street. The injured 22-year-old was taken by ambulance to Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise. The man was listed in unstable condition Thursday, and is currently on life support. Police say there were four other people, including two children, inside the house when the shooting happened. No one else was hurt. After interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence at the home, police say the gunshot was likely unintentional. A semi-automatic pistol was found at the scene. Police did not say whether the gunshot was self-inflicted, and have not released the injured man's name.
LAFAYETTE, CO, 8/28/14: A man sitting in traffic accidentally shot himself in the leg Thursday night. Numerous law enforcement agencies responded to the area of North 107th and Arapahoe Road around 6:30 PM for a report of shooting. Deputies with the Boulder County Sheriff's office arrived on scene and found 53-year-old David Mitchell, of Berthoud, with a gunshot wound to his leg. He told deputies he was headed to a sporting goods store to trade in the handgun when he decided to inspect it one last time while sitting in traffic. There was one round left in the chamber when he pulled the trigger. The round struck his leg. Mitchell was taken to Exempla Hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.
SALISBURY, NC, 8/28/14: A Salisbury man was charged by police after officers went to his home for a domestic disturbance and a “shots fired” call to 911. Police charged Mark Jeffrey Shrader Jr., 33, of the 100 block of Sunset Drive, with misdmeanor communicating threats, felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture a schedule VI, felony possession of a controlled substance schedule I and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. When police arrived Thursday at 7 p.m. to the home, a woman was sitting on the front porch. She told the officer the handgun was in the U-Haul and she was checking it to make sure it was secured to travel with. She said she accidentally fired the gun. Officers determined the woman and her fiancee, Mark Shrader, were arguing when she had the gun in her hand. She told police she was trying to take a round out, the gun jammed and she fired it into the ground. A police report said witnesses who saw the exchange said the gun was unintentionally fired toward the ground. She placed the gun in the cab of the truck after it was fired. Shrader left the home after he got into his Toyota pickup and did a “burnout” around the house, said Capt. Shelia Lingle.
ASHEVILLE, NC, 8/29/14: The mother of Houston Texans rookie Jeoffrey Pagan told Asheville police that she shot a man after he attacked her, according to court documents. Sheryl Pagan Todd dialed 911 after the fatal shooting last Friday afternoon at her mother’s home on Bartlett Street, according to a search warrant on file at the Buncombe County Courthouse. Todd, 56, told a dispatcher “that her mother’s boyfriend attacked her and that she accidentally shot him,” according to the warrant.
NEWHALL, CA, 8/29/14: Emergency officials responded to Oak Tree Gun Club after they received a call about an accidental shooting Friday afternoon. “Someone was shooting one of the guns and the gun had a malfunction,” said Deputy Josh Dubin of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “The gun exploded and a man standing next to the man with the gun was hit with shrapnel.” The man who was hit with the shrapnel was believed to be in his late 20s and was transported to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, Dubin said. He is expected to recover. Los Angeles County Fire Department officials received the call at 4:01 PM and responded to the location. Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Station officials responded to the call soon after. Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies are on scene and still investigating the incident. No arrests were made, according to officials.
MUSKEGON, MI, 8/29/14: The Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office is considering weapons charges against a 13-year-old boy who shot himself in the foot. He claims it happened while on the Muskegon High School campus during Friday's football game. Investigators say the teen told them he wasn't at all involved in the game, but was walking across the campus on his way home when he heard a shot, felt pain in his foot, and noticed the wound. Responding officers found that the bullet went through the boy's foot from the top. They say the teen also had what appeared to be gunshot residue on his jeans. Officers say the boy admitted to shooting himself after they pointed out it didn't look like someone else shot him. Police are investigating how the boy got the gun. He told them he found the revolver in the street, in front of a busy store, and was trying to see if the gun was loaded when he shot himself. He then threw the gun into some bushes near Southern and Jefferson, by the south side of the high school. While investigators found the gun where the boy said he threw it, they say they believe he lied about how he got it. Authorities pointed out that "officers and attendees at the football game reported to have not heard any gunshots in the area." They're looking to determine where he was in the city when he fired the gun.
POMPTON LAKES, NJ, 8/29/14: A local woman found a spent bullet in her Hamburg Turnpike home last Sunday afternoon, triggering an investigation that led to a neighbor's house, Lt. William Jernstedt reports. At the scene, Patrolman Peter Kamper, Patrolman Ryan Cichon and Jernstedt saw a hole in the victim's master-bedroom window screen and a spent bullet inside a dresser drawer. "We observed a window from a residence directly behind the victim's home that had been taped up (with duct tape) as a sign of damage," said Jernstedt. Police then spoke to the neighbor who advised them to talk to her 45-year-old son, Zoltan Cseh. The Riverdale resident had recently purchased a Beretta M9 (a 9mm semi-automatic pistol). Jernstedt said that the gun owner was staying with his mother during renovation at his own home. When he told his mother he had a gun in the house, she said, "I hope it's not loaded." To put her mind at ease, "He pulled the slide back to show where it was empty," Jernstedt said. But because of the gun's design, "when he did that, it loaded the weapon and it fired." The incident did not occur in the outer room where police saw the makeshift duct tape repair, but in an adjacent bedroom, which led police to believe the shot was an accident, according to Jernstedt. He said the bullet actually traveled through the neighbor's house into a bedroom closet, then through a wall separating two bedrooms, then exited the home through a window, and then entered the victim's house through the screen window. "In no way was the neighbor's house targeted," Jernstedt said. Besides the evidence at the scene, the gun owner, who was reportedly "extremely cooperative" with police, admitted that the gun was in his possession when it accidentally discharged, he said. Based on their investigation, police charged Cseh with criminal mischief and discharging a firearm within borough limits. They seized the gun and removed Cseh's firearms purchaser identification card pending the outcome of the case in Pompton Lakes Municipal Court. Cseh allegedly told police that after the accident, he went outside after to see if there were any injuries or damage to another house, and saw nothing. He did not report it to police, Jernstedt said. Although the incident occurred on Friday, Aug. 29, the victim didn't know what had happened until Sunday when she saw damage to the dresser drawer and opened it to investigate. The Passaic County Crime Scene Investigation Unit assisted local police by processing the scene for evidence.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, 8/30/14: Police say a man who accidentally fired a gun inside a South Academy Boulevard residence nearly hit his neighbor with the shot. Police say they were told of the shooting at about 9 PM Saturday and traced the gunfire to a residence on the 3000 block of South Academy. "The firearm discharged, with the bullet traveling out of the residence and into a neighbor's window," police said in a news release. "The bullet just missed striking the neighbor, who at the time was walking outside by that window." Police got a search warrant for the place and turned up several firearms, officers said. Officers arrested Jeremiah Arbuckle, 24, on investigation of weapons charges. A woman at the residence, 25-year-old Elizabeth Haynes was held on investigation of attempting to influence a public servant. Arbuckle and Haynes were held at the El Paso County Jail in lieu of $3,000 bail each.
SHELBY CO., TX, 8/30/14: Sheriff officers are investigating the shooting death of a man in Shelby County. The shooting happened Saturday at a home on County Road 1024 in Shelby County. The initial investigation revealed that Bret Anderson, 25, and Taylor Keele, 21, were handling a firearm, a 9mm pistol, when Anderson unintentionally discharged the firearm which struck Keele in the chest. Keele was transported by ACE EMS to the hospital in San Augustine where he was pronounced deceased after arrival. Anderson was arrested on scene and transported to the Shelby County Jail on the charge of manslaughter. The incident is believed to be purely accidental, but the case is still under investigation.
COWLEY CO., KS, 8/30/14: Accidental shooting: Deputies were dispatched Aug. 30 to South Central Regional Medical Center for an incident that had taken place in the 26000 block of 41st Road. The subject had been target shooting with a family member and a ricochet struck the victim in the lower right shin.
WEST POTTSGROVE, PA, 8/30/14: The victim of an August shooting in the township is now being charged for possession of stolen guns after an investigation into the incident. Jontae Deshaun Harper, 20, of the 500 block of East Vine Street, has been charged with receiving stolen property and firearms not to be carried without a license, both felonies, and disorderly conduct hazardous/physical offense, a misdemeanor, after he accidentally shot himself in the leg Aug. 30 around 1:10 AM, according to court documents. Harper was charged after police found two stolen weapons inside the apartment he shared with several others, including two juveniles, according to court documents. Harper injured himself with a .40-caliber Springfield Armory XD handgun that had been stolen from a vehicle in Lower Pottsgrove, court documents show. The gun was found during a search of the apartment conducted after a warrant was issued by Judge Scott Palladino. A second weapon, a Smith & Wesson 9 mm handgun that had been stolen from a Lemon Street home in West Pottsgrove, was found under a mattress in the apartment during a search permitted by Annette Bowen, who lives there with her son, according to court documents. Initially, Harper told officers that he had been “shot while standing outside of his apartment and did not know who shot him,” court documents state. Harper was found lying on a bedroom floor with a leg wound by responding police officers, court documents state. He was taken to Reading Hospital for treatment of his injuries. While at the hospital, Sgt. Steven J. Ziegler interviewed Harper by phone about the incident. Harper again told police he had been shot outside of his apartment building and gave police the name of “a person of interest,” according to court documents. The phone interview was conducted while Harper’s father, John, and brother were at the police station so Harper’s brother could give a statement about a hearing a gunshot during the incident, court documents state. Harper’s father does not live with his sons, according to police. After overhearing Ziegler’s interview with his son, John Harper showed police a photo posted to Facebook of his son holding a black and silver handgun, according to court documents. John Harper also advised police that one of the paramedics who treated his son said the gunshot wound appeared “self-inflicted,” court documents state. Police confronted Jontae Harper with this new information and Harper admitted to shooting himself, according to the affidavit of probable cause. Bowen then gave police permission to search the room of another of her sons — Bobby Johnson. When police arrived at the home to conduct the search, Bowen called the residence and said the search could only be conducted in the presence of Johnson, who proceeded to search through a different bedroom on his own after speaking to Bowen, police said.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, 8/31/14: Police believe 22 year-old Geordan Morris was trying to hide his gun during a traffic stop, when he accidentally shot himself. It happened in near West Platte Avenue and North 29th Street in Colorado Springs, just after midnight Sunday morning. Officers had pulled Morris over for a traffic stop, but as the car was coming to a stop, the driver's side door opened, and officers heard a gunshot. Morris then fell out of the driver's seat, onto the ground and told officers that he'd shot himself. Officers on scene gave Morris medical attention until an ambulance arrived and he was taken to the hospital. Morris was treated for his injuries, and taken into custody for a number or charges. When officers searched the car, they found methamphetamine in addition to the handgun.
CASSELBERRY, FL, 8/31/14: Two friends were injured Sunday afternoon at Shoot Straight, a Casselberry gun range, when one tried to unjam a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun and wound up shooting himself in the finger and his friend in the thigh, police reported. Neither man suffered a life-threatening injury, said police Sgt. Mark Stein, but both were taken to the hospital. Stein did not release the names of the victims, two men who worked together. "One of them, I guess, thought he could teach the other he could shoot," Stein said. The man acting as instructor tried to unjam the 9mm Smith & Wesson, which was owned by someone else at the range, Stein said, when he inadvertently pulled the trigger. "He shot himself in his own finger," Stein said. The bullet then went through his friend's thigh and embedded itself in a wall. Several witnesses saw what happened and one described it as "just a case of stupidity." The shooting happened about 2:30 PM. A manager at the store would not comment.
DEKALB CO., GA, 9/01/14: Police are investigating a shooting in DeKalb County that injured two victims, including a child. According to police, gunfire broke out following an argument at a holiday cookout over the weekend. Shots were fired in between 11:00 and 11:30 PM. Police say a man was shot and a stray bullet went into a nearby house on Scarbrough Drive, striking a 10-year-old girl. Police say the male victim, 26, was outside a vehicle when he was shot. He was taken to a nearby hospital and is in critical condition. The girl is also in serious condition, but police say they don't consider her injuries life threatening.
DINWIDDIE, VA, 9/01/14: A boy was injured in the woods off Courthouse Road on Labor Day, by shotgun pellets, confirmed the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF). EMS and Game and Inland Fisheries responded to the scene in Dinwiddie. A 10-year-old was hit with the shotgun pellets. Officials on scene said that he had been transported to Southside Regional Hospital. Sept. 1 is the first day of dove season.
LUFKIN, TX, 9/01/14: For one set of hunters, the first day of dove season did not go as planned. According to Angelina County Sheriff Greg Sanches, 45 year-old Monica Gunter was shot in the right leg by her friend who was attempting to load a shotgun. Sanches said the accident occurred in the 13000 block of state highway 69 north near the Cherokee County line. Sanches said his deputies were called out to a deer lease at the location around 10 AM Monday morning. Gunter was taken from the scene by ambulance to Memorial hospital. A hospital spokesperson said Gunter was released from surgery Monday afternoon and was listed in stable condition. “It was just a pure accidental shooting,” Sanches said. “They were friends. The shooter was upset. The lady that was shot hated it [because] her friend has to go through it."
RUTLEDGE, TN, 9/01/14: A 10-year-old Knoxville boy accidentally shot himself in the foot while dove hunting at Buffalo Springs Wildlife Management Area in Grainger County on Sunday. The boy fired his shotgun into his foot at about 5:45 PM Monday, according to Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The boy was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center with nonlife threatening injuries, officials said in a news release. The boy, whose name was not released, was a graduate of the TWRA Hunter Education Program, the agency said. TWRA is investigating the accident.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN, 9/01/14: Police said a child was injured after an incident on S. Chester Avenue on the city’s east side Sunday afternoon. According to IMPD officers, the boy was sitting inside of a house on S. Chester Avenue, near the intersection of Washington and Sherman, when something hit him. Police said a “projectile” that may have come from a bullet went through an outside air conditioning unit attached to a window of the home and hit the boy. Officers said they don’t know if the projectile was from a pellet gun or a firearm. An IMPD officer at the scene said they were treating this incident like the bullet was a “live round.” The boy was taken to Riley Hospital for Children. Police did not say what condition he was listed in as of Sunday afternoon. Police said the boy was under 12 years old, but have not released his exact age. UPDATE: Police have arrested two people in connection to a shooting that injured an 11-year-old boy. Zachary Lillad and Anthony Baxter were arrested, but their photos weren’t immediately released.
NEW ORLEANS, LA, 9/01/14: A man shot at a Mid-City apartment complex after a woman said he barged into her apartment was actually wounded in an exterior hallway when he mistakenly arrived on the wrong floor of a family member's building for a Labor Day visit, according to a relative and New Orleans police. The apartment's resident, Martynenez Grigsby, told authorities she fired on an intruder. But she was arrested three hours later after police found physical evidence and obtained a statement from her young son contradicting her story, a police report says. Grigsby, 26, was booked with aggravated battery by shooting after wounding 20-year-old Courtney Vanderhorst of Harvey with a gunshot to the shoulder. Police said the shooting occurred just after 4 p.m. in a hallway of The Marquis Apartments at 2651 Poydras St. The wounded man's aunt, who asked that her name be withheld, said her nephew had just arrived at the complex for a holiday visit when he mistakenly got off on the wrong floor of her building. She said Vanderhorst knocked on the door of an apartment that was one floor beneath hers and started to enter when the door opened before realizing his mistake. "He said he stopped and stepped back when he realized it was the wrong house, and she shot him," the aunt said. "I don't think it was intentional that he was trying to force his way into her house or nothing. He was just on his way to visit me and it was an honest mistake. "You can make a mistake if you're human. I've even went to the wrong house before." The apartment building uses identical color schemes on every floor and four-digit apartment numbers. Only the second of the four digits differs from floor to floor. NOPD Detective Rodney Vicknair wrote in his report that Grigsby said she answered a knock at her door and opened it to find Vanderhorst trying to walk into her apartment. She told the man she didn't know him, ordered him to leave, and attempted to close the door, according to her account to investigators. She told police the stranger pushed her door open and entered her apartment, so she shot him in the right shoulder inside her residence. The report said Vanderhorst told police he did push the door open, but only because he thought the woman did not belong in his family's apartment. He told police he did not enter the apartment and was shot while still standing in the hallway. The report said unspecified "visual evidence at the scene" corroborated his version of events.
GEORGETOWN, CA, 9/01/14: A 7-year-old Bay Area boy had to be flown to a Sacramento hospital after he was hurt while target shooting at his family's Georgetown property, deputies said Monday. The child was using a single-shot .22-caliber bolt action youth rifle with the help of his father, according to a news release from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department. He and his dad were shooting rifles at targets at the same time Saturday afternoon. The targets were about 40 yards away. Several family members stood behind the shooters, watching them, deputies said. Despite the fact that no one noticed any ricochets and the guns were always pointed down-range, the 7-year-old at one point grabbed his chest and complained of pain, deputies said. The boy's father checked the son and noticed the child's T-shirt had a small hole in it, where he was bleeding from his chest. A preliminary investigation shows pieces of a bullet did indeed ricochet, hitting the child, investigators told KCRA 3. The guns involved were never pointed at any of the people on the shooting range, deputies said. The child's father took the boy to the Georgetown Fire Station, where the boy was airlifted to the UC Davis Medical Center. He is expected to survive.
GARY, IN, 9/01/14: A 16-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the hand while playing with a gun Monday, police said. The boy was playing with the gun between 10:30 and 11 AM while inside a vehicle in the Delaney Housing Development, police said. After he shot himself, the boy was taken to an emergency room for treatment, police said.
MERIDIAN, MS, 9/01/14: A Meridian teenager accidentally shot Monday afternoon is recovering from his injury. The accident happened shortly before 1 PM at the Old Marion Road Apartments, according to Meridian Police Department Detective Dareall Thompson. Thompson said another person was not handling a gun properly when it accidentally fired. The bullet struck a 17-year-old boy. Someone at the apartment complex took the boy to a Meridian hospital for treatment. Police responded to the hospital. No charges have been filed in the case, Thompson said. "People need to remember that they should always handle a weapon like it is loaded," Thompson said.
LONDON, KY, 9/01/14: A man was nearly shot Sunday night after a bullet went flying through his bedroom window and missed his head by mere inches. Laurel County Sheriff John Root says that deputies Daniel Grigsby and Larry Parrott responded to the scene two miles west of London around 9:40 PM. Deputies learned that a neighbor had allegedly been shooting the gun prior to their arrival. When deputies spoke with the neighbor, identified as Charles Smith, 36, of London, they found Smith in possession of a small handgun and had been drinking alcohol, Root said. Initially, Smith refused to put down the gun, Root said. However, deputies finally convinced Smith to drop the weapon. Smith told officers he had been shooting the 10 mm handgun, Root said. Smith was arrested and charged with first-degree wanton endangerment and was jailed in the Laurel County Correctional Center.
POCATELLO, ID, 9/02/14: On September 2 at approximately 3:45 PM, officers from the Pocatello Police Department and Idaho State University Public Safety responded to a report of an employee of Idaho State University who accidentally discharged a small caliber handgun inside a classroom at the Physical Science Building, 785 S. 8th. The weapon was in the employee’s pants pocket and was not displayed at any time. The employee was injured in the foot and treated and released from the hospital. There were no other injuries reported. The ISU employee possesses a current Idaho Enhanced Concealed Weapons Permit, an Idaho Basic Concealed Weapons Permit and a Utah Concealed Weapons Permit. There were students in the classroom at the time of the accidental discharge. Investigators are identifying and contacting all those who were present. The weapon, bullet casing and bullet were recovered at the scene. They will be held as evidence until the outcome of the case has been determined. There are no criminal charges pending at this time. An administrative review will be conducted by Idaho State University and the City of Pocatello following completion of the investigation, which is ongoing at this time. UPDATE: Sources at Idaho State University and close to the investigation have confirmed the identity of the ISU instructor who accidentally shot himself as Byron L. Bennett, Assistant Professor of Chemistry. ISU sources have told the Journal that the shooting took place in a classroom during a lecture. Sources also report that the gun accidentally went off when it was in Bennett's pocket.
GARDEN CITY, ID, 9/03/14: Police say a man found inside a Garden City trailer with a gunshot wound to the head likely accidentally shot himself. The shooting happened at about 7:45 PM Wednesday in a trailer in the 500 block of East 44th Street. The injured 22-year-old was taken by ambulance to Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise. The man was listed in unstable condition Thursday, and is currently on life support. Police say there were four other people, including two children, inside the house when the shooting happened. No one else was hurt. After interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence at the home, police say the gunshot was likely unintentional. A semi-automatic pistol was found at the scene. Police did not say whether the gunshot was self-inflicted, and have not released the injured man's name.
MANHATTAN, KS, 9/03/14: Riley County prosecutors will decide if a man who accidentally shot a hole through his floor into the apartment below will face any charges. Police filed a report for criminal discharge of a firearm in the 1500 block of Oxford Place in Manhattan yesterday. A 28-year-old man told officers that he accidentally fired his .357 caliber firearm while trying to clean it. a bullet passed through the floor of his apartment and then through the ceiling of the apartment below. There were no injuries reported. No arrests have been made and no citations had been issued as of Thursday morning.
PHILADELPHIA, PA, 9/04/14: An accidental shooting left one man wounded in South Philadelphia earlier Thursday evening. He was listed in stable condition with a leg wound.
RICHFIELD, UT, 9/04/14: A 33-year-old man was injured in the third accidental shooting in Richfield since March. Brandon Stewart, Richfield, was in his garage cleaning a .22 single-shot revolver Thursday at approximately 3 AM, said Richfield City Police Det. Sgt. Trent Lloyd. “Basically, there wasn’t a safety on the gun,” Lloyd said. He said the gun fell down and the hammer hit the floor, causing a bullet to go off. The bullet went through Stewart’s right thigh and into his left, Lloyd said. Stewart was treated for the injuries at Sevier Valley Medical Center and released the same day.
SANFORD, FL, 9/04/14: A 10-year-old boy is recovering from surgery after he was accidentally shot on Thursday night in Sanford, police said. Jeremiah Taylor was riding his bike near 13th Place and Oleander Avenue just before 8 p.m. when police said he was shot in the abdomen. "It's a child that's shot. On the corner. Please hurry. Please hurry. It's a child. He's laying right here. I got pressure on the wounds," a 911 caller said. Sanford police investigators said Daquan Butts, 21, started shooting after getting into an argument over a basketball game with another man. "I heard what sounded like three shots," said witness Deon Swint. Butts, who goes by the nickname "Bobo," shot the man in the buttocks and also shot Taylor, police said. Butts has not been located. "The mother was actually in the area at the time the child was shot. He was shot in the abdomen," said Sanford police spokeswoman Shannon Cordingly. "He lost a lot of blood." Taylor, who is a student at Idylwild Elementary School, was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital. He is recovering from surgery in the Intensive Care Unit and is in stable condition.
MIDDLEBURG, FL, 9/04/14: The 2-year-old son of a Clay County sheriff’s deputy was struck in the foot by a shattered bullet fragment and sustained minor injuries when his father’s personal handgun accidentally discharged into the floor of a Middleburg fast food restaurant where the family stopped for lunch. Bullet fragments bouncing off the floor also struck the boy’s grandfather as well as two female customers who were standing nearby. Neither the boy nor the three adults required medical treatment. However, all were examined at the scene by county emergency medical personnel, according to a Sheriff’s Office incident report. Clay Sgt. Matthew Magish was off duty and standing in line with his son and the boy’s maternal grandparents at the front counter inside Wendy’s, 2530 Blanding Blvd., when the accident occurred shortly after 1 PM Thursday, according to the report released Monday. The boy was nicked in the right foot. Magish was tending to his son when deputies arrived. Magish couldn’t be reached for comment. He has been with the Sheriff’s Office since February 2001, said Mary Justino, agency spokeswoman. He had been carrying his personal .380-caliber Kel-Tec semiautomatic pistol inside the right front pocket of his pants, when it went off. Magish said his son “stuck his hand into his pocket looking for a snack and that the firearm had discharged,” Deputy J.R. Holmes wrote in the incident report. The boy’s grandfather, Rodney Hutchings, had minor cuts to his right front shin area and left ankle. He said his grandson apparently grabbed his father’s gun causing it to fire when he stuck his hand into his father’s pocket, Holmes wrote. The two female customers told Holmes they were standing in line ahead of Magish and his family at the front counter when they hear a loud noise. One woman said she felt something hit her left ankle and right thigh area. She had red marks where the fragments hit her. The second woman said she felt something hit her right ankle and upper left arm. Her ankle had a red mark and there was a small amount of blood on her arm, according to Holmes’ report.
BEL AIR, MD, 9/05/14: Harford County authorities are investigating an apparent accidental shooting involving two teenagers. County sheriff's deputies were called around 5:30 PM to Colonial Court in Bel Air, where two teenagers, ages 13 and 14, got access to a handgun. Authorities said the 14-year-old accidentally shot the 13-year-old in the leg. The injuries appear to be non-life-threatening, and the teenager was taken to the Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital.
HUMBLE, TX, 9/05/14: A five-year-old boy was airlifted to a hospital after he was shot with a shotgun in the Humble area. The shooting happened at a retention pond in the 200 block of Moonshine Hill. Harris County deputies say two brothers -- ages five and 11-- were playing by themselves; they had a shotgun and somehow, the younger brother was shot near his face and neck. Neighbors filled in the gaps, telling us the boys often go dove hunting. This time, their parents were left at home. The older brother got into the water-but the younger boy went back to get the gun and accidentally shot himself. Neighbors then say the 11-year-old tried to save his brother, desperately getting the attention of neighbors for help. Neighbors say the 11-year-old, who was questioned by detectives long after his brother was airlifted away, used an emergency vehicle to drive to a nearby home to find an adult to help. The boy is in critical but stable condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital.
KILLEEN, TX, 9/05/14: A Killeen man charged with fatally shooting another man outside his home Friday is claiming the shooting was accidental. John Hyon Dust, 40, was charged with manslaughter after police said he shot 41-year-old Danny Mac Carruthers of Harker Heights in the face Friday afternoon. The shooting occurred outside Dust’s home while Carruthers was sitting in a vehicle in the driveway in the 600 block of Turkey Trot Road in Killeen. According to an arrest affidavit, Dust told police he saw Carruthers in his driveway and “didn’t want him there.” Dust said he grabbed his pistol, went outside and told Carruthers to leave his driveway. Dust said he was pointing the gun at Carruthers and “trying to scare him” when the gun went off. Dust also said he knew the gun was loaded and he fired a warning shot in front of the car immediately before Carruthers was shot, according to the affidavit. Dust told police he called 911 immediately after Carruthers was shot. Killeen police responded to the scene to find Carruthers bleeding heavily from a wound to the face, but still breathing. He was taken to Scott & White Hospital in Temple, where he died early Saturday morning. Dust told police Carruthers never left his vehicle, and the entire incident lasted about 15 seconds. Dust was arraigned on a second-degree felony charge of manslaughter by Justice of the Peace Garland Potvin on Saturday. Jail records showed he was still in custody in Bell County Jail on $1 million bail as of Monday afternoon.

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Friday, October 24, 2014

Gun Fail 79

100 More GunFAILs, which brings us to GunFAIL LXXIX, but we're still not caught up.

Originally posted to David Waldman on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 07:51 PM PDT.

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