Gun Fail

Wed Dec 04, 2013 at 11:23 AM PST

Oops! Shot my gun off in church, but nobody got hit. Just a woman! GunFAIL XLVI

by David Waldman

Thirteen of 34 guns discovered by TSA agents at airports this week.

 

Another wild week, including a lot of stories that come close to, but might not exactly be GunFAILs. Like the story from Chickamauga, GA, where a man who thought he was shooting at a home intruder killed a wandering, 72-year-old Alzheimer's patient. Or the story from Nashville, TN, where "outlaw country" singer Wayne Mills was shot and killed in a bar fight. (By the way, is "outlaw country" like "gangsta rap?" Are we supposed to be outraged by it? Or is it just good ol' All-American fun?) 

 

By the numbers, the week was heavy on the hunting accidents (10 confirmed, plus one more strongly suspected), and on child victims. Nineteen kids were accidentally shot last week, ages 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 11, 13, 14, 14, 16, 16, 16, 16, 17, 17, 17 and 17. I think the numbers are up and skewing older, because several of them are hunting-related. On the subject of hunting accidents, do please note that six hunters were accidentally shot during opening weekend of the season in the state of Wisconsin, alone.

Just two loaded gun-cleaning accidents this week,  three home invasion shootings, and three waistband/pocket ninjas who accidentally shot themselves. Cop numbers are, mercifully, down to just one this week.

Rather than recap this week's more outlandish stories, I'll just point you to the listings from Asheboro, NC, Flowood, MS, and Anderson County, TN.

On the guns in school front this week, maybe numbers are slowing down? Guns were found in schools in Springfield, MO, Charlotte, NC, Norfolk, VA and  Reading, PA.

And now, below the fold, this week's compilation.

1. MACOMB TOWNSHIP, MI, 9/10/13: A 58-year-old Macomb Township man accidentally left a handgun and ammunition in a shopping cart at a local Kroger store that was later discovered by a worker, according to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office. The man, who is licensed to carry a handgun, was shopping around noon Tuesday at the Kroger on 23 Mile Road in Macomb Township when he left behind a camouflage-colored Kel-Tec 9mm handgun along with a full 7-bullet magazine in a soft black case. “He said he stopped to help an old lady while he was unloading his groceries and left it behind in the cart in the store,” said sheriff’s Lt. John Michalke. The clerk who found the weapon inside the cart in the store gave it to a manager, who called the sheriff’s office. A deputy picked it up and placed it in the property room at the sheriff’s department. A short time later Tuesday, the gun owner realized he had left the gun at the grocery store and contacted them. He was referred to the sheriff’s department. He told an evidence technician that he had become distracted at the store and walked out leaving the gun in the shopping cart. “He said he was wearing bulky clothing that was uncomfortable, so he put the gun case in the cart while he was shopping,” Michalke said.
2. FISH SPRINGS, NV, 11/21/13: A Concord, CA, woman, shot to death Nov. 21 in the home of an 81-year-old Fish Springs man, is being remembered as a loving and supportive coach and physical education teacher. A funeral is Saturday in Pleasant Hill, CA, for Catherine Mary Costanza. She died of a shotgun wound to the chest after an alleged struggle over the weapon with Melvin Norlund. Norlund reportedly told investigators he “grew tired of arguing” with Costanza, his caretaker, and threatened to shoot her dog. He said they struggled over the weapon, and it accidentally discharged. Norlund directed authorities to the shotgun, which was behind a recliner in the living room. He went next door to report the shooting, and told his neighbor to call the sheriff’s office.
3. WYNNE, AR, 11/23/13: A Cross County child reportedly accidentally shot his 10-year-old sibling Saturday evening. Cross County Sheriff J. R. Smith says the 10-year-old was shot with a .22-caliber pistol in the stomach area at a home east of Wynne, off Hwy. 64. The child was flown to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital while his injuries do not appear to be life-threatening.
4. DALLAS, TX, 11/23/13: Police say a 7-year-old boy has been hospitalized in serious condition after he was shot by his 13-year-old brother. The accident happened Saturday after both boys were dropped off at a residence. Sgt. Warren Mitchell says the boys located a handgun in the home, began playing with the weapon and the younger brother was shot. Mitchell says the homeowner was at the residence but in another area at the time of the shooting. UPDATE: He didn't make it.
5. FRANKLIN, WI, 11/23/13: Kewaunee County officials say a 41-year-old Denmark man accidentally shot and injured himself Saturday morning. The sheriff's department says it responded to a call of a man with a self-inflicted gunshot injury around 9:45. The incident happened on private property in the Township of Franklin. The man was transported from the scene by ATV and treated prior to being taken to a Green Bay medical facility. Officials say he appeared to have non-life threatening injuries to his lower leg.  The incident remains under investigation by the sheriff's department along with the DNR. [Which likely means it was a hunting accident.]
6. PANAMA, OK, 11/23/13: A 16-year-old boy from Panama, OK, is in critical condition in a Tulsa hospital Sunday (Nov. 24), after being shot by a friend Saturday (Nov. 23), according to Panama Police. The incident happened Saturday afternoon around 2 on Pierce Road in Panama, authorities said. The victim and a 14-year-old friend were returning from a camping trip when the 14-year-old tripped, causing his gun to go off, according to Sgt. Andrew Bevil with Panama Police. The bullet struck the 16-year-old victim in the neck, Bevil said. UPDATE: He didn't make it.
7. HOUSTON, TX, 11/23/13: A 16-year-old male is dead after being shot while playing with a handgun Saturday at a southwest Houston apartment complex, police said. According to the Houston Police Department, the teenage victim and a friend were playing with a .45-caliber handgun when the firearm accidentally went off. The incident happened just before 8 p.m. at the Bellaire Gardens Apartments in the 6100 block of Bellaire Boulevard near Rampart Street, police said.
8. BEETOWN, WI, 11/23/13: A man from Mukwonago was injured while deer hunting on private property during the first day of the state’s gun deer season. According to the Journal Sentinel, a 32-year-old man was loading a .45 handgun while sitting in a tree stand when he accidentally shot himself in the hand.
9. GADSDEN, AL, 11/23/13: A Gadsden man cut a bullet out of his own stomach after accidentally shooting himself while playing with a gun, according to police. The 35-year-old man told police he had been out partying at nightclubs before he and a group of others went to his home in the 200 block of North 3rd Street in east Gadsden. The man said they started talking about going to the shooting range later in the day, and he started spinning a pistol around his finger. The gun went off and a bullet struck the man's stomach, but didn't exit through his back. "The man told police he could feel the bullet under his skin so he took a knife and cut it out himself," Captain Bobby Jackson with Gadsden PD said.
10. MERTZON, TX, 11/23/13: Former Wall High School student McCall Miller was injured in a hunting accident on Saturday, and is in need of A+ blood to stabilize, say relatives and close friends of the family. The 18-year-old teenager was shot in the abdomen when a gun allegedly went off by accident near Mertzon around 7:00 p.m. Saturday, according to friends.
11. STATEN ISLAND, NY, 11/23/13: Depending on which story he told, Lavon Gordon either hurt himself when he fell, got shot at a bar, or accidentally shot himself at a party, according to authorities. At first, he told hospital staff that he didn't get shot, but rather he fell, a law enforcement source said. Then he told police he was shot at a bar after someone pulled a gun, the source said. Finally, Gordon provided this account to detectives, "I went to a party on Jersey Street. A person at the party gave me the gun and I put it in my pocket. At first, I didn't feel myself shot, but then I noticed the blood and ran out of the house to Katherine [his girlfriend, according to the law enforcement source] and told her to take me to the hospital because I was shot," according to court papers.
12. WALTHOURVILLE, GA, 11/23/13: A Liberty County High School senior, Austin John Eisner, 18, died from an accidental gunshot wound Sunday at Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah. The accidental shooting took place Saturday at Coastal Auto Parts and Recycling near Walthourville. Eisner was transported to Memorial by helicopter.
    According to a Long County Sheriff’s Office incident report, Eisner had parked his vehicle near the delivery area of the recycling center. A Coastal Auto Parts employee reported hearing a gunshot over the sound of machinery, and three witnesses who were in the recycling center’s scales area saw Eisner fall backwards with what appeared to be an injury to the right side of his forehead, according to the LCSO report.
13. MARLETTE TOWNSHIP, MI, 11/23/13: Authorities in Michigan's Thumb have released the name of an 11-year-old boy who was accidentally shot to death by a friend during a sleepover. MLive.com says that Marlette schools superintendent Alan Broughton identifies the dead boy as Tyler Dunn, a student at Marlette Elementary School. The Sanilac County sheriff's department said earlier that the victim was 12. According to authorities, Tyler was at a sleepover Nov. 23 in Marlette Township when the shooting occurred. Sheriff Garry Biniecki says a 12-year-old was showing the victim a lever-action older rifle when it fired. The sheriff says no adults were home at the time. An autopsy shows that Tyler died of a shot to the head.
14. TOPEKA, KS, 11/24/13: A Topeka man was taken to a Topeka hospital Sunday evening after he accidentally shot himself in the leg while cleaning a gun, according to the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office. The man, who is the owner of the home where the incident occurred, is in his 70s. He was cleaning a pistol about 5:30 p.m. in the 3700 block of N.E. Seward when it accidentally discharged, said Sgt. Brad Jones. The man was struck by a .410 shotgun blast in his “upper, left thigh,” Jones said.
15. LYNDON, WI, 11/24/13: Sheboygan County Sheriff’s officials on Sunday, November 24th responded to a non-fatal hunting accident in the Town of Lyndon. Officials say a 911 caller reported a 52-year-old Cascade man was accidentally shot in the back of a leg while deer hunting in a stand. The investigation is ongoing, and will be completed by the DNR.
16. PINE VALLEY, CA, 11/24/13: A man who was hunting east of Pine Valley shot himself in the leg, a San Diego County sheriff’s lieutenant said. The man’s are not expected to be life threatening. He was air lifted by Mercy Air shortly after 9 a.m. from near Buckman Springs Road off Interstate 8, according to Lt. Clayton Lisk. According to Lisk, “U.S. Forest Service rangers will investigate.
17. COLUMBUS, OH, 11/24/13: A 5-year-old boy was hospitalized after, police said, he shot himself in the foot. According to Columbus police, at about 8:14 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to a shooting in the area of Eton Grove and Leonard Avenue. When police arrived on scene, they say they found a 5-year-old boy with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the foot.
18. FLOWOOD, MS, 11/24/13: Churchgoers got quite a scare at Pinelake Church in Rankin County Sunday morning. Flowood Police say a man's gun accidentally discharged as he was sitting down. Officers took Joseph Edgar Ray into custody. He was in possession of a 9mm handgun. According to police, Ray's gun was in his front right pocket and went off as he sat down. He's been charged with Discharging a Firearm in the City. Ray will appear in Flowood Municipal Court Jan. 9. MORE: Authorities tell us Ray has an enhanced carry gun permit, which gives him the right to carry a concealed weapon in public. Pinelake has posted signs prohibiting weapons on church property. The signs are not clearly visible so Ray may not have seen them, officials say. There were no injuries. But one woman was hit on the leg by the bullet after it ricocheted off the floor. [Ed. note: What?]
19. KIHEI, HI, 11/24/13: A 62-year-old Maui man died in an apparent hunting accident in which a gun from another member of the group accidentally discharged and struck him in the head, police said. The incident was reported at 11:36 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013 at property owned by Haleakalā Ranch at the end of Līpoa Street in Kīhei. Maui police have since identified the man as Theodore Cabos Jr. of Kula, Maui, saying he was pronounced dead at the scene.
20. CLEVELAND, OH, 11/24/13: A Cleveland man in his early 20s accidentally shot himself in the head, police say, around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. It happened on the 3400 block of W. 41st street. EMS said the man was transported to MetroHealth Medical Center in critical condition. Police are still investigating details surrounding the incident.
21. ORLANDO, FL, 11/24/13: A 16-year-old girl is in the hospital Monday morning fighting for her life following a shooting at a house party. Orange County deputies say the teen was shot at her home on Ravenwood Ave off South Rio Grande. Her family says it was an accident. She was reportedly playing with friends and the gun accidentally fired. The sheriff's office tells us the girl is critically injured.
22. BOZEMAN, MT, 11/24/13: A 25-year-old Bozeman man shot by accident over the weekend is reportedly in fair condition at a Billings hospital. According to the Bozeman Police Department, Benjamin Johnson, 22, said he was woken up by a loud noise and the smoke detectors going off. Johnson told police that after checking his apartment he found his gun, a 44 magnum revolver, on the floor in the bedroom with one round discharged, and a hole in the ceiling. Police say the bullet hit the neighbor in the leg.
23. ANDERSON CO., TN, 11/24/13: An Anderson County man accidentally shot himself in the hand Sunday night when he tried to force the wrong caliber of ammunition into his pistol. Carlie Indmon Phillips, 45, sustained the wound Sunday night at a home on Hillbilly Way and was taken to Methodist Medical Center for treatment of an injury to his left index finger, according to an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department report. Phillips had been called to his sister’s nearby home by his sister, who thought she had seen a prowler on the property. He grabbed his .357 Magnum revolver and went to her house but had no ammunition for the gun. His sister gave him .38 caliber ammo, and when he tried to force the round into the weapon by tapping it with his pocketknife, the round went off, striking him in the hand.
24. HALF MOON BAY, CA, 11/24/13: 4100 block of North Cabrillo Highway, 5:30 a.m. Sunday An 18-year-old man accidentally fired a gun inside a residence, which activated a fire alarm and sprinkler system. The teen eventually confessed to responding deputies and fire personnel.
25. RENO CO., KS, 11/25/13: Police are investigating  a shooting incident  that reportedly occurred in Reno County on Monday. According to police, two 17-year-old’s from Wichita were on their way to Hutchinson. One had a gun in a waist band. He was driving the vehicle and the gun went off striking him in the leg.
26. DEARBORN HEIGHTS, MI, 11/25/13: An 11-year-old boy is in the hospital this morning after being shot in the head. At this time, the shooting is being called an accident. The 11-year-old victim is in serious condition at Children’s Hospital. It happened on Kingsbury Street in Dearborn Heights. The 15-year-old was reportedly playing with the gun, accidentally pulled the trigger and shot the 11-year-old in the head. The boy's father and girlfriend were reportedly not aware the teen had a gun.
27. LAKELAND, FL, 11/25/13: Polk deputies are investigating what appears to be the accidental shooting death of a 2-year-old child in Lakeland. Investigators say on Monday evening, 29-year-old Stephanie Nealy went to her truck to retrieve a pre-paid card, and her 2-year-old son Taj Ayesh followed her outside. Nealy told detectives a loaded gun was in the truck and she moved it aside as she searched for the card.  Nealy told detectives that at one point she was facing away from the truck, when she heard a gunshot and saw her son fall to the ground behind her. Taj was rushed to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, but he did not survive his injuries.
28. WINTER HAVEN, FL, 11/25/13: A Florida woman fatally shot her daughter who was holding a 4-month-old baby in her arms because the woman thought it was her boyfriend at her front door, according to police.  Bing's 25-year-old daughter, Ruby Bing, was found at her doorstep after suffering an apparent gunshot wound to her chest. The mother told police that she feared it was her boyfriend banging on her front door to get in after they got into a violent fight earlier in the day. "The boyfriend, 39 year-old James Lane was at the hospital being treated for injuries to his head after Adele Bing hit him with a gun," according to police. In an alleged bid to protect herself, the 52-year-old armed herself with a gun and a baseball bat. "As she opened the door a shot was fired, hitting her daughter in the upper chest. The 4 month-old was not injured," said police.
29. MOLLIE, NC, 11/25/13: A hunting accident claimed the life of 79-year-old Vernon Bryant Gurganus Monday afternoon near Mollie. Another hunter, also an acquaintance, noticed from a distance that the door of Gurganus’s truck was open and went to investigate. He found Gurganus on the ground with a single shotgun wound to the middle of his chest. Master Officer Keith Rogers of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission said that Gurganus apparently tried to remove a double barrel shotgun from behind the seat of the truck by grabbing the muzzle and pulling it toward him. The gun, loaded with buckshot, accidentally discharged. Gurganus, of Butler Town Road, Clarendon, had called his wife about 12:30 to say he was going hunting, and he was found around 4 p.m., Rogers said. The accident occurred near the 6200 block of Lebanon Church Road. The truck was a considerable distance from the highway.
30. ASHEBORO, NC, 11/26/13: The Randolph County Sheriff's Office is investigating the accidental shooting of a 3-year-old girl in Asheboro. Around 12:45 p.m. today, sheriff's deputies went to a home on Cameron Circle in response to a call of an accidental shooting, according to a report from the office. A woman was in the home with her child and her boyfriend's two children, according to the report. The woman reported that she was cleaning when she heard a gunshot. She found the 3-year-old daughter of her boyfriend shot by another child of the same age, according to the sheriff's office. The sheriff's office did not specify whose child fired the shot. The bullet struck the child in the arm and entered her abdominal area, according to the report. She was transported to an area hospital for treatment. The sheriff's office says a 22-caliber rifle was found unsecured in the room where the children were playing. The gun was in the corner of the room, according to the sheriff's office, but how the child got a hold of the gun is not yet known.
31. MACLENNY, FL, 11/26/13: A 13-year-old boy is critically injured when he's shot in the chest by his older brother. Baker County Sheriff Joey Dobson tells WOKV News the teenager was shot Tuesday night around 8:30pm in Macclenny. His older brother, 18-year-old Joseph Macquarrie, was arrested for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to Dobson, the brother claims the gun accidentally went off.  The police report says at first, the 18-year-old claimed his brother was shot at the fairgrounds. Later he admitted to accidentally shooting him as he was moving his gun.
32. SUMTER CO., SC, 11/26/13:  Investigators with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office expect to file charges in the case of a 14-year-old boy shot in the leg Tuesday. Charges won't be filed against another teen who accidentally fired the weapon while "playing" with it in a home in the 4200 block of Wrangler Trail. But the owner of the handgun could face a charge of unlawful neglect of a child for failing to secure the gun where the children couldn't get access to it. Emergency responders were called to the home about 2:30 p.m. after a 15-year-old boy reportedly shot the younger boy in the thigh. He reportedly got the weapon from a neighboring home and went to show it to a friend when the gun discharged. "This happened at the home next door to where the gun was kept," said Lt. Robert Burnish with the sheriff's office investigations division. "He got the gun and was showing it off, and unfortunately it was loaded and went off." The gun reportedly came from the same address where another child was shot last year. On July 2, 2012, a 4-year-old boy was transported from a home on Wrangler Trail to Palmetto Health Richland after he apparently picked up an unsecured handgun and shot himself in the foot.
33. SIERRA BLANCA, TX, 11/27/13:  A man shot himself in the right hand and a passenger in a leg Wednesday morning when his gun went off near the Sierra Blanca Border Patrol checkpoint, officials said. The 30-year-old man had a gun and wanted to put it on safety before going to the check point at about 9:45 a.m. The man tried to put the safety on about 100 yards west of the checkpoint, but the gun went off and shot him and his passenger, Hudspeth County Sheriff's officials said. The bullet went through the man's right hand and into the left thigh of the 28-year-old woman passenger. Both were taken to University Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, sheriff's officials said.
34. WICHITA, KS, 11/27/13: A four and nine year old were still in their pajamas this morning, hoping what happened last night, was all a nightmare. The two girls were sleeping in their bed, when a stray bullet came through their bedroom wall on South Florence Street. Nobody was injured, but it did cause a scare for the family. "We were sleeping and we heard one sound and my husband went to look out, he looked and there was a shot, and we were scared for my kids," said homeowner Carmen Vargas. Wichita Police are holding a person of interest after the shot was fired from the Oasis Lounge parking lot on West Maple at around 10 p.m.
35. LORAIN, OH, 11/27/13: Police have made an arrest in the Wednesday evening shooting on the city’s south side. Walter Maldonado, 44, is facing a charge of felonious assault in the shooting of 36-year-old Vivien Garcia, Detective Buddy Sivert said. Maldonado told detectives he and Garcia are married. Maldonado and Garcia arrived about 8:45 p.m. at 1531 E. 31st St., to settle an ongoing dispute with a male who resides at the home, Sivert said. It’s believed the shooting was the result of that dispute, he said. “Somehow it got out of hand, which resulted in Vivien Garcia being shot,” Sivert said. Garcia was standing on the front porch of the home at the time of the shooting, but is believed to have been accidentally shot by Maldonado. “We don’t think she was the target,” Sivert said.
36. EL MONTE, CA, 11/28/13: A police officer in El Monte is recovering after shooting himself in the leg Thursday, officials said. The officer responded to a fight near the intersection of Brockway Street and Utah Avenue around 1:15 a.m. When he arrived, the two men who were fighting took off in separate vehicles and led police on a short pursuit. While one of the alleged suspects was being arrested, the officer accidentally shot himself in the leg.
37. MAYODAN, NC, 11/28/13: NC Wildlife says a 14-year-old boy accidentally shot himself Thursday morning while hunting. The investigating officer told WFMY News 2 paramedics airlifted the boy to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, where he is in critical, but stable condition. The boy was hunting on family land just before dawn in the area of Odell and Ayersville roads. "He's a very safe hunter - he just made a bad mistake," said James Brim, the victim's grandfather. The officer said he was in the process of tying rope around the gun before climbing up into a tree stand. The firearm discharged and shot him in the upper leg while he was still standing beside the tree. After inspecting the area, NC Wildlife said the ladder for the tree stand the boy was going to use was not in good condition. They said the boy tried to tie the loaded gun—with the safety off—near the trigger.
38. SNOVER, MI, 11/28/13: A 16-year-old boy was wounded Thursday after shooting himself in the foot while hunting. According to the Sanilac County Sheriff’s Department, the boy was hunting on property in the Snover area. He reportedly tripped and accidentally discharged his firearm, between 5 and 5: 30 p.m., shooting himself in the foot.
39. LAPORTE, IN, 11/28/13: A mother and her teenage daughter outside LaPorte were baking cookies for Thanksgiving when a bullet came flying through their living room window. Except for some jangled nerves, no one was hurt. "It was kind of a shock thing. Everybody is fine," Coby Moody said, the boyfriend of the woman involved. Moody said he was heading home from work when called by his girlfriend, Carrie Patton, about what just occurred. According to the LaPorte County Sheriff's Department, Patton and her 13-year-old daughter, Brooke, were baking sugar cookies when they heard a "pop" outside their home in the 2600 block of North County Road 50 West. They moved a couch away from the wall thinking the noise was from an electrical outlet going bad. That’s when they saw a hole in the double pane window and a piece of a bullet on the floor below the curtains. Authorities said responding officers soon found another bullet fragment lodged in the thick curtains.
40. CHICAGO, IL, 11/28/13: A man accidentally shot in the South Shore neighborhood early Thursday while allegedly struggling with his wife over a gun has been charged with domestic battery. Fredrick Payton, 43, was in an argument with his 57-year-old wife in the 7800 block of South Cregier Avenue about 12:55 a.m. when he allegedly began to hit her with his fists, police said. He then grabbed a gun and threatened to shoot her, police claim. They began to struggle over the gun, and it discharged and hit the man in the ear, police said.
41. BLOOMINGTON, TX, 11/28/13: Janiemarie Perez Clay, 22, was jailed Friday in Victoria, charged with murder in the Thanksgiving Day shooting death of her teenage brother, who was killed as the two evidently struggled over a handgun. Ricardo Rico Deleon, 17, died at the scene of the shooting early Thursday at a home in Bloomington, 10 miles southeast of Victoria.  Sandra Deleon Ramirez says her two children were playing with the gun. She said she told her son to put the weapon away and says she thinks her daughter was trying to take the gun when it accidentally fired.
42. WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, MI, 11/28/13: Authorities are investigating a shooting incident on Thanksgiving Day that police say transpired after a homeowner began passing around a loaded firearm to house guests. Macomb County Sheriff Lt. John Michalke said a 56-year-old White Lake Township woman was handling the gun—being passed from person-to-person inside the home in the 58000 block of Deerfield—and pulled the trigger, causing it to discharge and strike her sister in the arm. The woman who fired the round apparently didn’t realize the gun was loaded, he said. Police say the shooting occurred after the homeowner, a 48-year-old Washington Township man, retrieved the loaded Glock 21 handgun from a nightstand to show to his guests.
43. BOYCEVILLE, WI, 11/28/13: A Menomonie deer hunter is in critical condition after he was shot in the stomach by members of his own hunting party. WEAU-TV reported that 52-year-old Brian Kohnke was participating in a deer drive Thursday morning near Boyceville in western Wisconsin when he was shot. He was flown to a hospital in St. Paul and was in critical condition Friday. A deer drive is a hunting technique in which hunters attempt to flush deer into firing lanes. Bill Yearman of the Department of Natural Resources said about 20 hunters were involved in the deer drive and Kohnke was one of five standers. Yearman said a deer ran by and several shots were fired — one hit Kohnke in the stomach.
44. CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH, 11/29/13: A 23-year-old woman is in critical condition after a friend accidentally shot her at close range with a shotgun he thought was unloaded. Reports say the woman was shot by a 12-guage shotgun after a group of friends went to a South Euclid bar and returned home after midnight on Thursday. A 31-year-old Columbus man who the shotgun belonged to and a 22-year-old Cleveland Heights man who told police he pulled the trigger were both arrested on suspicion of felonious assault. Police said there appears to be no intent to shoot the woman, but they are still investigating. Reports say a group of friends met up Wednesday at a home in the 2300 block of Tullamore Road. The 31-year-old man who had driven to the home from Columbus with a 12-gauge shotgun in his trunk didn't want to take the gun to the bar, so he left it inside the home, reports say. Reports say the Columbus man showed the woman's boyfriend the gun earlier in the day, when it was unloaded. At some point, reports say, the Columbus man loaded the gun. The group returned to the home and at about 12:20 a.m., the 22-year-old man picked up the shotgun in the living room and was looking at it. Reports say he pointed the gun at the woman and fired a shot less than five feet away from the woman. The blast struck her in the stomach and chest, and buckshot struck her in the right bicep area, severely damaging the arm, reports say. Reports say the woman panicked and started running back and forth between rooms until she was forced to lie on the floor.
45. NEW YORK,  NY, 11/29/13: A Manhattan man cleaning a hunting rifle accidently unleashed a shot into the ceiling of an apartment that was packed with family, sending debris tumbling onto his four-year old grandson, sources said. The unidentified 50-year-old man was preparing to go hunting this weekend, was cleaning his gun just before 10:40 a.m. at a fifth-floor apartment in the Vladeck II Houses at 16 Jackson St., near Madison Street, according to the sources. He didn't realize the gun was loaded, sources said. When the gun discharged, a round smashed into the concrete ceiling, sending a piece of debris falling onto a 4-year-old boy, who began to bleed, sources said. The child was taken to New York Downtown Hospital with minor injuries. [The man's daughter] said her father, who goes deer hunting every weekend, is usually cautious when he handles his hunting rifles. "He always puts safeties on them," she said. "He doesn't leave his guns out."
46. WINCHESTER, KY, 11/29/13: A 17-year-old Winchester boy is currently being treated at the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital after a hunting accident Friday morning. The juvenile, whose name has not been released, was duck hunting with friends at about 9:30 a.m. when he was shot in the side, according to Clark County Sheriff Berl Perdue. The juvenile was trying to walk through rutted, muddy terrain by a pond on Rennick Station Road, and Perdue said he may have used his rifle to steady himself. The rifle safety was not on, and Perdue said the barrel was pointed toward the juvenile when it was accidentally fired. “He probably had it by the barrel and it went off on him,” Perdue said. Officers believe the boy had limited experience with firearms, Perdue said.
47. MERIDIAN, MS, 11/29/13: A local teenager is dead following an apparent accidental shooting in Meridian on Friday afternoon. MPD was called to a home on 30th Avenue about 2:00. Authorities say a 17-year-old was shot in the head accidentally. He was rushed to the hospital, but Lauderdale County Coroner Clayton Cobler says he died a short time later.
48. SAN ANTONIO, TX, 11/29/13: A woman was shot near her hip yesterday while “looking at guns” with family members. She was hit when a gun was accidentally fired, according to a statement by Bexar County sheriff's spokesman Paul Berry. The victim was airlifted to a hospital. Barry said he does not know what kind of condition she was in or which hospital she was taken to. He also did not know if any charges were filed, but said, “based on activity, I doubt charges were filed yesterday.”
49. KINGSPORT, TN, 11/29/13: A Kingsport man is in critical condition after accidentally shooting himself on Friday afternoon, when a loaded shotgun discharged as he retrieved a Christmas tree stand from his vehicle. The incident occurred at approximately 1:30 p.m. at Ingles, 4317 Fort Henry Drive. Seasonal Christmas tree sales are currently operating in the parking lot. Kingsport Police Department Public Information Officer Tom Patton says Michel H. Bledsoe, 59, had purchased a tree. He then went to his vehicle to retrieve a tree stand, according to Patton, and apparently shifted a loaded 12-gauge shotgun that was in the backseat.
50. KINGSTON, TN, 11/29/13: Authorities are ruling a fatal shooting late Friday night as accidental, according to a Roane County Sheriff’s Department incident report. William H. York, 42, College Grove Road, Rockwood, died after he shot himself in the right temple. The report said a .357-caliber Colt handgun was recovered at the scene. Chief Deputy Tim Phillips said Tuesday it’s uncertain how the mishap occurred. He said York had been watching a western movie and his wife and 10-year-old daughter were dozing in the same room when the “cowboy-style” single-action pistol discharged. Deputies responded just before 11 p.m. Friday, and York was pronounced dead at the scene.
51. DANIELSON, CT, 11/29/13: A Scotland man has been arrested in an incident Friday night in which a woman accidently shot herself in her hand, police said. Norman Langevin, 47, got in a physical fight with the woman, police said, while the woman was retrieving a cellphone. The woman took a small-caliber handgun belonging to Langevin, state police said. She told police that while she was trying to make the gun safe, it fired into her.
52. LAKEWOOD, NJ, 11/29/13: A bullet hit woman in the back while she was sitting at her kitchen table at the High Point Condominums last week, police said Tuesday. The woman, who wasn’t identified, was hit in the back at 8 p.m. Nov. 29 while she sat inside her condominium complex on Prospect Street, according to a statement by Detective Sgt. Greg Staffordsmith, a spokesman for the township police department. Staffordsmith said the bullet went through a wall, then hit the woman in the back. “Officers who responded learned that the the resident was struck in the back as she sat at her kitchen table. Further investigation revealed that the gunman had fired a bullet through an exterior and interior wall,” Staffordsmith said. He said the shot was fired from outside the building.

Originally posted to David Waldman on Wed Dec 04, 2013 at 11:23 AM PST.