Gun Fail

Wed Jan 22, 2014 at 07:13 PM PST

Shot in the face by my own pants. Respect the culture! GunFAIL LIII

by David Waldman

attribution: The TSA Blog

Nine of 42 guns discovered by TSA agents at airports around the country last week.

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The weather hasn't slowed down the GunFAIL, as near as I can tell. Though it has slowed down my ability to prepare the tallies in a timely fashion. Other than that, a thoroughly routine week, with a slightly elevated kid victim count. Sixteen kids were accidentally shot last week, ages 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 15, 15, 15, 17 and 17. We also saw four gun cleaning accidents (including one two-fer), three home invasion shootings, three hunting accidents, one accident involving someone who unwisely brought their gun to work and couldn't keep his hands off of it, one Christmas gift gun accident, one accidental discharge by a public transit rider, and one guy whose pants shot him in the face. 

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Fifteen people shot themselves accidentally this past week. That's not actually a number I usually bother to tally, but I actually think it's worth starting to keep track of. It's probably about average. We'll see. One figure that jumped out at me as unusual this time, though, was that four gun-owning fathers accidentally shot their children last week. Plus one on Friday of the week previous. Watch out for that, dads. Protect your family. That was the original idea, remember?
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Stories of special note this time around include the late-breaking news out of Ohio that a couple of good guys with guns who were assigned to guard the kids at Brimfield Township's Field High School apparently decided that first period was a fine time to start cleaning their weapons, right there in the school building. Now, you and I both know that's a poor idea generally, not least from a readiness standpoint, and nevermind the still-surprising number of gun cleaning accidents we have to read about each week. Well, the good news is, the brass in Brimfield agree with you, and have suspended the officers involved for three whole days, before putting them right back to work at Field High. Do read the entry. It's the first one on the list. You may wonder, as I did, how anyone's still alive in Ohio.
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The real tragedies of the week are the ones from Cincinnati and Wichita. In Cincy, a gun-owning dad, ejected from his house after a drunken argument with his wife, decided to make his point upon exiting by firing his gun in the air for emphasis, but tragically shot and killed his own 11-year-old daughter in the process, as she hid in an upstairs closet to escape the fighting. And in Wichita, well, you just have to wonder why a grown man would think it was a good idea to play "quick draw" with a 10-year-old, where the 10-year-old has his fingers and the adult has a loaded pistol. And in the end, it wasn't a good idea at all, and the boy ended up shot in the face, and the shooter was apparently so mortified by the incident that he killed himself the next day. And no, not by poison.
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If there's a lighter side to this, it's found in our title story, from Stoney Creek, TN. And maybe in one of the nobody-got-shot-so-we-can-appreciate-the-irony story from Vancouver, WA, where a young man went running through the streets, squeezing off rounds from his AK-47 into the sky, apparently to let off some the pressure he was feeling due to his new job ... as a security guard.
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Our weekly list begins below ....

1. BRIMFIELD, OH, 12/17/13: Two Brimfield Township police officers have been disciplined after one of their guns accidently fired while they cleaned their weapons at Field High School. No students were harmed during the incident last month. The officers involved are school resource officers and they remain assigned to the high school. Police Chief David Oliver said Friday that both officers used poor judgment by choosing to clean their pistols during school hours. He said they used an isolated, cinder-blocked room while students were in class. He said the department at the time didn’t have a policy covering the cleaning of weapons at the school by resource officers because he never envisioned such a scenario unfolding. A written policy is now in place. “We didn’t have it in writing because, to be 100 percent honest, it never crossed my mind that someone would clean their weapon at a school. That just doesn’t happen,” Oliver said. “That, to me, is just common sense.” Field Schools Superintendant David Heflinger could not be reached for comment Friday. Officer Brett Dinkelman, whose .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol discharged, was suspended three days without pay. Fellow officer Kelly Ryba was given a written reprimand, Oliver said. On Friday, Oliver told the department’s 134,000-plus Facebook followers that no one was hurt and that no students were near the small, cinder-block walled room that the officers used at the high school to clean their weapons during the first period of classes on Dec. 17. “This incident did NOT OCCUR NEAR ANY classrooms, students or civilians, regardless of what the anonymous coward is telling media outlets. The round entered the cinder block wall and did not exit the other side,” Oliver wrote on Facebook. He said the officers had been at a shooting range the previous evening and had “dirty weapons.” The gun that fired apparently malfunctioned, he said. It is being tested.
2. BURIEN, WA, 1/01/14: According to the Burien Police, the first day of the year included two accidental shootings in Burien that included drinking. The first incident took place between 1 am and 2 am on January 1st. Police report that a number of underage residents were drinking at a party near the intersection of South 128th Street and 12th Avenue South when a handgun carried by one youth walking in the home’s driveway, accidentally went off, leaving a wound in the foot of another underage drinker. The victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Police have not released information about the legality of the weapon or the identity of the underage drinkers. [Ed. note: the second was actually included in GunFAIL LI.]
3. BROWARD CO., FL, 1/06/14: A New York mom vacationing in South Florida was expecting a healthy dose of sun, surf and fun. Imagine her surprise when her daughter unzipped a bag in their rental Nissan Rogue and found a rifle — a big rifle. Looking just like the ones real soldiers use. Horrified, she immediately called E-Z Rent-A-Car and then drove to the nearest police station. And there would be one more surprise: The AR-15 semiautomatic had been left behind by model Lauren Tannehill, the wife of Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill. “We got out of the car, we were kind of freaked out,” Judith Fleissig recalls of the moment this month when she and her daughter found the weapon. “I didn’t want to touch it.” Fleissig on Jan. 6 turned over the gun to the closest police station, following the rental company’s recommendation, officials said. Authorities conducted a review and determined it was legally owned and accidentally left behind. “Though dangerous if it would have landed in the wrong hands, it’s not criminal,” Broward sheriff's spokeswoman Keyla Concepción said. “They simply forgot it.”
4. CHILTON CO., AL, 1/11/14: A Chilton County woman was transported this morning by Lifesaver to UAB hospital. The Chilton County sheriff's office says she was accidentally shot by her husband. According to a sheriff's spokesman, the woman in her mid 50's was shot while her husband was unloading a gun. The incident took place in the 5000 block of County Road 51. The sheriff's department says no charges have been filed.
5. GRESHAM, OR, 1/11/14: An 8-year-old boy was shot in the abdomen at his home in Gresham Saturday afternoon in what investigators said appears to be an accidental shooting. Police were called to the home in the 17900 block of SE Marie Street around 2:20 p.m. after the shooting. The boy was rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery and is said to be stable. UPDATE: Dad did it. Putting a shotgun into a safe, he says.
6. RENO CO., KS, 1/11/14: A man is in serious condition at a Wichita hospital after accidentally shooting himself Saturday morning in rural Reno County. James D. Meyer, 52, was setting up to do some reloading on his .40 caliber handgun shortly before 9 a.m. in the 11000 block of Paney Circle Drive. He attempted to remove a magazine from the gun when it discharged, hitting his upper left leg. His brother, who was in the same room, called 911 and began treating Meyer until EMS arrived, according to the Reno County Sheriff’s Office. Meyer was taken to Via Christi St. Francis in serious condition. The shooting is being investigated as accidental.
7. WICHITA, KS, 1/11/14:  Police say a Wichita man who accidentally shot a child in the face over the weekend was playing a game. The incident happened just after midnight Sunday morning at a home in the 5800 block of East Kincaid. That's near Mt. Vernon and Woodlawn in southeast Wichita. Police say a 70-year-old man was at the home with a 14-year-old boy and 10-year-old boy. They say the man then began playing "quick draw" with the boys, using his .22 caliber handgun, and accidentally fired a shot. Officers were called after the 10-year-old showed up at an area hospital with a gunshot wound to the face. The child was grazed by a bullet and has since been treated and released. Officers soon after arrested 70-year-old Robert M. Dugan. He was booked for aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated child endangerment. UPDATE: Police say the man who accidentally shot a child during a game of "quick draw" over the weekend has committed suicide. Both incidents happened in the 5800 block of East Kincaid, near Mt. Vernon and Woodlawn in southeast Wichita.
8. CALEDONIA, WI, 1/11/14: A man shot himself in the hand Saturday morning at The Shooters’ Sports Center Inc., a gun store and shooting range at 4900 6 Mile Road, according to Officer Matt Vannucci of the Caledonia Police Department. Police were called to Shooters’ at 11:30 a.m. for a man accidentally shot in the hand with a .45-caliber handgun, Vannucci said. “He explained he had a malfunction with the firearm, was trying to fix it and in the process of fixing it shot himself in the hand,” he said. The 43-year-old man, of the Racine area, was taken to Wheaton Franciscan-All Saints hospital, 3801 Spring St., with non-life-threatening injuries. No one else was injured in the incident, Vannucci said. He declined to release the man’s name.
9. COLLEGEDALE, TN, 1/11/14: Collegedale police received the call from this trailer park on Mendoza Place. A woman with non-life threatening injuries after a stray bullet entered her home. "A female victim that had a single gunshot wound to the leg, non-life threatening injuries she was conscious talking to us, she was actually standing up when we got on scene, she was transported by Hamilton County Emergency Medical services to the hospital," said Collegedale PIO David Myrick. Investigators say signs point to an accidental shooting. "It certainly wasn't someone coming into the trailer and purposely shooting her, but like I said we do know it came from outside into the trailer," said Myrick. "If someone was out shooting, out hunting in the Collegedale area or taking target practice we would encourage them to give us a call and let us talk to them, you know because it may be a situation where they were nowhere in this area or this vicinity but we need to know if someone was in this area and shooting."
10. GREENE CO., AR, 1/11/14: The accidental shooting death of a three-year-old boy continues to be investigated. Greene County Sheriff Dan Langston said Logan Carter was shot in the head Saturday just before noon inside a home on County Road 336. He was later pronounced dead at a Paragould hospital. Langston said Michael Carter, father of Logan, accidentally shot the boy with a .45 caliber gun purchased online about a month ago. The boy's mother and brother were in the home when it happened. The case has been turned over to Greene County Deputy Prosecutor Kimberly Dale's Office to determine if charges will be filed. How the gun went off is still under investigation.
11. STATEN ISLAND, NY, 1/11/14: A Great Kills man accidentally fired a bullet into a neighbor's house when he lifted a gun he was cleaning by the trigger, police allege. John Croce, 54, of the 100 block of Dewey Avenue, had no businesses possessing a handgun in New York City to begin with, on account of a 2009 drug possession conviction, police allege. Nevertheless, he brought a .40 caliber Taurus pistol back to Staten Island from a house he shared in Pennsylvania, a law enforcement source said. He told police had planned to return to Pennsylvania to go target shooting, the source said. And when he decided to clean it sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning, he didn't play it safe enough, court papers allege. He took out the clip, police allege, but forgot to check the chamber. A neighbor living across the street "heard a loud thud and observed both a bullet-sized impression on a painting frame and a bullet-sized hole through his wall," court papers allege. Police found a corresponding hole in Croce's house, court papers allege. Croce told police, "This gun has been in my house for two weeks. I took the gun out of my dresser, from the drawer. I was gonna clean the gun. I took it out, I was standing up I took the clip out, and as I picked it up by the trigger it went off. A round went off through the wall," according to court papers. Croce is charged with third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition and fourth-degree criminal mischief, according to information from District Attorney Daniel Donovan.
12. CINCINNATI, OH, 1/12/14: The father police say shot and killed his 11-year-old daughter early Sunday morning was arrested shortly before 10 a.m. Sunday without incident. The homicide occurred during a domestic dispute at 800 Delhi Ave. Deandre Kelley 34, arrived home drunk and his girlfriend, the mother of Achaunteiara "Shanti" Lanza, forced him from their house. It was while leaving that Kelley fired several shots into the air shortly before 3 a.m., according to Lanza's grandmother. One of those stray bullets struck the 11 year old in the chest as she hid in her mother's second floor bedroom, the grandmother said.
13. COLUMBUS, OH, 1/12/14: A teenager was hospitalized after police say he was accidentally shot by another teen in west Columbus. Police responded to a report of a shooting at a home in the 1100 block of Smith Road around Noon Sunday. Officers found a 15-year-old boy shot in the chest.  He was transported to Grant Medical Center with non-life threatening wounds. Police said it appears two teenagers were playing with a gun when it discharged, striking the victim. Officer continue to investigate.
14. CHATTANOOGA, TN, 1/12/14: Chattanooga Police are continuing their investigation after a 17-year-old was shot in the head at a home on 13th Avenue Sunday afternoon. The incident report reveals detectives were initially told an unidentified suspect pulled up in a vehicle, got out of the passenger seat and started firing shots towards the victim and his two friends as they headed back from the store on Rossville Boulevard. After doing a little digging, detectives found holes in that story. They believe the first story the victim's friend told the arriving officer. The juvenile said, they were playing with a 22 caliber pistol.  Detectives believe one of the teenage boys accidentally shot the 17-year-old in the back of the head. No criminal charges have been filled at this time. The victim is being treated at TC Thompson Children's Hospital.  He is expected to fully recover.
15. TOMAH, WI, 1/12/14: Monroe County Communications Center received a 911 call from a male subject reporting that he had been shot and the call disconnected. A second 911 call was received and no caller was on the line. Both of these calls were determined to have been made in 400 block of N. Glendale Ave. While officers were arriving in the 400 block of N. Glendale Ave. Lucas Stewart arrived at Tomah Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound. Lucas Stewart was stabilized and transferred by medical helicopter to a La Crosse hospital. Investigating officers located the apartment where the shooting occurred and conducted numerous interviews, which led to the recovery of a firearm and other evidence. Initial investigation indicates that Lucas Stewart was handling a firearm
    when it unintentionally discharged and the bullet struck him. There is no danger to the community at this time. Lucas Stewart is prohibited from possessing firearms and will be referred to the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office for a charge of Possession of Firearm by Felon.
16. KULA, HI, 1/12/14: A 12-year-old boy from Kula was treated and released from the hospital after accidentally shooting himself in the leg with a rifle, police said. The incident was reported at 10:25 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014. According to police reports, the boy sustained a non-life threatening gunshot wound to the lower leg during the incident. Police describe the weapon as a .22 caliber rifle, but did not say who owned the gun or who the registered owner was. The boy was treated and released from Maui Memorial Medical Center, police said. The incident was classified as a miscellaneous accident.
17. SOUTH BEND, IN, 1/12/14: A South Bend man is recovering after he accidentally shot himself in the stomach. Police say it happened around 2 p.m. Sunday. “I saw the fire truck out there and I did not really know what was going on,” said neighbor Daniel Almageur. Those fire trucks on the 600 block of East Broadway Street were for a man who accidentally shot himself. Police say he dropped his firearm and a bullet went right into his stomach. He was rushed to Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. “I did notice that he was sitting up in his gurney when they were loading him up so he seemed like he was doing fairly well,” said Daniel Almageur. Almageur says he was shocked by the firearm incident. “I was surprised because he seems like an older gentlemen that he would know to make sure his weapons are unloaded,” said Almageur.
18. TALLAPOOSA CO., AL, 1/12/14: Authorities say hunting accidents claimed the lives of two men in Alabama over the weekend. Investigators say a man hunting in the Pineywood area of Tallapoosa County was taken to the Russell Medical Center after he sustained a gunshot wound Sunday morning. Alexander City police Capt. Mario Hodge told AL.com the man has been identified as 50-year-old James Raymond Landers. Hodge says Landers wasn't wearing orange reflective clothing when another hunter accidentally shot him.
19. BLOUNT CO., AL, exact date unknown: A second fatality was reported in the Hopewell area of Blount County. Coroner's officials say 37-year-old Adam Scott Jordan was shot by another member of the three-person group he was hunting with. Sheriff Loyd Arrington says that shooting also appears to be accidental.
20. STONEY CREEK, TN, 1/12/14: A man accidentally shot himself in the chin Sunday evening, according to the Carter County Sheriff’s Department. Deputy David Caldwell reported he was dispatched the residence of William Rood on the Stoney Creek Highway at 6:40 p.m. When he arrived, he found Rood bleeding from his mouth and nose. Caldwell said Rood told him he had a .25 caliber Baretta [sic] pistol in the right front pocket of his pants. He took the pants off and placed them on his dresser, at which time the Baretta discharged, striking Rood in the chin. It was believed the bullet was still in Rood’s neck.
21. ROGERSVILLE, TN, 1/12/14: The Hawkins County Sheriff's Office responded to another shooting incident Sunday, with this one also apparently accidental and self-inflicted. HCSO Cpl. Brian Boggs reported he responded to the Hawkins County Emergency Room Sunday evening in reference to “an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound.” “Upon arrival, I spoke with  Barry Foster. He stated that he was working on a .22-caliber rifle that he didn’t think was operative,” Boggs’ report states, adding that the weapon was a Marlin model 60 .22-caliber semi-automatic. “He stated that he was attempting to open the bolt on the rifle and he stated that the rifle accidentally went off, hitting him in the foot,” the report adds. Foster, 32, then reportedly drove himself from his Webb Road residence to the hospital for treatment of the wound. “Everything at the time of report indicated that the gunshot wound was accidentally self-inflicted,” Boggs noted.
22. ORANGEBURG CO., SC, 1/12/14: A nightclub security guard was treated early Sunday for an accidental gunshot wound to the leg, according to an OCSO incident report. Deputies were sent to the Regional Medical Center about 4:30 a.m. to investigate the shooting of a security guard at a Julian Street club called the Palace. The 27-year-old guard said he had accidentally bumped against a counter, knocking over a pistol that was lying on the counter. He said when the pistol hit the floor, it went off, striking him in the leg. None of the security guards knew how the gun got into the club or who it belonged to, according to the report.
23. WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, OH, 1/13/14: A Subaru of Dayton employee was taken to a hospital Monday after he accidentally shot himself while showing off his gun. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said the 58-year-old man was handling the gun in his office when it discharged. A bullet struck him in the hand and passed through a wall. Subaru of Dayton owners Martin Automotive Group issued a statement Monday afternoon saying no customers were present during the incident, which took place in an enclosed office. Deputies said the employee, who has a concealed carry permit, was driven to Southview Hospital with injuries not considered life threatening. The dealership, located off Ohio 725 in Washington Twp., has a strict firearms policy prohibiting any employees or customers from bringing firearms on the premises, according to the release issued by the dealership. "There was absolutely no criminal intent in the action," the company said. "We will be performing our own internal investigation while fully co-operating with local authorities. Corrective action will be taken in order to make sure that an incident like this never happens again."
24. TUSCALOOSA, AL, 1/13/14: A man was shot in the back during what witnesses told police was an accidental shooting. The victim, 31, is expected to survive, said Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit commander Sgt. Dale Phillips. Tuscaloosa Police responded to a shots fired call  in the 600 block of 19th Street at 10:20 p.m. Monday. After speaking with witnesses, they determined that the shooting was accidental, Phillips said. The victim was in stable condition at DCH Regional Medical Center Tuesday.
25. PENN TOWNSHIP, PA, 1/14/14: One local teen is at a magistrate’s office and the other in the hospital after a shooting. Police say the two were hanging out when the gun went off. Now one of the boys is charged with wounding his friend. According to the criminal complaint, the victim says the two were goofing around with a shotgun, unaware that there was a round in the chamber – and that’s when he was shot in the chest and arm. Colton Cline, 19, was arraigned for shooting Tyler Fetter. Police say the shooting happened in Cline’s bedroom. “It has been determined that the two young men were engaged in conversation, they were in the bedroom and at some point in time during that conversation the shotgun came out and one round was delivered to the victim,” said Penn Township Police Chief John Otto. Fetter was taken to Forbes Regional Hosptial where he is listed in stable condition. Cline was taken to the Penn Township Police Department for questioning. “It doesn’t appear the intent behind that round was homicide,” Otto said, “we believe it was a reckless act. Facts surrounding our investigation and facts surrounding this have led us to that conclusion.” Neighbors say the two were friends and they believe Cline was showing Fetter the shotgun he got for Christmas when it discharged.
26. FORDSVILLE, KY, 1/14/14: Ohio County Emergency Services received a call regarding an accidental shooting at the Wilson residence on Keown Road in the Fordsville community. KSP Trooper Jeremy Baker was notified at 3:00 am to respond to the complaint. Upon arrival, Trooper Baker found Arthur Wayne Wilson with a single gunshot wound to the left forearm. Wilson stated he heard a noise in the chicken coop and thought it was a coyote attacking his poultry. In an effort to protect the chickens, Wilson rushed outside and accidentally discharged his pistol into his left forearm. Wilson was airlifted to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville with a non life threatening injury. No one else was injured and the investigation is continuing.
27. BEACH PARK, IL, 1/14/14: A teen showing off a gun at an underage drinking party Tuesday in Beach Park accidentally shot another partygoer, according to the Lake County sheriff's office. Deputies responded to the shooting just before midnight at a home on the 38000 block of North Pine Avenue. Police say Charles W. Walkanoff, 19, who lives at the residence, was showing off the Billerica 9 mm handgun when it went off, wounding a Waukegan girl in the abdomen. The girl was taken to Vista Medical Center East, where she underwent surgery and was in stable condition, Lake County Sgt. Sara Balmes said. Walkanoff was charged with aggravated battery of a firearm, reckless discharge of a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, no FOID card and reckless conduct.
28. LYNDHURST, NJ, 1/15/14: A 27-year-old borough man accidentally shot himself through his arm while cleaning a handgun he legally owns around midnight Wednesday, according to police. The resident took the magazine out of his .40 caliber Glock but it went off, sending a bullet in the chamber through his right bicep, into the couch he was sitting on, before shattering a display case and becoming lodged in his basement wall, Police Chief James O'Connor said. The man, who was conscious when medics arrived, was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center. His condition was not immediately available.
29. ORLANDO, FL, 1/15/14: Two Orlando men were wounded Wednesday night when they got together to clean their handguns and one accidentally pulled the trigger. The .38-caliber bullet tore through Cody Martin's left hand and struck Jeffry Hertz Jr., shattering his right upper arm, according to an Orlando police report. "It was just a horrible accident," Hertz told police. The co-workers met at Park Central Apartments about 6 p.m. to share Hertz's gun-cleaning kit. Martin, 26, brought his .38-caliber Taurus revolver and finished first while Hertz, 25, sat on the couch cleaning his 9 mm. Ruger pistol. "Morgan began to load his five-cylinder revolver with five rounds…(and) advised he accidentally discharged his firearm," the report stated. "Morgan stated Hertz Jr. immediately stood up, grabbing his right arm, and yelled, 'We need to go to the hospital.'" Upon leaving the apartment complex off John Young Parkway south of 33rd Street, the bleeding pair stopped to ask a security guard at the front gate for directions to the nearest hospital. The security guard called police and both victims were taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center. "Hertz Jr. stated at no point was there any disagreement or argument during the activity," the report stated. "Hertz Jr. advised he is not willing to prosecute."
30. FLATHEAD CO., MT, 1/15/14: An unlucky (or is that lucky?) Echo Retreat Drive man was transported to the hospital after he picked up a revolver and accidentally fired it, with the bullet grazing his head.
31. UNITY TOWNSHIP, OH, 1/15/14: An accidental shooting was reported at 7:10 a.m. Wednesday. While at Salem Community Hospital, Harold Knight told deputies he was checking his trap lines in Unity Township at about 5:40 a.m. and found a opossum in one of his traps. He tried to shoot it, but the gun failed to discharge, so he went to rack the .22 caliber semi automatic handgun and it discharged, going through his left palm.
32. OMAHA, NE, 1/15/14: A stray bullet that killed a 5-year-old girl Wednesday as she ate breakfast in her Omaha home may have come from as far as a block away, authorities said as they pleaded for suspects to step forward. Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said at a press conference Wednesday night that Payton Benson did not appear to be the intended target of the bullet, which authorities believe came from a morning shooting at least a block away. It involved several individuals and included the use of multiple weapons. Payton was with her mother when the bullet ripped through her north Omaha home. She was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
33. VANCOUVER, WA, 1/15/14: He was just blowing off some steam. Vancouver police used to a Taser to detain an allegedly stressed-out teen after he fired an AK-47 into the air on Wednesday, the Columbian reported. Devin Potts Tolles, 19, had been reportedly chasing a dog through the Crater Park neighborhood and squeezing off rounds at the sky when police arrived around 1:45 p.m. Police told the suspect to drop his semi-automatic rifle, which he did. But Potts Tolles refused to get down on the ground himself. An officer responded with a Taser. Police hauled Potts Tolles off in handcuffs and later booked him on suspicion of reckless endangerment, along with unlawfully discharging and displaying a weapon. The suspect's girlfriend told the Columbian that he had been stressed out about his new job as a security guard.
34. DETROIT, MI, 1/16/14: A 4-year-old girl fatally shot her 4-year-old cousin with a long gun Thursday while the two watched television in the bedroom of a west-side home, police said. The incident, in which the female child shot her male cousin, happened at 4:50 p.m. in a home in the 7100 block of Tuxedo Street, Detroit Police Sgt. Michael Woody said. “Preliminary reports indicate we had two 4-year-old cousins watching television in the bedroom,” Woody said. “One of the 4-year-olds found a long gun, pulled it out, and shot her cousin.” The boy was taken to Henry Ford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. “The parents weren’t home,” Woody said. “I believe there was one adult in the house.” Woody said it’s too early to tell whether police will seek charges against any adults for allowing the kids access to the firearm. “It’s still very early in the investigation,” Woody said. “Once we’re finished with our investigation, it’ll be conveyed to prosecutors for possible charges.”
35. AVONDALE, AZ, 1/16/14: An Avondale father cleaning a firearm inadvertently shot his child in the leg Thursday afternoon, authorities said. The child, whose age or gender was not immediately available, was transported to a nearby hospital with a non-life threatening injury after a firearm the child’s father was cleaning in the garage suddenly discharged at about 2:50 p.m., according to police. Sgt. Brandon Busse, an Avondale Police Department spokesman, said the father told police that he was trying to free a jammed round when the weapon discharged. The bullet traveled through some walls before striking the child, Busse said. Busse said police are at the home in the 13100 block of West Indianola Avenue and are investigating the incident. UPDATE: Dustin Herrington explained off camera today that a trigger was never pulled Thursday afternoon. "I had to completely disassemble the rifle that had a round stuck in it and I was clearing it". Herrington said he was in the garage trying to clear a bullet that was stuck in the chamber of a Remington 700 bolt action rifle. He says he took the gun apart but the bullet suddenly exploded sending shrapnel through the wall hitting his 11 year-old daughter. "It's a flesh wound, she got grazed by some shrapnel on her left knee" said Herrington. Dustin was also left with shrapnel in his arm and he can't hear out of his left ear since the accident. The former Marine has extensive weapons training he was also a safety officer at a gun range for 15 years. "I'm a huge firearm proponent so that it happened to me is almost doubley painful that I injured my own daughter doing something that I would have told someone else they probably shouldn't have been doing" said Herrington.
36. ORMOND BEACH, FL, 1/16/14: A 22-year-old man accidentally shot himself in the face early Thursday, a police spokesman said. The shooting occurred at 729 Garden Lane at 2:09 a.m., said Officer Keith Feder, spokesman for the Ormond Beach Police Department. The victim, Tyler Dunagan, 22, told police he was alone, attempting to fix a defect on his hunting rifle, when it accidently discharged into his face. He said he wasn’t aware the rifle was loaded. Dunagan was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach and later listed in stable condition, Feder said.
37. ST. PETERSBURG, FL, 1/16/14: A 15-year-old high school student accidentally shot another student in the foot at a St. Petersburg park, the St. Petersburg Police Department said. Two students were at Lake Vista Park on Thursday afternoon. A 15-year-old boy who attends nearby Lakewood High School was showing off a handgun to a 16-year-old boy. As the 15-year-old showed off the gun, it went off and a bullet struck the 16-year-old in the foot, the police department said. The victim was treated at a local hospital and interviewed by detectives. The shooter fled the scene after the shooting. He later told investigators that he gave the handgun to another teenager, police said. The gun hasn’t been located. Police think it may have stolen during a burglary.
38. MAYES CO., OK, 1/16/14: Mayes County officials are looking for a Hispanic male and White female accused of carjacking. According to the Mayes County Sheriff Department the two suspects were riding in a car towards the Sportsman Acres or Cherokee Heights area. Reports say an argument started and a gun was being waved in the air. Officials say the gun was accidentally fired, hitting one of the people inside the car. The male and female getting a ride are said to have then stolen the vehicle and left. The vehicle is a black older model Eddie Bauer Ford Expedition. Reports say all the people in the car knew each other.
39. MONTGOMERY, AL, 1/16/14: Montgomery police say a 7-year-old boy has been wounded by a stray bullet and is hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. Department spokeswoman Martha Earnhardt told AL.com that the boy was wounded Thursday afternoon near Crossway Street and Hilldale Drive. Details on the boy's injuries and information on what led to the shooting weren't immediately available. No arrests have been made.
40. MEMPHIS, TN, 1/17/14: A 15-year-old accidentally shot himself in the head on the way to school Friday morning, police said. The incident happened just after 6:45 a.m. in the 2500 block of Jenwood, in the Raleigh area. The boy was in the car with his mother when the gun apparently went off, police said. The boy wasn’t seriously injured, and is in noncritical condition, police said.
41. PORTLAND, OR, 1/17/14: A gun went off on a TriMet bus Friday morning in Oak Grove, officials confirmed to KGW. No one was hit or injured when the gun went off on the Line 33 bus around 11:30 a.m. on Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard and SE Roethe Road, said Roberta Altstadt with TriMet. The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said the incident was accidental, and deputies have a suspect in custody. The bus was moved from the scene.
42. CHICAGO, IL, 1/17/14: A teenage boy is charged with accidentally shooting his girlfriend while showing her a gun in the Far South Side Roseland neighborhood Friday afternoon. The 15-year-old girl was at her boyfriend’s home in the 10000 block of South Perry Avenue about 3:30 p.m. when her boyfriend, also 15, showed her a gun and the gun accidentally discharged, hitting her in the chin, police said. She was taken in “stable” condition to Comer Children’s Hospital, police said. The boy was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon with a defaced serial number before being transferred to juvenile court for processing, police said. No one is in custody as Area South detectives investigate.
43. FRESNO, CA, 1/17/14: An 8-year-old boy is rushed to the hospital after, police say, his own dad accidentally shot him. The shotgun blast was heard just after 2:00 Friday afternoon inside a home along Turner Avenue, near Cedar and Belmont, in southeast Fresno. Paramedics quickly loaded the 8-year-old boy and rushed him to the hospital. Police say the boy's dad was doing some work on the gun and thought he had emptied the chamber when it went off. Police say luckily only a few pellets from the blast hit the boy. Officers say the man's wife and other kids were inside the home at the time, but were not hit. Police say these types of accidents happen far too often.
44. PHILADELPHIA, PA, 1/17/14: Philadelphia police say a boy charged with aggravated assault has surrendered in connection with a shooting that wounded two students inside a high school gymnasium. Police say another boy already in custody in Friday's shooting at the Delaware Valley Charter High School in north Philadelphia has not been charged yet. Police aren't identifying either boy because of their age. They say they contacted the second suspect's parents before the 17-year-old turned himself in Saturday afternoon. Police say two students were wounded in what may have been an accidental shooting. Authorities say a girl was treated and released after the bullet struck her a bicep. The same bullet then hit a 17-year-old male student who remained hospitalized in stable condition.
45. COLORADO CITY, AZ, 1/17/14: Mohave County Sheriff’s deputies responded to an accidental shooting Friday evening. At about 6:07 p.m., deputies responded to the desert area south of Uzona Avenue and west of Colorado City. Upon arrival, found a 14-year-old boy lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to his right thigh. Colorado City Fire Department responded and treated the victim. The victim was flown to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, Utah, where he underwent surgery. According to reports, the boys and two friends were hiking in the area and looking for arrowheads when the accident happened. Investigations determined that the victim accidentally shot himself with a .22-caliber handgun.
46. HOUSTON, TX, 1/17/14: An accidental bullet discharge Friday morning in the evidence room in the basement at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center has injured a county deputy. The incident occurred about 11:20 a.m. at 1201 Franklin. Authorities said a deputy was handling an evidence bag when she dropped it on the floor. A bullet in the bag was somehow discharged, injuring the deputy. Her injury is not serious, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

Originally posted to David Waldman on Wed Jan 22, 2014 at 07:13 PM PST.