What can Brown shoot for you? GunFAIL CLXXI

By David Waldman  

Saturday Dec 26, 2015  1:43 PM EST

Eight of 47 guns discovered by TSA agents at airports across the country, during the week of Dec. 4-10, 2015

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We’ll check in one more time on hunting accidents, to note the decline now that the peak of the season has passed. We were down to just six in the second week of December. But just as we noted during the last installment, there’s no off season for accidentally shooting yourself, family members, or nearby children. Twenty-two people accidentally shot themselves, 12 kids were accidentally shot, and 10 of our original 45 listings ended in fatalities. Three people accidentally fired into the homes of their neighbors, and three accidentally fired guns they were cleaning at the time. Just two accidents involved law enforcement officers and/or members of the military.

All told, it was a pretty unremarkable week, so long as you’re not particularly shocked by double-digit figures for kids being hit, or people being shot to death entirely by accident inside of a 7-day period. Few of our stories were particularly noteworthy, for once. An Arizona man accidentally shot his dog in the mouth while preparing to go to the range. Apparently, preparing to go to the range includes loading and then attempting to unload your weapons, plus a little “dry firing” before you go. But not so much keeping track of whether you’ve loaded or unloaded them, which is something I really recommend making a part of your routine, even if you’re not going to the range. A man in Franklin, Indiana, accidentally fired his gun while walking through a local CVS store. Why? Because his leg itched. That’s it. His leg itched, and he went to scratch it, and then a bullet flew. He offered all sorts of mechanical explanations for how and why he went from itchy leg to deadly projectile flying around inside of a busy store, of course. But the fact remains that there just aren’t that many consumer items that people frequently carry around in their pockets that can accidentally kill someone if your leg itches. Please be considerate of your neighbors, and help keep itchy legs nothing more than a bothersome personal issue, rather than potentially deadly. Thank you.

Finally, our title story comes from Elk Grove, California, where UPS inadvertently delivered (apparently without the supposedly required identity checks, etc.) a .45 caliber revolver to a 15-year-old boy expecting a tablet. Seems you actually can ship firearms via UPS, but delivery is supposed to require proof that the recipient or signatory is at least 21 years old. So much for that one. But hey, at least the kid did the right thing. A lot of kids would probably think getting a .45 is a lot cooler than even a tablet. And not a few adults, too. And who knows? In ten or fifteen years (or possibly ten or fifteen minutes, for that matter), people may well have convinced themselves that the Second Amendment actually includes the phrase “finders, keepers.”

1. NEW ORLEANS, LA, 12/06/15: New Orleans police are investigating an incident where a 4-year-old suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The incident occurred Sunday evening in the 7300 block of Brevard Street. According to police, the child shot himself in the neck while inside of his grandparents home. He is being transported to the hospital and is in stable condition, police say. Detectives are questioning the individuals who were also in the house at the time of the incident. The investigation into the incident, continues.
2. CINCINNATI, OH, 12/06/15: A man was hospitalized Sunday night after suffering a gunshot wound to the leg in East Price Hill, police said. Officers were called the 2600 block of Price Avenue after a 911 caller reported a shooting. Initial reports indicated the victim was reporting a drive-by, according to police communications. However, police at the scene reported that shooting appears to have been accidental and self-inflicted, but an investigation into the incident is ongoing. The victim, a man in his early 20s, was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. He is expected to survive.
3. CONYERS, GA, 12/06/15: A 5-month old infant was shot in the arm this weekend when her mother accidentally discharged a shotgun after hearing a noise outside the family’s home. Cpl. Michael Camp with the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office said the 18-year-old woman grabbed a shotgun around 1 AM Sunday for protection after she heard a noise outside the Frontier Drive house. Camp said it appears the mother had her finger on the trigger as she was attempting to take the safety off the gun. The gun fired near the baby’s crib and pellets hit the infant’s arm. The mother called 911 and EMS quickly arrived and transported the child to Rockdale Medical Center. Deputies met the child’s mother and father at the hospital before the baby was transported to Egleston children’s hospital for treatment of the non-life threatening injuries. “It does appear to be completely accidental,” Camp said, but added the case is still under investigation.
4. DELAWARE CO., IA, 12/06/15: The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says two deer hunters were injured in separate incidents Sunday. The first happened just after 8:00 AM in Delaware County, on private land, about a mile northeast of Backbone State Park. Twenty-eight-year-old Travis Myers, of Dundee, was hunting with 10 other people when he was hit by a deer slug in the upper right shoulder. Officials say another member of the hunting party accidentally shot him. Myers was taken to Manchester Regional Medical Center where he was expected to be treated for a flesh wound. DNR officials say it appears both incidents happened when a hunter was firing at a moving deer. They are stressing hunting safety and the importance of knowing where all members of your party are. “Wait until you have a clear shot with a safe backstop before pulling the trigger. Know where members of your hunting party are at, at all times,” said Megan Wisecup, the coordinator for hunter safety programs for the DNR. Both shootings are being investigated by the DNR.
5. HENRY CO., IA, 12/06/15: A Winfield hunter was injured by a gunshot wound while deer hunting on Sunday. Walter Freeman, 47, of Winfield, was struck in the abdomen by a deer slug believed to have been fired by another member of his hunting party shortly after 2 PM northeast of Winfield. He was transported by helicopter to University of Iowa hospitals where he was undergoing surgery Sunday evening for internal injuries, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources spokesman Kevin Baskins. No condition report is available at this time. The incident remains under investigation by conservation officers for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Megan Wisecup, who coordinates hunter safety programs for the DNR, said the incident occurred when shots were being taken at moving deer. “It is especially important from a safety standpoint while party hunting for deer that people plan their hunt and hunt their plan so everyone is where they should be at all times,” said Wisecup. Hunters should also be sure to identify the target and what is beyond it and avoid target fixation and shooting at running deer, said Wisecup.
6. WILLET, NY, 12/06/15: A hunting accident in the Town of Willet has sent a 24 year old lone hunter to the hospital. On Sunday around 4 PM, a 24 year old man was hunting alone in the woods just off of Route 221 and Fish Hill Rd. when he was shot in the abdomen by a 53 year old man who was also hunting alone in the area, deputies said. Authorities say the two did not know each other and did not know the other was in the area. The 53 year old hunter was released after being interviewed by a Cortland County investigator. The victim was airlifted to Upstate Medical in Syracuse to be treated for his injuries. The identities of the two men involved have not yet been released. UPDATE: An investigation by The Criminal Investigation Division of the Cortland County Sheriff’s Department into a December 6th hunting accident has resulted in an arrest. Michael J. Quail, 53, of Fish Hill Road, Marathon, New York was arrested at the Cortland County Sheriff’s Department today and handed Reckless Endangerment as well as Assault charges.
7. NORTH MIDDLETON TOWNSHIP, PA, 12/06/15: The bullet from the gun of a Pennsylvania hunter went through a child's bedroom window in Cumberland County. It happened on Saturday, Dec. 5 at a home on the 800 block of Easy Road in North Middleton Township. Police say the hunter, who has not come forward, fired a shot that went through the second floor bedroom of a 14-year-old. The child was in another bedroom at the time of the incident. The bullet went through the window and into a wall. The Pennsylvania State Game Commission is conducting an investigation.
8. EASTON, MA, 12/06/15: A man shot his hand over the weekend in the town’s third accidental shooting in eight months, police said. Officers Lonnie Ataman and Steven Hamilton responded to a Village Street home about 11 AM Sunday for a report of a man shot by a handgun, said Deputy Chief Keith Boone. When police arrived, they determined a 60-year-old resident had accidentally shot himself in the hand with a 9-millimeter gun while cleaning it, Boone said. He was taken by Easton ambulance to Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston with a non-life-threatening injury. The incident was the third in town in the last several months in which a person was accidentally shot. On Aug. 25, a Foundry Street resident shot himself in the leg with a Sig Sauer P226 9-millimeter handgun while testing out a new holster. And on April 28, a passenger in a car driving on Route 138 took his gun out to make sure it was secure and shot the driver once in the ankle. In Sunday’s incident, the resident has a license to carry and accidentally fired his gun, so no charges are expected to be filed against him, Boone said.
9. MOUNT VERNON, IL, 12/06/15: Police responded at 6:32 PM Sunday to a report of a domestic altercation where a firearm was accidentally discharged into the ceiling. The incident happened in the 300 block of South Fourth Street. No one was injured by the discharge. One male subject did injure his hand in the altercation but he declined medical treatment.
10. OWASSO, OK, 12/06/15: 7:38 PM — 13400 blk. E. 89th Pl. N. Report of a man who accidentally shot himself at a residence. Report information taken.
11. HOUGHTON LAKE, MI, 12/06/15: A Houghton Lake man reported to Roscommon County Sheriff’s Office deputies he shot himself in the leg Dec. 6. Officers responded to the urgent care clinic where Michael U. Overbaugh, 62, was being treated. He told police he had been transitioning his Ruger 9mm handgun from his left front pants to his holster on his left hip and was uncertain how the accident occurred.
12. JEFFERSON CO., KS, 12/07/15: A 53-year-old Winchester man was killed in a gun accident Monday morning while he was deer hunting by himself. Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office tells KSNT News the accident was reported at 7:45 AM east of Winchester and south of 150th and Wallace Rd. According to Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Herrig, Gene T. Robertson was shot and killed accidentally by his own gun while he was getting in or out of his vehicle. More specific details were not immediately released.
13. SALT LAKE CITY, UT, 12/07/15: A man was treated at a local hospital Monday after he "absent-mindedly" shot himself in the leg, police said. A man in his mid-20s was watching a movie in his house near 800 North and 900 West about 5:20 AM and "dry firing" his Glock handgun, meaning he was pulling the trigger but the weapon was unloaded, said Salt Lake police detective Greg Wilking. At some point, the man told police he "absent-mindedly" put a magazine into the gun and pulled the trigger again. This time, a round was fired into his leg, Wilking said. The man's injury was not life-threatening. Wilking said there were no initial signs of drugs or alcohol being factors in the accidental shooting.
14. HANCOCK, MA, 12/08/15: A teenager was injured in an accidental shooting in Berkshire County Tuesday night. State police Lt. T.J. Murphy told 22News that the victim was a 17-year-old who had accidentally shot himself in the foot with a handgun at the family residence in Hancock.  He did not know the caliber of the handgun. “The victim is being treated at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, where he’s being questioned by State police Detectives attached to the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office,” Lt Murphy told 22News. When asked if the gun involved were legal, Lt. Murphy said it was known that the family owned firearms, and it did not appear to be the result of a criminal act, but it is under investigation.
15. SPRINGFIELD, MA, 12/08/15: City police were called to Baystate Medical Center for a report of a court officer who apparently shot himself in the leg on Tuesday. Springfield Police Capt. Robert Strzempek said he had no information about the incident, which allegedly happened at a Brandon Avenue address in the city's Boston Road neighborhood. "I haven't read the report yet," Strzempek said Tuesday evening. At 4:48 PM, a police dispatcher sent officers to Baystate to check on a "male court officer" who went to the North End hospital seeking emergency treatment for a gunshot wound. "He accidentally shot himself in the leg. Security has the firearm secured in a safe," the dispatcher said. An update on the man's condition was unavailable. It wasn't immediately known if he works at a courthouse in Springfield or at another location.
16. FRANKLIN, IN, 12/08/15: A man walking through a Franklin pharmacy accidentally fired his handgun, which was in his pants pocket, rattling himself and other people in the store; but no one was injured. A 24-year-old man had a loaded Glock 27 pistol in his pocket when he accidentally fired it inside CVS Pharmacy on Tuesday afternoon. A representative from CVS Pharmacy declined to comment. The man had a license to carry a gun, said Kerry Atwood, a spokesman for the Franklin Police Department. When the man was walking up to the cash registers at the front of the store, he went to scratch his leg and accidentally pulled the trigger of his gun, Atwood said. The man told police he thought part of the pocket caught on the trigger, which caused it to fire, according to the police report. The bullet shot through the man’s pants and into the carpet at the store, Atwood said. The bullet did not hit anyone and shattered on impact with the floor, he said. “When this happened, he then made the weapon safe,” Atwood said. The man immediately ejected the magazine from the gun and cocked the gun’s slide open so no more bullets could be fired, Atwood said. The gun was unloaded and on the front counter of the pharmacy when officers arrived, he said. “He was so rattled by this that he had a hard time getting his license and concealed carry (permit), which he did have, out of his wallet,” Atwood said. The man told officers he typically keeps his gun in a holster but didn’t use it Tuesday. He told officers he plans to take gun safety and shooting lessons soon, according to the police report. Since this was an accidental discharge, no arrest or ticket was issued, Atwood said.
17. STATEN ISLAND, NY, 12/08/15: A 61-year-old Stapleton man accidentally shot himself in the hand while unloading his illegal handgun, police allege. On Tuesday morning, Jorge Maldonado was in his home on Gordon Street when he shot himself in the left hand with his .22 caliber Astra handgun that was loaded with four rounds of ammunition, police said. When cops responded to the scene, they recovered the firearm that was on the counter inside the home. Maldonado then gave cops permission to search his residence before they found a second illegal firearm, also a .22 caliber handgun, with four boxes of 300 rounds of ammunition in a safe, the criminal complaint says. Maldonado was treated at Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton, for his injury. He was charged with criminal possession of a firearm, a felony, criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree and possession of ammunition, according to a spokesman for Acting District Attorney Daniel Master.
18. JACKSON, TN, 12/08/15: A man appeared Thursday in city court on accusations of telling police he’d been shot by another man when he’d accidentally shot himself, according to court papers. Antwon Watford is charged with filing a false report as well as being a felon in possession of a firearm. Police say around 1 PM Tuesday Watford told them he had been shot in the hand in the area of Lincoln Circle Park. Investigators determined the report was false and that Watford had accidentally shot himself in the bedroom of a home in the 100 block of Lockwood Drive, according to an affidavit. Police say footprints and blood placement made it appear Watford was the only person in the room at the time.
19. BRADENTON, FL, 12/09/15: A man accidently fired a gun he and his father found near Manatee Memorial Hospital on Wednesday morning, Bradenton police said. No injuries were reported but the hospital was briefly put on lockdown, officials said. The father noticed the gun in the road near the hospital just after 9 AM, police said. They stopped to retrieve it, but as his 18-year-old son went to pick it up, a shot was fired into the ground, police Lt. James Racky said. The men located an officer and turned over the gun, police Lt. William Fowler said. “The incident involved a concerned citizen that found a gun laying in the roadway,” Fowler said. “He had his passenger pick it up so that it could be turned in to the police.” There was no property damage, police said. No charges are pending. An investigation is ongoing. Manatee Memorial is on U.S. 41 (Tamiami Trail), just south of the bridge over the Manatee River from Palmetto.
20. HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL, 12/09/15: A 31-year-old man fatally shot himself while cleaning his gun Wednesday in a northwest suburban hotel. James Smith-Woodward was cleaning his gun at the Hawthorn Suites in the 2800 block of Greens Point Parkway in Hoffman Estates when he shot himself once in the abdomen, according to Hoffman Estates police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Smith-Woodward, whose home address was listed in Clarksville, Tennessee, was able to call for help and was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he was pronounced dead at 1:20 PM Wednesday, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. An autopsy found he died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen, but the manner of his death was not yet been determined, according to the medical examiner’s office. Police said the death appeared to be an accident.
21. LAKEWOOD, OH, 12/09/15: Discharging a firearm, South Lane Drive: At 9:08 AM Dec. 10, police received a report that a Lakewood Club Apartments man accidentally fired a gun in his apartment the previous day.
22. ELK GROVE, CA, exact date unknown: A UPS package delivered to the wrong home was much more than a Christmas surprise to an Elk Grove family. A woman says the UPS driver left a package that contained a gun with her 15-year-old son. Austin Fairbanks says he thought the tablet he’d been asking for was finally being delivered, and panicked when he realized what was really inside. “I was kind of scared. I was like I’m sorry mom, but I don’t want to get in any trouble, but there was a gun in there and I didn’t know what to do,” he said. He answered the door thinking it was a Christmas box from his grandparents, but instead he unwrapped a .45-caliber revolver. The package was addressed to the same house number, but it had the wrong street. “I was shocked,” his mom, Shanna Fairbanks, said. “Because it’s a 15-year-old who’s got a gun now. And with everything that’s been going on; I was devastated.” The drop-off disaster hits especially close to home for Austin’s mother, who recently lose a loved one to a gun. “My cousin, unfortunately, accidentally shot his wife in front of the family. It was a mistake,” she said. Another was a required safety step the Elk Grove family claims the driver didn’t follow—he didn’t ask the 15-year-old if he was 21 or check for identification. UPS issued a statement saying, “This is a highly unusual incident and we take this very seriously. Our employee did not follow proper delivery procedures. We will address this issue with that person to ensure such errors are not repeated.” UPS is picking up the package in the morning. “They just need to be more careful,” Fairbanks said. “I know it’s the holidays and people are in a hurry and they have quotas to meet and stuff like that, but this could have been somebody’s life.”
23. SAHUARITA, AZ, 12/09/15: A Sahuarita man preparing his to take his gun to the firing range accidentally shot his dog in the mouth. The man told the Sahuarita Police Department on Dec. 9 that he inserted a round into the magazine, which then entered the chamber when the magazine was placed into the gun, the report said. The man said he was then distracted and took the magazine out, but forgot about the round in the chamber, according to the report. He then tried to dry fire the weapon, which fired and the bullet struck the dog as it entered the line of fire, the report said. The dog was taken to the Duval Animal Hospital but seemed in good health other than a laceration to the mouth and blood in its nose. A doctor said one of the dog's teeth may have been missing, according to the report.
24. DALLAS, TX, 12/09/15: Dallas police said an 11-year-old boy has died after accidentally shooting himself in a home in the 4900 block of South Buckner Boulevard in the Buckner Terrace neighborhood. Police said the boy, later identified as Phabion Kemarion Runnels, shot himself about 6:30 PM Wednesday after finding the gun in a home in the Town View Apartments. He was pronounced dead at Baylor University Medical Center. The police department’s child abuse unit is investigating. Police had not charged anyone in connection to the shooting as of 10 AM Thursday, but said that could change later in the investigation. KTVT (Channel 11) reports that the boy’s 10-year-old sister witnessed the shooting.
25. DALLAS, TX, 12/10/15: A carjacking suspect who escaped from a local hospital was captured Thursday afternoon, Dallas PD confirmed to News 8. Police identified the suspect as 19-year-old Richard Williams in a statement Thursday afternoon. Williams is a suspect in a carjacking committed Thursday morning. The search was initially focused on the Kessler Park area, in the southwest portion of the city, after the man escaped from Methodist Hospital, police said. Around 11 AM Thursday, Williams and another suspect approached a man who was picking up aluminum cans and loading them into his truck, the statement read. Williams “pistol-whipped the victim and stole his pickup truck.” Officers captured Williams on the 3200 block of Kellogg Avenue before he was taken to Methodist Hospital, from which he later escaped while wearing a hospital gown. Police were searching for Williams and the other suspect Thursday. Sources told News 8 extra officers were assigned to the search. A source said Williams was in the hospital because he accidentally shot himself during the carjacking.
26. UNIVERSAL CITY, TX, 12/10/15: The teenager that accidentally shot himself in front of friends early Thursday morning has died, according to his family. Christopher Garcia was 17 years old. Garcia was at his home with two friends when the shooting happened just after 1 AM. Police said that he and his friends were playing with the gun when it was discharged. Investigators believe that Garcia was mishandling the gun when it was discharged. No one else was injured in the incident. Police say that the gun was given to him by his father. It reportedly was a firearm passed down among the family. Police also said that Garcia's parents were at home at the time of the accident.
27. HOUSTON, TX, 12/10/15: A man and a teen were taken into custody after a 16-year-old boy was shot Thursday night at an apartment in northwest Houston. The incident happened about 9:30 PM at the Villa Nueva apartments at 5350 West Gulf Bank near Streamside, said Kese Smith, a spokesman for the Houston Police Department. Smith said the two teens went to the apartment for a drug deal with the resident, identified as 22-year-old Deondre Perkins. Perkins told investigators he left the pair in the apartment while he went to check his mail. Smith said Perkins told police that when he returned to the apartment one of the teens said he had accidentally shot the other with a pistol. The wounded teen was rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital. His condition was not released but Smith said he had been shot in the chest and his expected to survive. The other teen, also 16, was taken into custody and turned over to the Harris County Juvenile Probation authorities. He is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His name has not been released because his is a juvenile. Perkins, Smith added, was taken into custody and charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Smith said officers found a pistol as well as drugs in the apartment. It was unclear who owned the pistol.
28. GEORGETOWN, KY, 12/10/15: A single gunshot heard by those staying at the Days Inn off of Cherry Blossom Way in Georgetown caused panic. KSP and Scott County Sheriffs met with a man staying in the hotel. After talking to him they learned that he was tired after a night full of driving and his gun accidentally discharged. The incident happened at 3:00 AM, but he didn’t notify the hotel management until 8:00 AM. That is when the police were called. No injuries reported and no people were around. The only damage was a single bullet through the room’s window.
29. HOUMA, LA, 12/10/15: A Morgan City man died in Terrebonne Parish Thursday night after a reported accidental shooting on Jennings Lane. According to the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office, 23-year-old Joshua Naverro was pronounced dead at a hospital in Terrebonne Parish. He died from a gunshot wound. Calvis Hollis, the man arrested in connection with Naverro's death, told investigators that he accidentally shot Naverro in the head after a gun he was playing with malfunctioned. Hollis, 26, of Thibodaux, was arrested Thursday night and booked with one count of manslaughter. Hollis will also be booked with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He has a previous conviction for drug offenses.
30. NATRONA CO., WY, 12/10/15: A Natrona County man died Thursday at a recreational shooting area after accidentally shooting himself, according to the sheriff's office. James Wright, 46, was pronounced dead at the scene on Coal Mountain Road southwest of Casper. Based on interviews and evidence at the scene, deputies determined Wright had been shooting at the range alone and died from an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound. No foul play is suspected, and no autopsy is scheduled.
31. LYNWOOD, IL, 12/10/15 [NEW]: A south suburban teenager died Thursday night after accidentally shooting himself in the head while video chatting with a friend online. Blake Hannett, 15, was pronounced dead at his home in the 2700 block of Lake Park Drive in Lynwood at 8:39 PM, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He was a sophomore at Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, according to Lynwood police. “His friendly outgoing personality and sense of humor helped to promote a team spirit both in the classroom and in the band,” Marian Catholic officials said in a statement on the school’s website. “His million-dollar smile and joyful spirit will be missed in the hallways of Marian Catholic but never forgotten. We are deeply saddened by his death.” Counselors were available to students throughout the day Friday and will be available in the future, the school said. Officers were dispatched to the home at 8:11 PM for reports of gunfire, police said. When they arrived, they found the home secure with no signs of forced entry. A friend who had been on Facetime with Hannett when the screen went blank told police the teen had been home alone, authorities said. The homeowners arrived while officers were speaking to neighbors, and a search of the home revealed the teen slumped over in a chair at his desk with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police said. A .38-caliber handgun was found on the floor under the chair. An autopsy on Friday found the boy died of a gunshot wound to the head, and ruled the death a suicide, according to the medical examiner’s office. Police, however, believe the shooting was accidental.
32. SOUTH HUTCHINSON, KS, 12/11/15: A Kansas deputy's son has died following an accidental shooting. Around 8:15 AM Friday, emergency crews responded to the report of a shooting in the 100 block of East Avenue B in South Hutchinson. Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson said three-year-old Kaden Nagel found a loaded 40 caliber handgun in the home. The boy's father, Deputy Andrew Nagel, was in another room when he heard a gunshot. Nagel rushed to find his son with a gunshot wound and administered first aid until EMS arrived, Henderson said. Kaden was pronounced dead at the scene. Further details were not provided. Hutchinson police and the KBI are investigating the shooting.
33. SAUCIER, MS, 12/11/15: This morning, what was meant to be a simple gun cleaning turned into a very dangerous accident requiring a life-flight. A Saucier man was cleaning his gun at his home on Church Avenue when the gun, still containing gunpowder, exploded. The man sustained a serious hand injury and had to be life flighted to USA Medical Center in Mobile. The extent of his injuries are unknown at this time.
34. ESTILL SPRINGS, TN, 12/11/15: Students at a Tennessee school are mourning the death of an 11-year-old girl, who was shot and killed by a 12-year-old boy. Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said that the boy shot and killed Sienna Owens in the town of Estill Springs on Friday. Both children were students at the same school. Deputies found Owens in the garage with a gunshot wound to her upper back. On Monday at Owens’ school, a pink bow and flowers adorned her locker. Students wrote letters for her parents. “Just reading those letters is really very touching and tells a true story of what a beautiful young lady she was,” said Stanley Bean, her principal. Two counselors were also at the school to help the children deal with their grief. Sienna was in 6th grade, along with the boy authorities believe fired the shot. The two were friends and their families were also friends. Franklin County Sheriff Tim Fuller said the two were at the boy’s home with four other students inside his family’s garage when the shooting occurred. He would not disclose who the gun belonged to, where it was, how the boy got his hands on it, what kind of weapon it was. Only one shot was fired. All of the investigation details will be handed over to District Attorney Mike Taylor to determine if charges will be filed and whether the shooting was accidental, intentional or neglectful. Authorities are waiting on results of ballistics testing. If charges are filed, he does not anticipate them until after the first of the year. Sheriff Fuller said both children come from good families and the 12-year-old boy is not doing well at all. Services for the girl are scheduled for later this week. Estill Springs is located in between Chattanooga and Nashville.
35. ST. JOHN TOWNSHIP, IN, 12/11/15: A 18-year-old Schererville-area man was accidentally shot Friday after he neglected to tell a friend he loaded a shotgun that they had been dry firing, police said. Lake County sheriff's police were dispatched to a residence in the 9100 block of West 85th Avenue in St. John Township for a shooting, department spokesman Mark Back said. A dispatcher told officers as they drove to the scene that Ethan Gard, 19, of Schererville, had accidentally shot Stephen Millen, 18, with a 20-gauge shotgun, Back said. St. John police and medics already were on scene when sheriff's officers arrived, and Millen was being treated in an ambulance for a gunshot wound to his left arm and chest area. Gard told police he was unaware Millen had loaded the gun when he picked it up while Millen was in the bathroom, pointed it directly at the bathroom and pulled the trigger. Millen told police he was in the bathroom when he heard a gunshot and yelled to Gard to find out what happened, Back said. Millen told police he didn't initially realize he had been shot. Millen said he recently bought the gun and he and Gard had been dry firing it throughout the evening. Millen said he loaded the gun shortly before Gard shot him, but Gard was unaware it was loaded. Both men said the shooting was an accident, Back said.Millen was taken to a local hospital for treatment, Back said.
36. WESTLAKE, OH, 12/11/15: Accidental discharge, Patti Park: On Dec. 11, a 16-year-old boy accidentally fired a round from a .380 pistol into his neighbor's apartment through a shared wall. The boy apologized to the neighbor, and police later seized the firearm along with two other guns. The boy's grandmother took custody of him until his mother, who was away on vacation, returned. A juvenile prosecutor is considering charges against the boy.
37. STOUGHTON, MA, 12/11/15: Carole Stepanek was drinking coffee in her living room when she heard a loud bang – what she assumed was the garage door falling. She went downstairs to find it in tact and no longer thought much of the noise. But when she went to make her lunch in the afternoon, she noticed broken glass on the kitchen counter. When she looked up, she saw a gaping hole in the window above her sink. “My niece had just called and I said, ‘I can’t talk, a bullet’s gone through my window.’ I was shaking,” Stepanek, 83, told The Enterprise. It was last Friday afternoon that she noticed the bullet sitting on her living room floor. Hours earlier, just before she heard the loud bang, she was standing in her kitchen using the phone on the wall. “I’m on the phone talking to customer service and I got exasperated, so I hung up,” she said. “If customer service had been nicer, I would have been standing at the phone. I think, definitely, because of my height, I would have been hit above my neck or in my head.” Stepanek’s son, Scott Hersee, called both Easton and Stoughton police. His mother lives in an addition at his 1800 Bay Road home in Stoughton, near the Easton line. The house is located on a hill. In the distance, Hersee said are the two possible culprits – the Ames Rifle and Pistol Club in Easton and Stoughton Fish and Game. “I know that there are other houses that have been shot,” Hersee told The Enterprise Thursday. “Over the last few years, we’ve had several bullets land in the pool and the yard. Now that we’ve had one come through the window, I’m mad.” Easton patrolman Andrew Salisbury responded and found the window was shot and that a bullet had ricocheted off a cabinet and poster and landed in the living room, according to a police report obtained by The Enterprise. The gun club’s president said they determined no one was at the range shooting a rifle at the time. But, on Sunday, a 75-year-old Easton man told police he was at the range shooting a handgun and rifle that Friday between 9:45 AM and noon. He said another man was also shooting an AR-15-style gun at the same time. Police determined the bullet that hit the house was a .30-caliber rifle bullet, but that the men shooting in the morning were using .308- and .223-caliber bullets, the report said. “Officer Andrew Salisbury conducted the investigation and has reported to me that it does not appear that the bullet came from the Ames Rifle Club,” said Easton Deputy Police Chief Keith Boone. Robert McCarthy, the president of Ames Rifle, didn’t immediately return a call to the newspaper. Because the incident happened in Stoughton and the Fish and Game club is nearby, Stoughton police also investigated. “We are assuming it came from one of the gun clubs in the area,” said Stoughton police Detective Sgt. Robert Welch, who indicated police are still investigating the case. Hersee and his mother went before selectmen this week to make them aware of what happened. The board urged for a quick resolution and a meeting between Easton and Stoughton police, with gun club representatives, to figure out what they can do to stop the bullets from leaving the range. Hersee is asking anyone else in the area who has found bullets to contact him so he can compile reports to bring to police. “I’m just asking to live without getting killed or getting shot,” said Hersee, who is a member of the Stoughton gun club. “All I want to do is live here safely.” As for Stepanek, she doesn’t want to live in fear that she could get shot. “I think I was very, very lucky. Now, every time I hear a noise, it scares me,” she said. “You don’t expect not to feel safe in your own home. I don’t want to have to wear a bullet-proof vest.”
38. ANCHORAGE, AK, 12/12/15: A three-year-old child was transported to the hospital Saturday afternoon with a non-life threatening injury caused by the accidental discharge of a weapon, police spokeswoman Renee Oistad told Channel 2 News. Police were notified of the incident around 12:15 PM Saturday at a home on the 4000 block of Wispen Circle. Officials would not say who had the weapon when it discharged or whether anyone was charged in the case. There was a parent present in the home at the time of the incident, police say. The child was transported to the hospital with a injury to the finger.
39. CHICAGO, IL, 12/12/15: A 5-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the hand Saturday afternoon in the Washington Park neighborhood on the South Side. The shooting occurred in the 5900 block of South Calumet Avenue at 4:25 PM, police said. The boy was taken to University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition with a self-inflicted wound, police said.
40. TAMPA, FL, 12/12/15: When the sixth grader jokingly dared him to shoot Saturday night, Jose Cruz, Jr., went ahead and pulled the trigger. He thought the .357 revolver was empty, he told Tampa police. It was not. The bullet struck Stephenn Santiago-Grey, 14, in the chest. He collapsed in the driveway of his house at 4611 E Whiteway Drive. Several people called 911. He died at Tampa General Hospital. Hours later, Cruz, 19, was arrested and charged with manslaughter. Tampa police have not said whether the shooting was intentional or an accident. Cruz, however, said it was accidental from the minute police arrived on scene, according to his arrest report. Cruz told police he was sitting in the driver's seat of a parked white car outside Santiago-Grey's house around 5:30 PM. Another person was in the car with him. The two were talking to Santiago-Grey, who was standing outside the open car door, when the boy "jokingly challenged (Cruz) to shoot him," according to the report. Cruz fired one shot. He did not flee the scene, and as soon as authorities arrived he admitted to accidentally shooting Santiago-Grey. Police took Cruz to the police station in downtown Tampa, where he and the witness were interviewed. After he was read his rights, Cruz again told police what happened. The witness account matched Cruz's account. Cruz, of Tampa, was arrested at 1:45 AM and transported to the Orient Road Jail, where he was being held Sunday on $15,000 bail. Cruz's criminal history is short, records show. He plead guilty to burglarizing an unoccupied structure in 2013. Later that year, he was arrested on a violation of probation charge. The victim, Santiago-Grey, was arrested in March on charges of arson, burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and criminal mischief, records show. The boy was a sixth grader at North Tampa Alternative, according to Hillsborough schools spokeswoman Tanya Arja. Grief counselors will be available to talk to students Monday. Sunday afternoon at the house on Whiteway Drive, family were too grief-stricken to talk, but said the shooting was a horrible accident, and that kids shouldn't play with guns.
41. FAYETTEVILLE, NC, 12/12/15: A woman died after an accidental shooting in Fayetteville.
    It happened Saturday around 11:00 PM in the 6500 block of Wicklow Place. Police said a man and a woman were in the home when a gun went off after being knocked from its storage place, injuring the woman. Erline Freeman, 26, was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center where she later died from her injuries, according to authorities. Police charged 28-year-old Richard Pugh-Newby with involuntary manslaughter. He was taken to the Cumberland County Detention Facility under a $15,000 bond.
42. LAWTON, OK, 12/12/15: Police in Lawton say a soldier has been arrested in the apparent accidental shooting death of a fellow soldier stationed at Fort Sill. Capt. Craig Akard told reporters that 20-year-old Trevor Malik Hargrave was killed in the Saturday morning shooting at an apartment complex. Akard says Stephon Devon Thereat, 21, was arrested for first-degree manslaughter and possession of a firearm while intoxicated. Police say officers responding to reports of shots being fired stopped a car leaving the scene and found Hargrave wounded inside it with two other men who said they were taking him to a hospital. Hargrave later died. Police say the men told them they were drinking, and Threat was playing with the shotgun when it went off and hit Hargrave.
43. GUTHRIE CO., IA, 12/12/15: A Bondurant man was injured by a gunshot wound while deer hunting Saturday in Guthrie County. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says 32-year old Shaymus Smith was struck in the right leg by a shotgun slug fired from another member of his hunting party. The accident happened shortly after 2:30 PM approximately four miles north of Stuart. Smith was transported to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines and treated for non-life threatening injuries. It is believed Smith was hit by a shot fired at a running deer. Smith was out of sight from other members of his party due to dense cover. The incident is still being investigated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
44. LOS ANGELES, CA, 12/12/15: A suspected vandal who allegedly slashed a car’s tires and pistol-whipped its owner in Harbor City shot himself in the leg while running away, police said Monday. The suspect, whose name was not available, remained hospitalized with a wound to one of his femoral arteries, police said. The accidental shooting occurred about 10:15 AM Saturday when the suspected vandal had a woman drive him to the 1600 block of Lomita Boulevard, Los Angeles police Lt. Susan Willis said. He allegedly slashed a car’s tires until its owner noticed and confronted him. The vandal then pulled a pistol and hit him with it, Willis said. When the victim broke free and ran, the alleged vandal also fled, but accidentally shot himself. Police said the men knew each other. Detectives are investigating.
45. NASHUA, NH, 12/12/15: A 27-year-old man was accidentally shot in the torso on Saturday night at a Concord Street residence. Police say no charges are being filed, and that the man who was shot suffered non-life threatening injuries. “There was nothing criminal in nature,” police Lt. Craig Allard said Monday. According to Allard, two men had recently purchased firearms and were attempting to disassemble the guns at the time of the shooting. Inexperience with the firearms was likely the result of one of the weapons accidentally discharging, he said. One round went off, and the bullet from that man’s gun struck the other individual, said Allard. The injured man was treated at a hospital for non-life threatening injuries, and he was being held for observation, said police. Authorities responded to the home on Concord Street shortly before 9 AM after receiving a report of an accidental firearm discharge that resulted in an injury. The incident was investigated by the Nashua Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division, however no charges are being pursued at this time, said Allard.
46. DENTON, TX, 12/12/15: A man shot himself in the leg and foot when trying to use his handgun during a fight early Saturday morning, according to a police report. While in a fight in the 2300 block of North Elm Street, the man apparently shot himself right after midnight, officers learned during an investigation. The man was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton after the incident. Details about his condition were not made available.