THU AUG 20, 2015 AT 02:48 PM PDT
A gun in the home increases the risk of accidents. So does a gun next door. GunFAIL CXXXIV
attribution: The TSA BLog
Four of the 55 guns discovered by TSA agents at airports around the country, from 8/7/15 through 8/13/15.
Among the stranger stories from the week are the Minnesota man who slept with a gun for protection but ... shot himself in his sleep; the Pennsylvania man who dropped his gun at home and shot his elderly neighbor through the apartment wall, and; the local elected official from Alburgh, VT, who accidentally shot himself, and then turned out to be the biggest drug dealer in town, and not a "good guy with a gun" after all.
Hey, people still surprise me, even after all this time!
The full listings for the week of August 9-15, below the fold.
- POMONA PARK, FL, 8/09/15: A 16-year-old girl died Sunday morning in Putnam County after a teenage boy was playing with a loaded shotgun and it went off, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Rayne Michelle-Marie Dettmann was shot in the upper body by the 16-year-old boy about 4:30 AM with a 12 gauge shotgun at her Pomona Park home. The boy had retrieved the shotgun from inside her home and first pointed it at two other friends. He then pointed it at her and pulled the trigger, deputies said. The boy then rushed to her and put pressure on the wound while the friends called 911. Dettmann was taken to Putnam County Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. The boy and his friends had apparently snuck out and there weren’t any adults at Dettmann’s home who lived there at the time of the shooting, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The boy has been charged with negligent homicide and committing a second degree felony with a gun. He is in juvenile detention. Additional information about the shooting wasn’t immediately available, according to the Sheriff’s Office. MORE: A 16-year-old Pomona Park girl killed Sunday when a friend shot her with a shotgun had told him repeatedly to put the weapon away, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. Monday investigators said the 12-gauge shotgun was at the Pine Avenue home as protection for Raynie Michelle-Marie Dettmann, whose father is a truck driver and was on the road, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The girl’s mother lives in Georgia. Dettmann was shot in the upper body by the 16-year-old boy about 3:30 AM. The boy took the shotgun from a bedroom and was playing around with it, pointing it at two other friends. He then pointed it at her when it discharged, the Sheriff’s Office said.
- ROCHESTER, MN, 8/09/15: A 52-year-old Rochester man is in the hospital after accidentally shooting himself Sunday evening while he slept, officials said today. Emergency responders were sent at 7:05 PM to the 1500 block of Fourth Avenue Southeast, where they found the man with injuries to his left hand and thigh. The bullet passed through both limbs, the report says. He told police he keeps the .22 caliber handgun with him for protection after receiving threats, Sherwin said, and had fallen asleep about 6 PM with the gun between his legs. No charges have been filed in any of the incidents.
- LINCOLN, DE, 8/09/15: A 21-year-old man was arrested for accidentally shooting his 2-year-old nephew and his 24-year-old step-brother in Lincoln, according to state police. Just after noon on Sunday, Juan J. Shirey, 21, was standing with a gun outside of a house on the 21000 block of W. Mayhew Dr. in the Cedar Creek Estates neighborhood, according to police. His mother went outside to get the gun from him since he had recently had weapons and drug charges brought against him, according to police. When he began to give the gun to his mother, it went off and shot through the wall of the house and into the living room where it hit the child and young man. The bullet went through the child’s leg and into the hand of the 24-year-old man. Three other children ranging in age from 6 months to 7 years also were in the living room, according to police. They weren’t harmed. Both the child and the man were taken to Milford Memorial Hospital in a personal vehicle, according to police. The man was released after the bullet was removed from his hand and the child was flown to A.I. DuPont Children’s Hospital – he was admitted in good condition, according to police. Shirey was charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and six counts of first-degree reckless endangerment. He was arraigned and sent to Sussex Correctional Institution near Georgetown in lieu of a $140,000 cash bond.
- MINOT, ND, 8/09/15: A 50-year-old Minot man was in critical condition Tuesday at Trinity Hospital in Minot after an apparent accidental shooting at an apartment building on Sunday night. Capt. John Klug said the incident is still under investigation, but is still being considered an accident. The man’s name has not yet been released by police. The apartment was in the 2800 block of Sixth Street Southwest in Minot. Police were called there about 9:50 PM Sunday.
- ELGIN, IL, 8/09/15: An Elgin man is facing charges after police say he accidentally shot himself in the chest Sunday. Bernhard McPherson, 28, of the 1100 block of Peach Tree Lane, Elgin, was charged with possession of a firearm without a Firearm Owners Identification card and obstructing a peace officer after police were called to McPherson's home around 6 PM Sunday. McPherson initially told police that an unknown male shot him in when he walked onto his porch to smoke a cigarette, police said. McPherson was taken to Presence Saint Joseph Hospital and was treated for injuries not considered life-threatening. Witnesses verified his story, but after investigating the shooting, police said they determined McPherson shot himself while handling a firearm. Detectives recovered the gun used in the accidental shooting. McPherson posted $150 cash bond and was released.
- CATTLETSBURG, KY, 8/10/15: A coroner says a 12-year-old girl has been killed by her brother in an apparent accidental shooting. Boyd County Coroner Mark Hammond told The Independent (http://bit.ly/...) that 12-year-old Halee Marshall, who was a seventh-grade student at Boyd County Middle School, was shot once Monday evening and died at the scene. He said the family was unloading a pickup truck as they moved into a new home in Catlettsburg when Marshall's brother accidentally fired the gun. Hammond said the girl's brother said he had cleaned the gun and didn't remember reloading it. The newspaper reports grief counselors were dispatched on Tuesday to Boyd County Middle School.
- CLARKSTON, WA, 8/10/15: A 25-year-old Cottonwood man was holstering his handgun Monday afternoon on Ingram Road west of Clarkston when it accidentally discharged. Asotin County Sheriff John Hilderbrand said Jacob Wimer's lower leg was grazed by a bullet, but he didn't have any life-threatening injuries as a result of the incident.
- LAKELAND, FL, 8/10/15: A 13-month-old girl was injured in a shooting on Monday that remains under investigation, according to Lakeland police. The child's mother, Tylashia Sha'Crystal Davis, was at work when a friend who was house-sitting for her called and told her the baby had been shot. The child was treated for a leg wound at Lakeland Regional Health Center and will be okay. A 17-year-old who said he was outside when he heard a loud pop told detectives that he went inside and saw the girl's 3-year-old brother holding a gun. He also said he did not know who took the gun from the 3-year-old. Davis, the mother, said she did not keep a gun in the apartment. Detectives determined the 17-year-old had been outside, possibly with three friends when the shooting occurred. Detectives were unable to find the gun. They say there are inconsistencies in witness statements and the investigation is ongoing. As of Tuesday afternoon, no one had been charged. The Department of Children and Families took custody of the two children.
- COLUMBUS, OH, 8/11/15: A child has been rushed to Nationwide Children's Hospital after an accidental shooting Tuesday morning. Police tell 10TV a 4-year-old boy accidentally shot his 3-year-old sister at a home at Glenwood and Campbell Avenues. The children’s mother was home with her three small children, where her boyfriend's loaded gun had been left out. The 4-year-old boy grabbed the firearm and accidentally discharged the weapon, striking his sister in the neck. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition, but is expected to recover from her injuries. Neighbors and police all say the incident should serve as a reminder about guns and kids. “[K]eep your guns (locked) up; keep them locked up from children. [T]hey shouldn't be (lying) around where they can get them,” pleaded neighbor Amber Litton. It’s unclear thus far if the gun’s owner will be charged.
- AURORA, CO, 8/11/15: A shooting accident claimed the life of a man outside a gun range in Aurora Tuesday afternoon. The man was killed when his handgun went off in the parking lot of The Firing Line gun range at just after 4 PM. The victim, whose name hasn’t been released, was 62. Police say it was an accident and do not suspect foul play.
- GALENA, MD, 8/11/15: DFC J. Thomas Tucker is investigating an Aug. 11 incident of alleged reckless endangerment in the 100-block of West Cross Street, Galena. A Galena man in his 60s told police that he accidentally discharged a black powder handgun in his apartment, which caused damage to an adjacent apartment.
- LEXINGTON, KY, 8/12/15: Lexington Police are investigating a shooting on Dalton Court. Officers say they were told the shooting is accidental. ABC 36 was told some family members at The Landings apartment complex were playing around with a gun when it accidentally went off. One person was reportedly shot in the leg and transported to the hospital. There is no update on that individual's condition. The shooting is still under investigation.
- WALLINGFORD, CT, 8/12/15: A local man was sent to the hospital Wednesday afternoon after accidentally shooting himself in the leg, police said in a press release. Martin Murray, 26, of 25 Pine St., suffered entry and exit wounds to his upper thigh on his left leg, according to police. He was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. Emergency crews responded to 25 Pine St. around 3:30 PM after receiving a 911 call from Murray, who said he had shot himself in the leg with a .22-caliber revolver. Police said Murray was outside on his porch when they arrived, and he told them the incident was accidental. Sandra Aron, who owns and lives in the duplex, said her husband was inside when he heard a loud noise. Aron said only a man was home at the time of the incident and his girlfriend and child were not present. The man has lived in the apartment as a tenant since January. “It’s upsetting because there’s children around,” Aron said. “God forbid it went through a wall.” Aron added that she does not permit tenants to have guns.
- PHILADELPHIA, PA, 8/12/15: A young boy accidentally shot himself after he found a gun in a Philadelphia park Wednesday afternoon. The 8-year-old boy was at a park at Chelten Avenue and Ardleigh Street at 5:07 PM when he found a gun on the ground, police said. The boy told police he picked the weapon up and accidentally fired, shooting himself in the foot. The boy was taken to Einstein University Hospital where he is currently in stable condition. Police searched through the park but have not yet found the weapon. They are now waiting on a warrant to search through the boy’s home.
- MIAMI, FL, 8/12/15: Malcolm Antonio Lumpkin was attempting to take the bullets out of a gun Wednesday when it accidentally discharged, striking a friend in the torso and killing him, police said. The accident inside a Northwest Miami-Dade home ended the life of 15-year-old Jakyri Fleurimar, and significantly altered Lumpkin’s, who is now facing a manslaughter charge. “While handling a firearm, the defendant took the magazine out of the firearm and attempted to clear the firearm at which time the firearm went off,” an officer wrote in Lumpkin’s arrest affidavit. Police believe it was an accident, and said the weapon had been holstered and secured inside a dresser drawer with clothing, before Lumpkin retrieved it. He was in a home at 5321 NW 27th Pl. with three friends when the shooting happened. Someone in the group of two surviving males and a female between the ages of 12 and 18 called police, who found Fleurimar shot in the upper torso, then took the trio to police headquarters to be interrogated. No one else was charged with a crime. Fleurimar’s body remained inside the home for several hours as police scanned the property for forensic evidence and spoke to witnesses and the group that was inside the Brownsville home, with its manicured lawn and an American flag waving in the breeze outside. Neighbor Marchill Maxwell didn’t hear the gunshot, but was alerted when someone started pounding on her door. “I thought someone was trying to break in,” she said. “They were probably coming [to ask] for help.” It’s still not clear who lives in the home in the Phoenix Homes subdivision. Miami-Dade property records show it is owned by Rozina H. Lewis. People gathered on the sidewalks outside the Brownsville Town Village Apartments where the shooting took place, as the property was blocked by police vehicles and yellow crime scene tape. Edward Pecke called the incident, “just sad.” “This use to be shocking 20 years ago, and now it’s routine,” said Pecke, who moved into the government-subsidized building four years ago. “We need to find a way to change the mindset of the community.”
- SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, OH, 8/12/15: A teenager was in court Friday morning after police say he accidentally shot and killed his friend at a music video shoot. It happened on Woodlawn Avenue in Springfield Township on Wednesday. Christopher Watley, 18, is facing a reckless homicide charge in the death of Josh Wilson, 19. Police said Watley told them he fatally shot Wilson but he said it was an accident. Watley and Wilson were watching TV at Wilson's home when Watley fired a single shot from a .32 caliber handgun, striking Wilson in the head. Witnesses and evidence indicates that the shooting was an accident, police said, noting Watley and Wilson had been friends since childhood. Friends like Nathan Meyer describe the pair as closer than best friends. "Brothers. They were brothers." Nick Pitzer said Wilson would be the first to forgive Watley if he could. "If he was here he would be like, it was an accident. Come on, pick yourself up.'" Bond for Watley was set at $75,000. Reckless homicide carries a sentence of nine to 36 months in jail.
- SHREVEPORT, LA, 8/13/15: A Shreveport police patrol car is damaged after an officer accidentally discharged a weapon while responding to an armed man early Thursday morning. A woman called police to the 2800 block of Alvin Lane just after 12:30 AM saying her boyfriend 23-year-old Micah Scott was suicidal and possibly armed. Police surrounded the house. They say Scott would not show his hands and kept walking towards them while demanding they shot him. An officer shot Scott with a beanbag from a shotgun. Scott was detain and police say he was armed. During the stand off an officer accidentally fired two shots into a patrol car. No one was injured from the officers gunfire. The accidental discharge is under investigation. Scott was then taken to University Health for psychiatric evaluation and treated for minor injuries from getting shot with the beanbag gun. Scott was not charged in the incident.
- DELTA JUNCTION, AK, 8/13/15: A 14-year-old Delta Junction boy was recovering from non-life-threatening injuries Thursday after he was accidentally shot while he and his brother were manipulating a handgun, Alaska State Troopers said. Troopers responded to the Cross Road Medical Center in the Interior Alaska town shortly before 3 PM Thursday after being notified by the clinic that a boy there had been shot, troopers wrote in an online dispatch. Troopers said the 14-year-old grabbed a pistol by the barrel while it was being held by his 17-year-old brother and it fired. The boy’s injuries were not serious, but he was taken to a Fairbanks hospital for additional treatment.
- CARBONDALE, PA, 8/13/15: Neighbors tell us when a man in Carbondale accidentally dropped a loaded gun Thursday night, the bullet ended up going through two walls and hit a man sleeping in a next door apartment. Police are still investigating the shooting that sent the victim to the hospital. Carbondale police arrested the man who supposedly dropped the gun: Robert Swaha, 45, is charged him with reckless endangerment in the shooting. “I heard a gunshot and I went outside and when I went outside, I seen a guy outside and he had a gun in his hand. He said his gun just went off,” said a neighbor. One man is injured, another charged with reckless endangerment after a shooting incident Thursday night inside this building at Summit Garden Apartments in Carbondale. Neighbors tell us one resident accidentally dropped his gun. The bullet traveled through two walls and struck an elderly man who was sleeping two doors down. One neighbor identified the victim him as Allen Granville, 78. “So I went in to the guy next door, Al’s door, and Al just came out and was like, ‘what happened?’ He mentioned my name and I was like, ‘Oh, dear Lord, you just got shot.'” Carbondale police will only tell us they were called to Garden Summit Apartments Thursday night just after 9 PM for a gunshot victim. Police say Robert Swaha was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment. “All I know is that when he was on the phone with police, he said his gun dropped and it went off and he was just knocking on the next door which there is nothing in that door.” Neighbors say even though the outside walls are concrete, the inside is just sheet rock and the bullet traveled from one end of the hallway, through a utility closet and into the victim’s bedroom. Dominique Jones was coming home from work when she saw all the police cars outside her building. She says the whole situation is scary and believes some new rules are needed. “There are too many kids up here, too many, and if it can travel through an apartment, absolutely there should be no tolerance for guns,” Jones said. According to neighbors and a friend of the victim’s family, Granville has already been released from the hospital. Carbondale police say the shooting investigation continues.
- GREENSBORO, NC, 8/13/15: Two people were arrested after the shooting of a driver led his vehicle hitting a parked car, a mailbox and a trash can Thursday afternoon, Greensboro police said. Quentrail Jamar Summers, 23, and Yaime Alhheh Smith, 19, face multiple charges following an incident just after 2:30 p.m. on Marion Street near Van Wert Street. Rashad Christoper Jerome Lee, 20, was in stable condition at the hospital after being treated for a superficial gunshot wound to the head and a second gunshot wound to the leg. No one else was injured. Police allege Summers fired several shots into a vehicle that Lee was driving, and one of those shots hit Lee. Smith, one of two passengers in Lee's vehicle, accidentally shot Lee in the leg, police said. Police said they don't know the nature of the argument but did say all four people are affiliated with gangs. Summers' charges include assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, trafficking in MDMA and possession of stolen goods. Investigators found 500 grams of MDMA, or Molly, while searching Summers' property, police said. Smith's charges include assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and manufacturing, selling or distributing a controlled substance. Summers was held under a $1 million secured bond in the Guilford County Jail, while Smith was held under a $25,000 secured bond.
- ALBURGH, VT, 8/13/15: On 08-13-2015 at approximately 2230 hours, the Vermont State Police (VSP) were notified by the Northwestern Medical Center (NWMC) Emergency Room personnel of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the hand of a male from Alburg, VT. The injuries were non-life threatening, VSP was called to further investigate the incident. A subsequent investigation revealed that 57 year old Bernard Savage Sr. of Alburg, VT, had sustained an apparent accidental gunshot wound in his hand. The incident remains under investigation but does not appear suspicious. Grand Isle County Sheriffs assisted with the investigation. Upon completion, the case will be sent to the Grand Isle States Attorney for review. MORE: A Vermont community leader is accused of dealing drugs. Alburgh select board member Brian Savage was in court Monday facing charges for allegedly distributing cocaine. The arrest of Savage last Friday is the latest development in an investigation that started nearly two years ago. Now, he's been arrested in connection with selling drugs to an informant wearing a wire. "Law enforcement sent a confidential informant to his home to purchase cocaine in one instance and pills in another directly from him," said Eric Miller, United States attorney Based on that information Savage, 57, was arrested. In July, federal agents raided Savage's home and business at BP Autoworks on Route 2 in Alburgh. So far the feds have not said what they found during that raid and would not say if this bust was part of a bigger drug operation. "The only thing that Mr. Savage is appearing in court in connection with at this time is a single count of cocaine distribution that is based not on the raid but on the two controlled buys that are alleged," said Miller. The undercover informant was wired to record meetings with Savage. "As alleged in the affidavit of probable cause, Mr. Savage did brag to the confidential informant that he was able to obtain and provide many different types of illegal drugs," said Miller. According to a court affidavit at one point on the recording you hear Savage say, "I got pills, I got coke, I got pot, I got everything you want. I'm like a walking drugstore." Savage was taken into custody Friday, a day after going to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the hand. He told police he accidentally shot himself. Prosecutors are seeking to have Savage held without bail pending trial citing safety concerns. A hearing on that is scheduled for Wednesday. As far as we know Savage is still an active member of the select board and the town health officer. The Alburgh town clerk declined to comment on the allegations against the selectman. We have not heard back from the other members of the select board.
- DECATUR, IL, 8/13/15: Jaylen C. Mays, 19, was arrested Friday afternoon on a preliminary charge of involuntary manslaughter, for the shooting death the previous night of 17-year-old Andre Brown. Mays is being held in the Macon County Jail on $250,000 bond. The charge, involuntary manslaughter, is a Class 3 felony, punishable by two to five years in prison or probation. Prosecutors are considering what charges will be filed, including a possibility of more serious charges. Mays, who has no felony convictions, will be arraigned in circuit court by Friday. In a police interview, Mays said he pulled out a handgun, which he had found about a week earlier, while standing on a porch on the 200 block of West Packard Street. Mays said that just before the gun went off he had removed the clip from the weapon. “Mays stated there was a bullet in the clip but he didn't know if there was one in the chamber of the gun,” said an affidavit by Decatur police detective Charles Hendricks. He then “inserted the clip back into the gun and it accidentally fired one time,” the affidavit said. The bullet struck Brown in the chest, while they stood only “a few feet” apart. “Mays stated that the shooting of Brown was accidental and at no time did he intend to shoot Brown,” Hendricks wrote in his statement. The shooting occurred at about 9:40 PM Thursday. After police began investigating the incident, they received information that Mays accidentally shot Brown, while Mays was playing with a gun. He was taken into custody on an arrest warrant that was issued in December when Mays failed to appear in court in an unrelated case.
- PHOENIX, AZ, 8/14/15: A Phoenix police officer was injured after his gun accidentally went off and shot him on Friday. The off-duty officer was helping a neighbor jump start a car near 47th Avenue and Union Hills, and when the officer adjusted his waist band, the gun went off. The officer suffered minor injuries.
- GREENEVILLE, TN, 8/14/15: A teenager practicing his "quick draw" skills accidentally shot himself in the right leg Friday night, inflicting minor injuries, sheriff's Deputy Rick Williams said in a report. A 17-year-old, of 2733 Poplar Springs Road, had just gotten a new .22-caliber revolver "and was outside practicing his quick draw" skills, the report said. The teenager told deputies that he forgot to unload the revolver "and while drawing the weapon it discharged," the report said. The bullet struck his right leg just above the ankle, "causing minor injury," the report said. The report did not say whether the teen was treated at a local hospital or by Greene County-Greeneville EMS at the scene.
- PERU, IN, 8/14/15: A Peru teen wounded both of his legs after a firearm carried in his pants accidentally discharged. An unidentified 14-year-old male suffered two gunshot wounds about 9 PM on Friday. It was first reported that an unknown subject shot the victim, who was in a wooded area near Arrowhead Estates. However, a subsequent investigation revealed that the victim's wounds were accidentally self-inflicted.
- SPANAWAY, WA, 8/15/15: An 18-year-old man who was showing off a gun he’d just bought accidentally shot a friend in the head Saturday, killing him. The victim was identified as Alatino Bolden, 18, of Spanaway. The friend who shot him was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. He is expected to be charged Monday afternoon. A group of five friends gathered about 3:45 PM Saturday at Bolden’s house in the 14900 block of 12th Avenue East. One man pulled out a .38 revolver he’d recently bought for $50 and was showing it off. Investigators said he legally bought the gun. “He thought he had ejected all the rounds but one had not,” detective Lynelle Anderson said. “While horsing around with the gun, it fired and one struck his friend in the head.” Borden’s family members, who were home at the time, performed CPR while waiting for help to arrive. Borden later died at the hospital. “It’s a horrible tragedy,” Anderson said.
- COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, 8/15/15: A man accidentally shot himself in the leg while driving Saturday night, according to police. Police said the incident happened around 10:30 PM in the 300-block of East Fillmore Street. A man was driving when he accidentally discharged a firearm. He sustained a gunshot wound to his knee, severely damaging the leg. Police said they do not know how or why the firearm was discharged. The man told police he was being followed, which could have led to the accidental discharge. Police said charges against the man are pending.
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