Waldman's GunFail

TFW you shoot a theatergoer with the gun you brought to stop a theater shooting: GunFAIL CLXXVII

By David Waldman  

Saturday Mar 19, 2016 · 9:02 PM EDT

Twenty-three of 51 guns discovered by TSA agents at airports across the country, during the week of January 15-21, 2016.

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Ready to go again? We have some catching up to do. First, the basics: 19 people accidentally shot themselves, 15 kids were accidentally shot, and 12 GunFAIL accidents resulted in fatalities. Five law enforcement officers were involved in GunFAIL incidents during the week, including (under a broad definition of LEO) the Athens, Alabama, district attorney who had his county-issued AR-15 stolen from the state-owned vehicle parked in his driveway. That’s a GunFAIL for sure, but hey, how about that gold-plated freebie lifestyle for the DAs there in Limestone County, Alabama? A state car and a county AR-15? Oh, and hey, did I mention he gets an AR-15? Or, well, he got one, anyway. Now it’s gone, and it’s probably in the hands of someone he’s prosecuted before. Good strategy, Limestone County!

Three people accidentally Second Amendmented their neighbors’ property, and three others accidentally discharged guns they’d brought with them to work, including an employee at Indianapolis’s Northwest Community High School, who was putting his gun away in the glove compartment of his car, in accordance with state law. Transitions do appear to pose a particular problem for gun carriers. A lot of accidental discharges occur when gun owners are putting weapons away, reholstering them, or locking them away. This, of course, gets used as an excuse to push for unlimited, open carry, on the theory that we shouldn’t add any complication or danger for gun carriers by requiring them to put their weapons away in various settings. And they have a point. It’s a reality of everyday gun handling that these transitions create opportunities for GunFAIL. It’s just difficult to accept as a good reason to allow wider carrying rights, when we’re reassured in so many other settings that if gun carriers simply follow the iron-clad rules of gun safety, there’s nothing these inanimate objects can do to harm us. Strange, that.

The week of January 17-23, where we last left off, had a few GunFAIL incidents that gained national attention, including the accidental shooting in a Renton, Washington, movie theater, ironically enough among the crowd assembled to watch the Benghazi-porn film 13 Hours. Amazingly, that incident ended without a fatality. I say it’s amazing not only because the victim in the accidental shooting was lucky enough not to be killed, but also because the shooter—who had brought his gun with him to the movies for fear of the threat of a theater shooter—immediately fled the scene during the initial confusion, so that he would not be mistaken for a theater shooter! Which of course, he was! He insisted on ducking the scene so that he wasn’t shot down by another “good guy” who’d brought his gun in order to exact instant justice on any potential theater shooters! Because, of course, his theater shooting was … different.

Not so lucky was the Arkansas volunteer firefighter who, responding to a 911 call in his area, arrived first on the scene to aid a man suffering a seizure, only to have the man come to, panic at the sight of a stranger in his home, and shoot and kill him. I mean, after that, I don’t think I can go on describing the rest of the week’s insanity. I’ll just leave it all below the fold for you.

1. CHICAGO, IL, 1/17/16: Charges are pending against a 17-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself while trying to rob someone Sunday on the South Side, police said. It happened about 10:30 AM in the 8300 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in the city’s Chatham neighborhood, police said. The boy was trying to rob a person when he shot himself in the leg, police said. After a second assailant fled with the gun and police were called, the 17-year-old was taken to Jackson Park Hospital in good condition and placed under arrest. Charges are pending. The robbery victim was not hurt, police said.
2. SIOUX FALLS, SD, 1/17/16: A 20-year-old man is facing charges after police say he accidentally shot a firearm in an apartment in southern Sioux Falls. Police received a report of a shot being fired at the Rose Crest apartments near 85th Street and Louise Avenue around 11:30 PM Sunday night. Police say the suspect, Alexander John Middlen, was handling a gun while intoxicated and accidentally discharged the weapon. No one was hurt in the incident. Middlen is facing several charges, including reckless discharge of a firearm and possession of a firearm while intoxicated.
3. ALEXANDRIA, VA, 1/17/16: Is Alexandria turning into the Wild West? Another “inadvertent shooting” has taken place, according to police. Police said on social media Sunday night at about 9:30 PM, that they were investigating an “unintentional discharge of firearm” in the 1000 block of N. Royal Street. Police say there were no injuries. Earlier this month, on Sunday, Jan. 3, police reported that a drunk man accidentally shot himself in the foot, in the 1000 block of Cameron Street. In November, a man “inadvertently” shot himself in Old Town, police reported. That incident took place at King and Pitt streets. There was no information released by police on whether any charges were filed in any of the cases.
4. HAGERSTOWN, MD, 1/17/16: Woodrow A. Carmack III told police Sunday that someone shot him, but investigators said it is more likely that he accidentally shot himself after robbing a Sheetz convenience store in Hagerstown, according to Washington County District Court documents. Carmack, 25, of no fixed address was scheduled for a bond-review hearing Tuesday, but District Judge Mark D. Thomas said the robbery suspect still was undergoing treatment at Meritus Medical Center east of Hagerstown. Carmack is being held without bond on charges of armed robbery, robbery, theft, first- and second-degree assault and firearms offenses, the charging documents said. The holdup at Sheetz at 301 E. Washington St. was reported Sunday at 5:39 AM. A man wearing a hooded jacket came in, bought a box of condoms and then revealed to a store clerk that he had a revolver tucked into his waistband, the documents said. The man told the cashier to empty the register, and he walked out of the store toward South Cannon Avenue with $373.91, the documents said. Police reviewed the surveillance video and could see the robber had a circular tattoo on his neck, the documents said. Carmack was found in or close to a flower bed near the corner of Jefferson and North Mulberry streets. He had a gunshot wound to the lower left abdomen, and told officers someone had shot him, the documents said. But a city police investigator wrote in the documents that the trajectory of the wound downward from right to left, lodging near the left femur, along with dark burns at the entry point, were "consistent with a gun discharged from an individual who was placing a gun into (his) waistband." A K-9 team had been brought in and tracked a scent from Sheetz to the point where Carmack was found, the documents said. While Carmack was in surgery, his girlfriend was shown the surveillance video and positively identified him as the suspect, the documents said. Carmack has a neck tattoo like the one seen on the robber in the surveillance video, the documents said. The documents did not indicate that a weapon had been recovered. Carmack also is being investigated for possible involvement in other robberies in the city, according to a police news release issued Monday. Carmack's criminal record includes aggravated assault and escape convictions in Bucks County, Pa. He also had a 2011 conviction for illegal firearms possession in Washington County, according to online court records.
5. VERNON, CT, 1/17/16: A local man accidentally shot himself in the hand Sunday while disassembling his gun, Police Lt. William Meier said. The man, Rene Rodriguez, 48, of 405 Tunnel Road, was in his home when the gun went off, Meier said. Meier said that the gun was registered to Rodriguez. Police transported Rodriguez to Hartford Hospital, where, according to a hospital spokesperson, he was released the same day.
6. JACKSON CO., GA, 1/17/16: A Dacula teenager accidentally shot himself in the foot during a squirrel hunting trip Sunday near Maysville, according to a Jackson County Sheriff’s report. The 17-year-old was taken to Barrow Regional Medical Center in Winder, where he was treated for the wound in which the .22-caliber bullet went through his foot, deputies said. The teen and another teenager were collecting deer stands and hunting squirrels and while loading their equipment on an ATV, the teen’s Winchester rifle discharged. “The victim had an old gun and the safety, it appears, failed on the firearm,” State Department of Natural Resources Capt. Johnny Johnson said Tuesday. “He didn’t realize it went through his foot until the pain set in,” he said. The bullet caused fractures in the foot, according to the report.
7. LAGRANDE, OR, 1/17/16: In a separate incident, police on Sunday responded to T Avenue after a report of a gunshot. “What we learned is it was an accidental shooting,” Perry said. A male in the home accidentally discharged his weapon, with the bullet going through his hand and hitting his wife in the back. Perry said neither suffered life-threatening injuries. The investigation is ongoing, but no charges have been filed. at this point,” Perry said. The sergeant said it is fortunate that the incident was not more serious.
8. DAYTON, OH, 1/17/16: A man is recovering after being shot in Dayton early Sunday morning. Officers were called to the 200 block of Marathon Avenue just before 5:30 AM. That's between Wheatley and Linda Vista. When they arrived, they found the victim in the basement of the house. He was taken to Miami Valley Hospital in unknown condition. A caller to 911 told dispatchers that the shooting was an accident. Dayton Police are now investigating if that is indeed the case.
9. ST. LOUIS, MO, 1/17/16: Jamyha Luss was at a friend’s house Sunday afternoon when two boys stopped to visit. One of them had a gun. It’s unclear what happened next, but police say Jamyha, 14, was fatally shot in the back. Both of the boys fled the home in the Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood before police arrived. St. Louis police continued their investigation on Monday, identifying as a person of interest a boy, 14, who turned himself in to authorities Monday afternoon. At this point, investigators believe the shooting was accidental, according to a police source. Jamyha was a student at Gateway Middle School and lived most of her life with her grandmother Shirley Wright and her four siblings because her parents are incarcerated. She lived in the 5500 block of Palm Street, less than a mile from the friend’s home where she was shot. Jamyha went over to her friend’s house on Friday to spend the weekend there, Wright said. Jamyha was close with the friend and spent a lot of time at her house. The home is near Martin Luther King Drive and Union Boulevard, in the 5300 block of Patton Avenue. Wright said the friend told her that she had told the boys, one of whom had a gun under his shirt, that she wasn’t allowed to have company. She went upstairs to the bathroom, heard a shot and found Jamyha on the couch, Wright said. Grief counselors and a crisis response team will be available on Tuesday at Gateway Middle School, said Patrick Wallace, spokesman for St. Louis Public Schools. “She was really a fun person. Everybody loved her,” Wright said. “If you met her, you just automatically liked her.” On Sunday, Marie Black, a woman who lives at the home, said the girl had spent the night there with Black’s daughter, as she often does on weekends. But Black, 47, was at work at the time of the shooting and said she didn’t know how the girl was shot. Jamyha’s middle name is for her other grandmother, Hortense Luss. She said Jamyha liked basketball and going to the movies, and was a good student who didn’t have problems at school. “She was just a sweet 14-year-old,” Hortense Luss said. Last week, and Alton boy, 11, was shot and killed while waiting for a ride to basketball practice. The gunman was firing at someone else over a grudge that simmered on social media. In December, a 15-year-old boy shot a 3-year-old boy once in the chest inside his home in north St. Louis County, killing the toddler. Police have not said publicly whether that shooting was accidental or intentional.
10. ATHENS, AL, 1/17/16: Normally District Attorney Brian Jones upholds the law, but this weekend, it was his gun stolen. Jones tells WHNT that he left his county issued AR-15 inside his state-owned vehicle out on his driveway Sunday night. Thieves broke out the back window of the car and stole only the weapon. Jones claims he takes his AR-15 with him everywhere - to work and usually back into his home at nights, but forgot Sunday night. He said he keeps the assault rifle with him often, just in case an emergency situation occurs, and he might need it. Jones wasn't the only victim of thieves. He says at least three other people had their cars broken in to. Mitzi Evans had her pistol stolen out of her unlocked car. "I didn't realize it, when I was walking my dog the next morning. I saw my console lid was up," she says. Evans and her husband are already considering adding surveillance cameras so this kind of thing doesn't happen again. Athens Police Chief Floyd Johnson says residents need to be more careful storing guns in their cars. "I don't think its real safe to keep a gun stored in your vehicle unless you know exactly what's going on," he told us. "A vehicle can be broken into easily." He also recommends always keeping ammunition and the firearm separately stored, just for safety reasons. Athens Police is handling the investigation. They say they already have a few leads on different credit cards that were stolen the same night. They hope the cards can lead them to where the guns might be.
11. LOUISVILLE, KY, 1/17/16: The family of a teen who shot himself is looking for answers. Family members say 19-year-old Justin Ruff accidentally shot and killed himself on Jan. 17. It happened at a home on 43rd and Broadway. But Ruff's mother, Cynthia Ruff, says she wants more details about what happened because her son wasn't alone that day. "I do feel like someone in that house knows -- he wasn't playing with that gun by himself.... I know somebody in that house knows what really happened," said Cynthia Ruff.  Community activist Chris 2-X says Ruff was involved in his anti-violence effort. He would like to see more gun safety training for young people in West Louisville.
12. RIGA, NY, 1/17/16: A man was loading a 12-gauge single barrel shotgun in his trailer on Chili Riga Center Road on Jan. 17. He allegedly closed the action and a round was discharged. It went through his trailer and into a neighbor’s trailer, coming within a few feet of striking the resident.
13. TEMPE, AZ, 1/18/16: Tempe police are searching for a gun and answers after a 15-year-old apparently shot himself in the foot Monday afternoon, officials said. The teen called 911 around 4:30 PM and said he accidentally shot himself in the foot after finding a gun outside a Burger King near Broadway Road and Priest Drive, said Officer Naomi Galbraith, a Tempe police spokeswoman. Galbraith said the teen was taken to the hospital with a non-life-threatening injury to his foot. Police discovered a shell casing at the scene but were unable to find a gun. Galbraith said the teen gave police "inconsistent" information and would not disclose the location of the gun. A witness reported seeing another male teen at the time of the shooting. Officers located someone matching the description, but he was not cooperating, police said. Galbraith said police were continuing their search for the gun, and an investigation was underway.
14. PADEN CITY, WV, 1/18/16: A police officer remains in the hospital following an accidental shooting early Monday night. It started after Sistersville Police were notified of a stolen vehicle. While on patrol, officers noticed a vehicle matching its description. When officers turned on their lights to execute a stop, the driver reportedly decided to speed away. An off duty officer met the chase on Route 2 in Paden City. After a minor collision, arresting officers were able to stop the chase. While attempting to re-holster his weapon, one of the officers accidentally shot himself in the thigh area. He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, but according to Chief Rob Haught he sustained a "non life-threatening" injury. The name of the suspect is not being released at this time, but Chief Haught says more arrests are expected.
15. SPOKANE VALLEY, WA, 1/18/16: Spokane County Sheriff Major Crimes detectives are investigating an accidental shooting death in Spokane Valley. The sheriff's office reports the shooting happened at a residence in the 14100 block of East Sinto Avenue in Spokane Valley. At approximately 9:45 AM a man called 911 to report his wife had been shot. Dispatchers say they could hear the husband in the background urging his wife to keep breathing. The husband, who had received medical training during his career in law enforcement, knew his wife's chest wound could be fatal so he rushed his wife to Valley Hospital's emergency room where doctors were unable to save her. The private vehicle they arrived in was preserved as evidence, as was the couple's home. “We have to treat any incident like this as though it is criminal, because the evidence itself, we need to preserve. If we find out later that this was an accident, which is what the preliminary information is, then that's fine because we still have the evidence,” Spokane County Sheriff's Deputy Mark Gregory said. Investigators will likely examine closely the woman's new pistol, which she received as a surprise birthday present from her husband last September. In fact all of the guns inside their home will be examined to see if they've recently been fired. The victim has not been identified by authorities. KXLY has confirmed the man is former military police officer, is a reserve deputy in another county and is involved in veterans programs in the greater Spokane area. He is cooperating with detectives and told them the shooting was accidental, though they are working to confirm this. “The male, at this point, is cooperating with our investigation, so we are looking into this, forensics is out there along with our Major Crimes detectives and we will do a complete investigation and then once the facts are known, then we can determine what happened,” Gregory said. MORE: Major crimes detectives continue to investigate a reported accidental shooting that killed a Spokane Valley wife and mother. The woman's husband told deputies he accidentally discharged his wife's gun while trying to disassemble it. She died at an area hospital. The couple had gone out on a breakfast date shortly before this happened. Deputies say the couple was inside their Spokane Valley home on East Sinto when the single shot was fired. The victim was reportedly having issues with her gun, and her husband was trying to correct the problem.
16. BURLINGTON, WA, 1/18/16: A truck driver making a delivery to a Burlington business Monday morning was uninjured after a semi-automatic handgun he was carrying accidentally fired, police said. The driver, 51, was unloading a shipment about 10:30 AM at Marine View Cold Storage in the 400 block of Greenleaf Avenue, according to Burlington Police Sgt. Ed Rogge. The driver was bent over inside the trailer of his semi-truck when a gun kept in a holster inside his pants pocket fired, Rogge said. The driver was not hit by the bullet, although the bullet did tear a hole in his pants, Rogge said. No one else in the area was injured. Burlington police determined the incident was neither intentional nor reckless. The driver had a valid concealed pistol license and was lawfully carrying the gun, Rogge said. Police recovered the fired bullet, which struck a metal floor grate but did no damage.
17. PORT ORANGE, FL, 1/18/16: A man was shot and wounded by his brother in what Port Orange police are calling an accidental shooting. According to police, Cory Mittner was showing a shotgun to a friend inside a residence on Kane Drive on Monday night. Mittner removed what he believed was the gun’s only shell and ran into the kitchen. When he returned, he sat on the stock while trying to remove it, causing the gun to discharge and strike his brother, Douglas, in the lower back and buttocks, police said. Douglas Mittner was taken to an area hospital where he underwent surgery. He is in stable condition.
18. GRANDVIEW, MO, 1/19/16: A 43-year old woman has been charged on Tuesday after her 5-year-old granddaughter was shot in the leg. Taprill R. Barnett faces one count of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree. According to a police report, the child’s mother brought her to Barnett’s home on Monday. Barnett said that she was cleaning her gun, but slid the weapon under the couch when the victim and her brother entered the room. She believed she had slid the gun far enough back that the child could not get it. However, when she left the room, she heard a “pop” and came back to the room to find the child shot in the leg. The victim was taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital, where she was treated for a gunshot wound to her left thigh, as well as burn marks encircling the wound. “We are fortunate today that another child was not killed due to the irresponsibility of an adult. As gun-owners, we have the simple responsibility to ensure that these deadly-weapons are safely stored.”  Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said, according to a news release. “This isn’t hard, but it is absolutely life and death.” Prosecutors have requested a $30,000 bond, as well as the condition of any bond to include the condition that Barnett have no unsupervised contact with children under 17 years of age.
19. HARRIS CO., TX, 1/19/16: A 4-year-old boy was accidentally shot this morning in northwest Harris County near Cypress, officials say. The Harris County Sheriff's Office is saying the wound was self-inflicted, but is not saying how the child got the gun. The case is set to go to a grand jury. Harris County Sheriff's deputies were called out to the scene just after midnight in the 15400 block of Redbud Berry Way. HCSO says the child was found "breathing, but unresponsive." The child was sent by LifeFlight to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston early this morning. Two people are being questioned. We saw one man have his hands tested for gun powder residue. Neighbor Sylvia Chandler said, "I'm just shocked. My heart is pounding. He (is) a sweet boy." We're told by neighbors that the child is a boy who was staying with his grandparents. The child remains in critical condition. No one is being charged with any crimes at this point. HCSO says the grandparents are cooperating with investigators. UPDATE: A 4-year-old boy who was in the hospital after accidentally shooting himself earlier this week has passed away. Bryson Hernandez's family released a statement Thursday night to pass along the heartbreaking news. Investigators say the shooting happened Tuesday. Bryson found his grandfather's gun and started playing with it when the gun accidentally discharged.
20. LIBERTY CO., TX, 1/19/16: A man died in an apparent accidental shooting Tuesday at a home in south Liberty County. The shooting happened about 5:30 PM on County Road 4893, according to the Liberty County Sheriff's Office. Deputies said a 21-year-old man was at the residence dry-firing a 9mm semi-automatic pistol when his friend, also 21, came into the room. The man with the gun fired the pistol again and a bullet wounded his friend in the upper chest. The wounded man was flown by LifeFlight medical helicopter to Memorial Hermann-The Texas Medical Center, but he died while en route. The shooter called 911. Deputies are investigating the case.
21. BENNINGTON, VT, 1/19/16: Reports out of Vermont are that a patron at a Chili's in Bennington on Tuesday evening accidentally discharged a firearm inside the restaurant. The Bennington Banner is reporting that no one was injured, but the resulting commotion led to the manager calling police. The newspaper is reporting that when police arrived, the man with the gun had already left the scene. Police were able to determine his identity from people at the restaurant. Officers later found him at his home, and he admitted to the gun discharging by accident. Police determined the gun was never drawn from its holster when it fired. Police told the Banner they suspect a piece of the man's clothing may have gotten wedged inside the trigger guard, and that caused the triggered to be accidentally pulled, discharging the weapon. The type and caliber of the gun were not disclosed. Chili's, which has 1,600 locations around the world in owned by Brinker International Inc. of Dallas. The restaurant's corporate parent announced two years ago that it was adopting a gun-free policy for all its restaurants, in which customers would be asked not to bring weapons inside. A spokeswoman said at the time said "the open carry of firearms creates an uncomfortable atmosphere."
22. MORA, LA, 1/19/16: A Natchitoches Parish man is recovering after police say he accidentally shot himself while raking leaves Tuesday. Natchitoches Parish Sheriff's deputies and Emergency Medical Services were called to a home in the 300 block of Mora Baptist Church Road just before noon on reports of an accidental shooting. When authorities arrived on the scene, they found 52-year-old Ricky Bolton of Mora, La., suffering from a gunshot wound to his thigh. According to deputies, Bolton told them he was raking leaves at a relative's house when the cocked .22 Magnum revolver in his pocket accidentally discharged, shooting him in his upper left thigh. Bolton was taken to Rapides Regional Medical Center with what are believed to be non life-threatening injuries. Detectives say foul play is not suspected in their investigation.
23. NEW ORLEANS, LA, 1/20/16: A 3-year-old boy was shot and killed early Wednesday morning in New Orleans East after his grandmother’s gun discharged under the pillow where the two were sleeping. New Orleans Police investigators say the 42-year-old grandmother is employed as a security guard, and the gun discharged hitting the child in the chest. Deonca Kennedy was later arrested by police after questioning. She was booked with negligent homicide, second-degree cruelty to a juvenile and child desertion, according to the NOPD. Around 2:15 AM, police were called to a home in eastern New Orleans in the 5600 block of Red Maple Drive. The child was taken to the hospital by EMS, but later died. Kennedy was the only other individual inside of the home at the time of the incident, police said.
24. SULPHUR SPRINGS, TX, 1/20/16: Sulphur Springs police say a man accidentally shot himself in the foot Wednesday evening at a church. Police said at about 6:30 PM Wednesday, officers responded to a shooting at the Davis Street Baptist Church in Sulphur Springs. Officers discovered a person, who was not identified, had accidentally discharged his pistol and shot himself in the foot. The victim sustained a minor wound, and no one else was hurt. Police said the shooting happened in the church's family life center.
25. OAK HILL, FL, 1/20/16: A 65-year-old man has died after he was "accidentally" shot by a friend while they were out hunting in Oak Hill, deputies say. The incident happened at about 2:11 PM ET on Wednesday when the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office was notified that a hunter had accidentally shot his friend with a 12-gauge shotgun. It happened in Oak Hill in a wooded, swampy area west of Interstate 95 and north of Maytown Road. "With a Sheriff’s Office helicopter leading ground units to the scene, deputies reached the site at 2:47 PM and confirmed the fatality," sheriff's office spokesman Gary Davidson said in a news release. He said the victim si believed to be a 65-year-old man, but his name has not yet been released pending notification of next of kin. Other details about the circumstances of the shooting were not immediately released, and it is unclear whether the shooter will face any charges in his friend's death.
26. GAINESVILLE, GA, 1/20/16: Two kids played with a gun until one took a bullet to the hip today, according to officials. A 16-year-old with a gunshot wound has been transported to the hospital after showing up at an East Hall fire station. He is expected to be released from Northeast Georgia Medical Center later today, Hall County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Deputy Nicole Bailes wrote in an email. Someone pulled up to Hall County Fire Services Station 7 this afternoon, advising “that someone in their vehicle had a gunshot wound,” according to the fire department. The investigation “determined that two 16-year-old males were playing with a gun at a White Sulphur Road residence when the gun accidentally discharged,” Bailes said. The fire station is located at 731 E. Crescent Drive north of Gainesville. No charges are expected, according to authorities.
27. FLINT, MI, 1/20/16: Police say a 3-year-old boy has been found dead in Flint after apparently finding a loaded gun and accidentally shooting himself. Police say they responded late Wednesday and found the child had been shot. He was pronounced dead on the scene. According to police, a preliminary investigation indicated that the child found the unsecured weapon and that the gunshot wound was self-inflicted. No arrests were immediately reported. Police say the death remains under investigation. MORE: Police released the name of the toddler they believe accidentally shot himself after finding a loaded, unsecured handgun last week. Three-year-old Karmelo Johnson was fatally wounded late Wednesday night, Jan. 20, when he apparently shot himself in the head with a 9mm pistol, Flint police Chief James Tolbert said.
28. INDIANAPOLIS, IN, 1/20/16: Police are investigating after a gun went off at Northwest Community High School Wednesday morning. According to IPS police, an employee's registered firearm accidentally discharged as it was being put inside a car's glove box. A spokesperson for Indianapolis Public Schools says the incident happened early Wednesday morning before any students were on campus. IMPD and IPS Police are investigating to determine if there will be any criminal charges. IPS policy regarding employee weapons is as follows: A staff member who may legally possess a firearm under Indiana law may possess a firearm or ammunition that is locked in the truck of the employee's vehicle, kept in the glove compartment of the employee's locked vehicle, or stored out of plain sight in the employee's locked vehicle. IPS says the policy is aligned with state code.
29. CHARLESTOWN, IN, 1/20/16: A 16-year-old is accused of shooting and killing a 14-year-old, according to the Clark County Sheriff. The 14-year-old was pronounced dead on scene in the Rolling Hills Subdivision by the Clark County Coroner Wednesday in Charlestown, Indiana. Officials said when they arrived in the Rolling Hills/Rocket Wood subdivision just after 11:30 AM, they found the 14-year-old dead. In a press conference Wednesday evening, Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel said the 14-year-old was shot once with a handgun. Noel couldn't say what led up to the shooting, but did say the teens knew each other. The 16-year-old is in police custody and officials said he or she has been charged with reckless homicide for pointing a loaded gun at the 14-year-old. "It kind of maybe falls in the realm of it wasn't necessarily accidental but there was no intent to take a life - it's just that reckless act caused a life to be taken," Sheriff Noel said. According to the Clark County Sheriff's Department, the 19-year-old brother of the suspect was in the home at the time but was not in the same room at the time. Sheriff Noel said the Clark County Prosecutor will decide if the 16-year-old will be charged as an adult.
30. ONANDAGA, NY, 1/21/16: A deputy was accidentally shot Thursday afternoon at the Hillbrook Juvenile Detention Center, a detective says. A deputy from another county was shot around 12:31 PM at the 4949 Velasko Road detention facility in Onondaga, said Detective Jon Seeber, of the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office. The deputy was at the center for an inmate transport, Seeber said. The shooting was accidental, Seeber said. He did not specify how the shooting occurred. The deputy was transported to a hospital with a non life-threatening injury, Seeber said. The shooting is under investigation. Seeber said more information about the shooting will be released later.
31. RENTON, WA, 1/21/16: Police say they have arrested a man accused of shooting a woman in a Washington state movie theater, who later called authorities to surrender. Police responded to a shooting call shortly after 8 PM Thursday at Regal Cinemas at The Landing in Renton. Investigators say a man appearing to be intoxicated fumbled with a gun and shot the woman during a showing of the movie "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi." Investigators believe the man and woman do not know each other. Police say the man left the theater after the shooting, returned to his home and called 911, saying he had dropped his gun and the shooting was accidental. Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg said Thursday night the woman's condition was upgraded from critical to stable.
32. PUEBLO, CO, 1/21/16: Police responded to a report of a Belmont shooting Thursday night on the 200 block of Bonnymede Road and, after further investigation, determined a juvenile male had accidentally shot himself. Officers were dispatched to the area around 8 PM. The 17-year-old male, who reportedly accidentally shot himself in the left leg, has serious but non-life threatening injuries. The juvenile initially told police he was shot by someone but later confessed to them at the hospital that the gunshot was self-inflicted.
33. WASILLA, AK, 1/21/16: A teenager at a Wasilla home was shot and wounded Thursday by a second teenager handling a gun. Alaska State Troopers took a call on the incident at about 11:30 PM and said alcohol and controlled substances were factors in the incident. Troopers say a 17-year-old boy was handling the loaded gun when it fired, striking a 16-year-old boy. The injured boy was transported to Mat-Su Regional Hospital. Troopers say his injuries are not life-threatening. A Wasilla man with an outstanding warrant also was at the home. Troopers say 20-year-old Jared Mayer had been arrested previously on a charge of consuming alcohol as a minor. He was taken to Mat-Su Pretrial Facility with bail set at $100. He was no longer in custody Friday.
34. WAKEFIELD, KS, 1/21/16: A Wakefield man was accidentally injured last night when he shot himself in the thigh, local law enforcement officials reported this morning.
35. NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR, 1/22/16: A member of the East Pulaski Volunteer Fire Department in Arkansas was killed early this morning after being shot by a victim at the scene of a reported medical emergency, according to local media. He may have been mistaken by an intruder by a seizure victim. Lt. Jason Adams, 29, was a five year member of the Sherwood Fire Department  but responding as a member of the East Pulaski County VFD, KATV’s Jason Pederson reported. He lived just a half mile from the medical call and may have been the only responder on the scene. The suspect, identified by KATV as Greg Pruitt, is being questioned by police, but no charges have been filed. A neighbor, Tommy Noblett, was interviewed by local television and said “[Pruitt] woke up … a man was in his doorway and he shot him.” The victim’s wife reportedly called 911 and told Noblett that the victim came out of the seizure and “looked up … grabbed the gun and shot him,” he said in the TV interview. This version of events has not been confirmed by law enforcement, who are still investigating. Local media showed photos of Adams’ POV still running outside the home hours later. Initial reports indicate he may have been the only responder on the scene initially when the shooting occurred. Local media reported that Norblett and the victim’s wife started to render aid to Adams before other help arrived. Adams was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Last year, Adams was quoted in a local television report about the critical need for volunteer first responders in the area.
36. SEABROOK, TX, 1/22/16: Bryan Johnson said it was a normal Friday night with five friends and their kids at his home in Seabrook. While inside with his home surveillance camera playing on his TV screen, Johnson said he saw a terrifying scene start to unfold in real time. Three armed men crawled under his garage door and seconds later. "One of the males with a shot gun opened the side garage door that steps into my house and he's asking my name," Johnson said. "They only knew my name because my friends told them that I was inside." Johnson lives in a neighborhood near the Kemah Boardwalk and wasn't expecting the intruders, but took action. "I was screaming at him 'drop the gun' and then he shut the door. I put three rounds through the door, he crawled out the garage door and I went out the front and opened a few more rounds at them," Johnson said. Seabrook police said that's about the time the intruder's driver took off, and the three men ran away. Officers found and arrested two of the suspects, Noah Simpson from Deer Park, and Tyler Edge from LaPorte. Both suspects were charged with aggravated robbery. The other two suspects are still at large. When it was over, Johnson realized he accidentally shot one of his friends, Raymond Hearne. Hearne was taken to Clear Lake Regional Hospital. "He was complaining he couldn't feel his legs, he was moving them when the medic was asking. He was moving them, but a little worried because he couldn't feel them," Johnson said.All of the other adults and children were unharmed.
37. WILLIAMSBURG, VA, 1/22/16: Williamsburg police are investigating a fatal shooting they say occurred at the Astronomical Pancake House near the 1300 block of Richmond Road. According to Maj. Greg Riley, a spokesman for Williamsburg Police, police received a call of an accidental shooting around 1:25 PM Friday afternoon. "We responded to a report that a 23 year old male had accidentally shot himself at the restaurant," Riley said. "The victim died on his way to the hospital," Riley said. Riley said although the shooting is under investigation, police don't have any reason to suspect foul play. "We were told the victim was handling a firearm and didn't have a lot of experience with one," he said. The deceased man's identity was not immediately available.
38. LAS VEGAS, NV, 1/22/16: A young passerby on the Las Vegas Strip was injured Friday night after police officers fired on a man who was walking in and out of traffic waving a gun. Capt. Matt McCarthy said the police received numerous calls about an armed individual weaving in and out of traffic on the Strip, pointing his weapon at people. When police arrived to the scene at about 7:30 PM near the fountain of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino, the suspect ignored their commands. McCarthy said the officers then fired on the man, who was not hit, but a child on the Strip was grazed by a bullet. The juvenile was taken to a hospital and released in good condition. Another pedestrian's clothes were also hit. The suspect, who is known as one who frequently sells goods to tourists, was arrested and booked into the Clark County Detention Center. His identity has not yet been released. The police activity closed the busiest stretch of the Strip for several hours. No officers were hurt during the incident, the police said.
39. HAMPSTEAD, NH, 1/22/16: Two men were injured by bullet shrapnel in an accident involving a handgun Friday night, police said. Officers responded to a home at 300 Wheelwright Road around 11:55 PM for a report of two people suffering from what were initially described as gunshot wounds, according to police Lt. John Frazier. When police arrived they found Trinity ambulance personnel treating a man identified as Casey Ruane, 30, of Derry outside the home. Ruane, who suffered wounds to his hands, told police that he and another man, Carl Valliant, 30, of Hampstead, were trying to “unjam” a handgun inside the house and that it exploded, Frazier said. Valliant was found inside the house with similar wounds to his hands and arms, Frazier said. Frazier said the men were trying to force a jammed bullet out by using a screwdriver when they detonated the primer on the bullet, causing it to discharge. The men were wounded by bullet shrapnel, Frazier said. Police determined that the incident was an accident.
40. HICKSVILLE, NY, 1/22/16: A 25-year-old Hicksville man faces illegal gun charges after police said his friend picked up the man’s shotgun and accidentally shot him in the leg in late January. According to authorities Michael Schmeltzer was in his Halsey Avenue bedroom with a friend on Jan. 22 when the friend picked up a shotgun from the bed that he thought was a BB gun. The weapon accidentally discharged and struck Schmeltzer in the lower left leg, police said. Schmeltzer was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for his injuries. An investigation revealed the shotgun was not legally purchased and Schmeltzer surrendered to Second Squad detectives in Woodbury on Monday at 7:35 AM. Schmeltzer is charged with criminal possession of a firearm and second degree criminal possession of a weapon. He will be arraigned Monday at First District Court in Hempstead.
41. MILLERSVILLE, PA, 1/22/16: Clayton D. Peck, 25, of Millersville, was charged with reckless endangerment and unlawful discharge of a firearm in the first block of West Frederick Street on Jan. 22. Police said Peck accidentally fired a shotgun loaded with buckshot through a wall and into a neighboring apartment. No one was injured.
42. BOCA RATON, FL, 1/22/16: When Stephen Cartigiano dropped off his 16-year-old, James, at a friend’s home in January, he thought it was just another normal night for his teenage son. The friend had been to their home before and he knew the family, everything seemed to be fine. Hours later he got a call from authorities: His son was shot in the head. Three days later, his son was declared brain-dead.Cartigiano, his wife, Yvonne, and the family lawyer, Gary Lesser, spoke at a news conference in West Palm Beach on Thursday to advocate for better safety measures with guns. Lesser said at the time of the shooting, there were no adults in the home and several loaded guns throughout the residence. The shooting was an accident, but there could have been better care to prevent the tragedy that he said happens all too often across the nation. “The gun never should have been in the shooter’s hands,” Lesser said. Though there are no criminal charges at this time, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting.
43. LEHIGH ACRES, FL, 1/23/16: Imagine standing at a checkout line -- getting ready to pay -- when suddenly, you hear a gunshot, and the bullet goes right through your shirt! That's what happened Saturday night at a Dollar General in Lehigh Acres. Brandon Orlando was standing in the checkout line when the man standing behind him accidentally dropped his gun on the floor, and it fired. "I heard it go off it sounded like a balloon," said Orlando. According to deputies, when the gun hit the floor, it shot off a round. The bullet ricocheted off a conveyor belt and then grazed Orlando's stomach. "It's just a crazy freak accident that happened, but thank God I'm still alive," he said. "I'm happy." Orlando said it was a painful experience, but he didn't go to the hospital. The gun owner, Joseph Lemier, called the sheriff's office immediately. When a deputy got to the scene, he ran Lemier's concealed weapons license and learned that it had been revoked. Lemier also claimed that the safety was on when the gun hit the floor. But upon inspection, the deputy found that the safety was not operational. "I will be going after him. I will be going after him completely," Orlando said. "He didn't have a concealed weapons permit. He also said that the safety was on to the police, so he's lying to an officer. And he's lying to me." Sheriff's deputies still don't know why Lemier's concealed weapons license was revoked -- that is now being investigated. Lemier's gun was also taken as evidence.
44. SOUTH BEND, IN, 1/23/16: Police are investigating a case involving a 2-year-old boy who apparently accidentally shot himself early Saturday. Police were called to a residence on Edison Road in South Bend about 12:30 AM on a report of an injured child. The toddler was transported to a local hospital and was taken into surgery, South Bend Police Sgt. Bill Kraus said about 9:15 AM Saturday. No condition report was available. The St. Joseph County Family Violence Unit is investigating the case, Kraus said.
45. BROOKLYN, NY, 1/23/16: A Brooklyn man was charged with accidentally shooting and killing his friend while showing off his gun, police said, as the blizzard whipped outside. At about 8 PM on Saturday, as the snow tumbled down throughout the city, 32-year-old Maciej Gorecki allegedly went to his friend’s Sunset Park apartment to show off his gun, a law enforcement official said. Gorecki, who thought the gun was unloaded, allegedly held it up to 37-year-old Golabek Zdzislaw’s head and pulled the trigger, a law enforcement official said. But the gun was in fact loaded and Zdzislaw was found inside the 45th Street apartment and pronounced dead. Gorecki was charged with manslaughter and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, police said. Arraignment information for Gorecki was not immediately available.
46. KOKHANOK, AK, 1/23/16: A child has died after an accidental shooting Saturday evening in the Southwest Alaska village of Kokhanok, according to Alaska State Troopers. Troopers said in a dispatch Sunday afternoon they were informed of the shooting in the village of about 165 people, roughly 22 miles south of Iliamna, at about 6:20 PM Saturday. “The victim was transported to an Anchorage hospital and was later pronounced deceased on (Sunday),” troopers wrote. “Troopers are responding from the Iliamna post.” Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said in an email Sunday afternoon that nothing further was available on the shooting Sunday afternoon, as troopers continued their initial investigation. Southcentral Alaska members of the Alaska Bureau of Investigation will help look into the shooting. UPDATE 1:30 PM Monday: Alaska State Troopers say another child is believed to have fatally shot a 5-year-old boy in the village of Kokhanok last weekend in what troopers had described as an accident. Troopers said in a Monday dispatch that the boy, who was wounded Saturday, "was playing video games in the living room of his residence when another child (age 11) in the residence obtained a firearm and subsequently shot" the boy. Medics flew the boy to an Anchorage hospital, where he died Sunday. The boy's next of kin were at the scene at the time of the shooting. His body is being sent to the state medical examiner's office in Anchorage for an autopsy. MORE: Five-year-old Kadin Mann was accidentally shot Saturday, according to troopers, and flown to Anchorage for medical care. He died there Sunday.
47. BANDON, OR, 1/23/16: A Bandon man was arrested Saturday after he accidentally shot himself in the hand, the Coos County Sheriff's Office said. Just before 11 PM Saturday, police say deputies and officers with Bandon Police Department responded to a home on North Fork Road near Bandon regarding the report of an accidental injury from a firearm at that location. Police say 24-year-old Ian Geer had accidentally shot himself in the right hand while putting away a firearm. Police say they discovered that Geer was a corrections client currently on probation and prohibited from possessing firearms. He was transported by Bay Cities Ambulance and treated for his injury at Bay Area Hospital, then taken into custody for Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Parole Violation. He was transported to the Coos County jail where he was lodged.
48. MAYSVILLE, GA, 1/23/16: A 21-year-old Maysville man accidentally shot his finger off while trying to holster a pistol Saturday, according to a Jackson County Sheriff’s report. Nicolas R. Page told officers he was in his car shortly after 8 PM trying to holster his Glock 9mm pistol, when it discharged and shot his left index finger off with a hollow point bullet. Page, who has a permit to carry a firearm and wears it on his hip, was in a car with two others when the shooting occurred, deputies said. No one else was injured and the bullet put a hole in the driver’s side rear window. Page was transported by ambulance to Northeast Georgia Hospital in Gainesville.
49. ELABELL, GA, 1/23/16: A man came to the sheriff’s office reporting that his female neighbor recently had been using a firearm inside her home, with one of her bullets going through her window and putting a hole in his shed. The complainant said he thought an argument and gunshots occurring inside next door at an Arden Park Road residence in Ellabell. He said that the next day, he saw a bullet hole in the neighbor’s window that was in line with his residence. He then found the bullet hole in his shed. He tried to talk to the neighbor’s husband, but she told him to get in the truck and not speak to the complainant. The complainant was given a case number.
50. LAWRENCE, KS, 1/23/16: Lawrence police say a 25-year-old man shot another man Saturday night, sending him to the hospital. Around 9:15 PM, officers arrived at a home in the 1500 block of Pinewood Drive for a report of a shooting, said Lawrence Police spokeswoman Kim Murphree. There, officers found a 21-year-old man lying on the ground in the garage with a towel wrapped around his calf and about four witnesses around him. "It appears to be a case of accidental discharge," said Cheryl Wright Kunard, Douglas County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman. "We are reviewing the reports to determine if any laws were broken." The victim — whose name has not been released — suffered a single gunshot wound to the leg, Murphree said. He was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital and later transferred to a Kansas City-area hospital for treatment. A condition report was not available Monday. Witnesses told police the suspect was holding the gun when it fired and hit the victim, Murphree said. She noted the suspect and victim know each other.