Acerbic Politics: Gun Fail 80

Twenty of a record-breaking 1,855 firearms discovered so far this year by TSA agents at airports around the country. The previous record, set just last year, was 1,813. And it's still early November.

We're back with another 100 GunFAILs, and just as we found when we've broken them down into increments of 100 in the past, we're looking at the most significant chunks of GunFAIL falling into the usual categories:25 people who accidentally shot themselves, 24 kids accidentally shot, 22 fatalities, 17 people shot by family members or significant others, and 10 shot by friends.

One tier down, we find a seasonally appropriate 10 people shot in hunting accidents, 9 accidental discharges while cleaning still-loaded weapons, and 9 incidents of "home invasion" shootings, in which people find their homes accidentally shot up by neighbors, hunters or other passers-by (not generally including drive-by shootings, which are more often intentional, even if mistaken). We saw two "reverse home invasions" this time around as well, involving accidental discharges inside the home that send bullets outdoors and hit someone on the outside. Eight more bullets flew while gun owners were out shopping, dining, or otherwise mingling with the public.

And of course, there's always the smattering of other, oft-repeated mistakes. Two accidents occurred during sales of guns. Five GunFAIL incidents on school campuses. Seven accidental shootings inside cars or other vehicles. Six GunFAILs involving law enforcement or security officers. Four gun range accidents. Four dropped guns. Two suspected intruders that turned out to be a spouse in one case, and no one at all in the second, though that didn't stop the gun owner from shooting herself in the foot, anyway.

Among the most notable stories this time, there was the now-infamous Taylorsville, UT elementary school teacher and "enhanced concealed carry" permit holder who accidentally shot and shattered a toilet in the school's faculty restroom just before class. This one really did break all the rules, apparently allowing the pupils to spy her carrying the gun (a big no-no), removing the gun her person while on school grounds (another big no-no), and of course, blasting a toilet to bits (though this one was never explicitly and specifically prohibited). She has since entered a no contest plea, and has been fined $700 plus the cost of a replacement toilet, and ordered to complete a concealed carry permit holder's gun safety course. But of course, she had already completed that before she shot the toilet. It was supposed to be what we were banking on to keep her from doing what she did, barely three weeks into the school year. But, whatever!

Other notable events: #35, in which a man showing off by spinning his pistol on his finger (also a big no-no since the invention of the double-action revolver, not to mention semi-automatic handguns) claims to have dropped the gun, causing it to discharge upon hitting the concrete floor, and shooting his sister through the neck, killing her in front of her entire family at her own 40th birthday party. Thank you for protecting the family, sir. In #41, a careless target shooter sparked a 2,000 acre wildfire. In #49, the bullet from a man's attempted suicide passed through his apartment wall, nearly taking out three neighbors with him. (It should also be noted that his suicide attempt was unsuccessful.) In #91, a man accidentally fired into his neighbor's home, and told police that firing the weapon was the only way he knew to empty it.

Finally, this group of GunFAILs, like all that have come before and will come in the future, had a large group of child victims, including seven victims under the age of five. But incident #83 is our youngest GunFAIL victim to date, and it's likely to stand for some time. Thayne Iverson was just five days old when a hunter's stray bullet crashed through his home and struck him in the head while he was in his father's arms. He survived his wounds (his father was also grazed by the bullet), but was blinded in the accident.

On that sad note, I present you with the full list of 100 GunFAILs, covering the period of September 5 through September 28, below the fold.

FERGUSON, MO, 9/05/14: No one was hurt in an accidental shooting on the Florissant Valley campus of St. Louis Community College. A college spokesman says the gun accidentally fired as two people were discussing the sale of the weapon. Those two people are in police custody. The campus spokesperson does not think those involved are students.
SPRINGFIELD, MO, 9/05/14: The game will go on at in the wake of a firearm incident Friday afternoon at Central High School. Three Central students were questioned by police after a handgun reportedly went off in the school's commons area at 11:15 AM. No injuries have been reported. The Bulldogs' home football game against Carthage is still on as scheduled, said Mark Fisher, athletic director of Springfield Public Schools. Carthage's administration has been notified of today's incident, Fisher said. The game is scheduled for 7 PM at Harrison Stadium. Carthage R-9 School District officials arranged to robocall parents in their district to inform them of the incident at Central High School, and to tell them that the football game would proceed as planned.
CHARLESTON, SC, 9/05/14: A North Charleston man was arrested Friday for filing a false police report and telling officers he had been assaulted and shot while at a park in downtown Charleston. According to police, 26-year-old Arthur Lee Love is charged with filing a false felony police report, possession of a stolen handgun, discharging a firearm and unlawful carrying of a handgun. Love told investigators after he was shot he called a friend who drove him to the hospital. Investigators spoke with the person who said she picked up Love in Brittlebank Park. The woman also told police she saw Love put something in the trunk of her car and gave police consent to search the trunk. The officers found a pistol wrapped in a bloody t-shirt hidden in the tire wheel well. They also found a spent shell casing on the front passenger floor board near a pool of blood. Police said the investigation revealed Love accidentally shot himself in his left ankle while inside of his friend's vehicle at Brittlebank Park. Police are still investigating the incident.
MEMPHIS, TN, 9/06/14: A man is in jail after accidentally shooting his friend in the car at a Mapco Gas Station in Frayser Saturday morning. Police say 19-year-old Vinell Ayers and Fontaine Craft was playing with a gun while sitting in the back seat of a Ford Explorer. The gun went off hitting 20-year-old Derrick Glasper, who was sitting in the driver seat. Glasper was hit in the back and upper chest and died at Regional Medical Center. Police say they were playing with a gun and pointing it at each other. In the police report, video surveillance from the store showed Ayers hiding the gun underneath a storage shed in the back of the store. Ayers was arrested Saturday afternoon and has been charged with reckless homicide, and tampering with or fabricating evidence. He will be in court on Monday.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA, 9/06/14: A man reportedly accidently fired his weapon while he was at a Heavenly Village restaurant with his wife and two small children Saturday evening. “The male subject was very apologetic and went back to his seat where he sat for 10-to-15 minutes before paying their [sic] bill and leaving the restaurant,” according to a South Lake Tahoe Police Department Police report based on witness statements. There were no injuries reported during the incident, Lt. Brian Williams said on Tuesday. The authorities were not called until after the man and his family left the restaurant. The incident took place at about 9:45 PM at the FiRE + iCE restaurant. Police have not been able to identify the man, but he was described as Hispanic, approximately 6-feet-4-inches tall, 280 pounds, with a bald head, tattoos on both shoulders and a muscular built. According to the police report, it is believed that the man accidently fired the gun while it was in his pocket. Police found two marks on the concrete floor where the man was reportedly standing, a bullet fragment and what appeared to be a nickel, which was stuck by the bullet. They also found a piece of cloth believed to be from the man’s shorts. A witness told police that the music in the restaurant was loud, but the shot was louder. He also said the man was noticeably stiffened following the shot, then regained his composure and continued to wait for his food. The witness was sure the man had shot himself in the leg and expected blood to start gushing out, but all he saw was a hole in his shorts. He added that he was surprised no one called the police, but that later several patrons complained to staff and the police was eventually called. According to the police, several witnesses were surprised that nobody called the police until several minutes after the gun was shot. Williams said it was unclear whether the man was carrying the weapon legally. He added that the investigation is ongoing.
HONOLULU, HI, 9/06/14: An off-duty Honolulu police officer accidentally fired his gun inside the Target store in Salt Lake. It happened at around 9 PM Saturday. No one was hurt, but it brings up safety concerns about how Honolulu Police Department officers handle their weapon. KHON2 was notified of the incident through the Report It feature on our website. HPD confirmed the officer has been with the department for two years. He was off-duty at the time, but was carrying the gun issued by the police department. A witness, who did not want to be identified, told us the officer was in the men’s bathroom when his gun accidentally fired. The bullet appears to have ricocheted off the door and hit the wall of the next stall. “Everybody was startled because of just hearing a gunshot in the store,” the witness said. “It’s kind of shocking to think that something like that would actually happen in the store.” KHON2 spoke with employees who did not want to go on camera but said they had to close the bathroom for about an hour as other police officers investigated the incident. It’s not clear if anybody else was in the bathroom. Customers are uneasy with the thought that a trained police officer could accidentally fire his gun inside a store. This is the third time in the past month an HPD officer’s gun accidentally went off. The other two incidents happened last month. One left an officer dead and, in the other, an officer was trying to make an arrest when his gun fired.
EAST HAVEN, CT, 9/06/14: Police Officer Robert Nappe, the president of the local police union who had fought for years to regain his job following a controversial stint training police in Iraq, retired last week after allegedly leaving his gun belt unattended during a bathroom break at Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital, multiple sources said. Nappe was assigned to guard a prisoner and was working his third straight 8-hour shift at the time of the Sept. 6 incident, sources said. Several sources inside the Police Department confirmed that Nappe retired on Sept. 10. He had served as a police officer in the department since 1984. Board of Police Commissioners Chairman William Illingworth on Monday confirmed Nappe’s retirement, calling it “abrupt,” but would not comment on any matters pertaining to the incident that reportedly occurred days earlier at Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital. Hospital spokesman Mark D’Antonio deferred all questions and requests for comment to the East Haven Police Department. Lt. David Emerman, who serves as the department’s public information officer, and Chief Brent Larrabee have did not return messages requesting comment. Reached Monday, Nappe declined to comment. Records show that Nappe was assigned to guard George Street resident Edgar Claudio. Police arrested Claudio on June 28, charging him with disorderly conduct and assault. Claudio was arrested again on July 25 and charged with larceny. He was charged with failure to appear on Aug. 29. Claudio was to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. While the gun belt was not touched, the incident was reported by hospital staff, sources said.
UNION CO., KY, 9/07/14: A Western Kentucky man was listed in good condition Monday after a hunting accident in which he was shot. Shane Helvey, 33, Paducah, was flown to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Evansville after the accident, according to the Union County Sheriff’s Office. Helvey was injured around 1 PM Sunday while squirrel hunting with family in the Uniontown area, the sheriff’s office said. While attempting to get across a fallen tree, Helvey accidentally discharged his .22-caliber rifle into his shoulder, authorities said. He was treated by emergency responders before being flown to St. Mary’s.
BOONE, IA, 9/07/14: A young girl suffered minor injuries and the window of a downtown business in Boone was broken after a gun was discharged Sunday. The incident occurred at approximately 3:07 PM Sunday, Sept. 7, in the 700 block of Story Street, according to a press release issued Wednesday by the Boone Police Department. Ryan Buman, 32, of Des Moines, placed a 9mm Glock handgun in the center console of his vehicle. After stepping out of the vehicle, his 2-year-old daughter picked up the gun and discharged it. The bullet hit a window at U.S. Bank, 724 Story St. Boone Police Department Commander John Sloter does not believe anyone was in the bank at the time. The girl sustained a laceration on her lip as a result of the recoil of the weapon when it was discharged. She was treated at Boone County Hospital and released. No other injuries were reported regarding the incident. Sloter said it is “extremely” fortunate that no one was hit by the stray bullet, considering the Pufferbilly Days celebration was wrapping up at the time. Buman was arrested and charged with child endangerment.
MOUNT CLEMENS, MI, 9/08/14: A 20-year-old Mount Clemens man collapsed in the parking lot of Mount Clemens High School on Monday morning after he was accidentally shot in the back by a backseat passenger in the car he was driving, according to police and school officials. Police said the alleged shooter was in the back seat of the victim’s car when his weapon accidentally discharged and struck the driver. The driver continued on to Mount Clemens High School where his mother is employed. “The driver got out of the car and collapsed and the man with the gun ran off,” said Macomb County Sheriff’s Lt. John Michalke. The victim told investigators he was driving a Pontiac Aztek on Orchard Street in Mount Clemens with an acquaintance who was in the back seat. At some point, the backseat passenger pulled out a handgun and the weapon accidentally discharged, police said. Despite being struck in the back, the driver continued on, heading to the high school, where his mother works in the cafeteria. Once at the school, the alleged shooter got out of the car and fled on foot. He is being sought by police for questioning and could face criminal charges, Michalke said. Someone drove the victim to the hospital.
TYLER, TX, 9/08/14: A 20-year-old man was shot accidentally in the upper thigh by a friend Monday, Tyler Police said this morning. The shooting took place at the Varsity Place Apartments, 3400 Varsity. Investigators determined that Chavis Gregory, 20, of Center, Texas, was shot once in his upper thigh accidentally by his friend. Investigators were told that a 9 mm handgun was accidentally discharged after they thought the gun was unloaded. Gregory along with another friend from Center, were visiting at the apartment. Gregory was discharged from the hospital and did not wish to pursue charges, police said.
LOWER CUPSUPTIC TOWNSHIP, ME, 9/08/14: A 67-year-old New York man accidentally shot himself in the hand during target practice session late this morning. The Maine's Warden Service and the Franklin County Sheriff's Department responded to the report of the accidental shooting in the Rangeley area on Monday. The man, whose name was not available at this hour, was practicing at a firing range when he accidentally discharged the .45 caliber gun. The bullet went through his hand, said Cpl. John MacDonald of the Warden's Service. The man was transported to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington with an injury not considered life-threatening, MacDonald said. While emergency crews from Franklin County responded, the accident actually occurred just across the line in northern Oxford County. Authorities there will be investigating the incident.
FRESNO, CA, 9/08/14: Fresno police have arrested a 15-year-old on suspicion of shooting a friend and dropping him off at Community Regional Medical Center where he later died. The teenager was identified as the driver of a BMW X-5 who was involved in a hit-and-run traffic collision at Fresno and G streets on Sept. 8 before dropping his 16-year-old friend off at the hospital. The friend was accidentally shot once in the back, said Lt. Mark Salazar. The suspect turned himself in on Sept. 10. He admitted that the shooting was accidental and that it happened inside the car at Walnut and Annadale avenues, Salazar said. The BMW, which belonged to the victim, was found abandoned in southwest Fresno and towed for evidence. The gun has not been found. The suspect and the victim are friends who belong to a West Fresno gang, Salazar said. The 15-year-old had a prior conviction in 2012 for having a gun on school grounds. He was booked into the Fresno County Juvenile Justice Campus charged with manslaughter, possessing a loaded firearm, and hit-and-run.
MEMPHIS, TN, 9/08/14: A 14-year-old in Memphis was killed by a stray bullet while sleeping in his own bed. Family members identity the victim as Rico Taylor, a Ridgeway Elementary student. Work drowned out the silence on Quince near Ridgeway roads, mere hours after gunshots woke up the neighborhood. "I heard about four, five, might be five shots right in a row and it really scared me, but I didn't come outside. I'm not stupid. Because I didn't know what was going on out here," a neighbor said. Police say they got the call around 1 AM that a 14-year-old who was sleeping in his bed was shot dead after bullets flew through wall. Daylight shows one bullet hole through the window by the front door and two more through another window on the front of the house. As of Monday afternoon, one person as in custody. According to MPD, "Homicide investigators received information on a possible suspect who is possibly known to the family who resides at this location."
CAÑON CITY, CO, 9/09/14: A male party in the 300 block of U.S. 50 reported an accidental discharge of a firearm. Officers took information for a report.
CUMMING, GA, 9/09/14: A man came home to find a bullet resting on the bottom of his kitchen cabinet, according to a Forsyth County Sheriff's incident report. The man in the 5000 block of Aspen Drive called deputies when he came home and made the discovery about 4:30 PM Sept. 9. The man said the bullet came from outside, went through the home's siding and the back of a kitchen cabinet finally stopping at the cabinet door. The man said he heard gunshots in the area a few hours before he found the bullet. Deputies said there are several hundred acres of woods behind the victim's home.
MUNCIE, IN, 9/10/14: One person was rushed to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital on Wednesday after city police responded to a shooting call. A 15-year-old male was shot in the leg while handling a loaded firearm, according to city officers on the scene. He was transported to the hospital but his injuries were believed to be non life-threatening. Police responded to the shooting around 4:30 PM in the 300 block of East Ninth Street. Personnel from Muncie Fire Department and EMS were also on hand, and detectives and officers were still assessing the area about an hour after the accidental shooting was reported. The shooting was deemed an accident, officers said.
SAVANNAH, GA, 9/10/14: Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police spokesman Julian Miller says the department is investigating the shooting of a 19-year-old male in what was reported as an accident Wednesday night. The victim was transported from the 100 block of Chippewa Drive, behind Oglethorpe Mall, after the 8:39 PM shooting for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. A 17-year-old male at the scene advised the two were handling the handgun in the back yard of the victim's residence when it fired. Violent Crimes detectives continue to investigate.
NORTH TONAWANDA, NY, 9/11/14: An accidental shooting in North Tonawanda has sent a 37-year-old man to the hospital. North Tonawanda Police say they received a call just before 1 AM Thursday morning for a report of a shooting at a home next door Betty's Bar and Grill on Main Street. The victim was taken to ECMC with a gunshot wound to his leg. He has already been treated and released. His name is not being released at the time. Lesley Maziarz of North Tonawanda is charged with assault. She will be arraigned in North Tonawanda Court. Police say she has been cooperative during the investigation. Police say the gun used is legally registered to Maziarz.
TAYLORSVILLE, UT, 9/11/14: A Taylorsville elementary school teacher somehow shot herself in the leg while in the school restroom. The woman, who was not immediately identified, was in a restroom at Westbrook Elementary School (3451 W. 6200 South) on Thursday morning when her handgun went off, said Ben Horsley, spokesman of Granite School District. The gunshot occurred a little before 9 AM, before school started. No students were around when it occurred, Horsley said. The bullet entered and exited her leg, and she was taken to the hospital. Granite School District police are still investigating how the handgun discharged. The teacher — a concealed carry permit holder — was allowed to have the weapon on campus per school district policy, Horsley said. Classes are proceeding as normal as they can, Horsley said. A substitute has been brought in for the teacher’s class, though Horsley declined to say which grade she teaches. MORE: Michelle Ferguson-Montgomery, who teaches sixth grade at Westbrook Elementary School in Taylorsville, Utah, was in good condition on Thursday after she was hit by stray bullet and toilet fragments during the incident, according to a spokesperson for the Granite School District, the Associated Press reports.
CLEVELAND, OH, 9/11/14: A Cleveland man legally carrying a concealed weapon missed his intended target and struck another man when he opened fire during a road rage incident, police said. The 27-year-old suspect opened fire about 2:30 AM Thursday on the 1400 block of West 116th Street. According to Cleveland police: A Ford Focus was traveling on West 116th Street when the car ahead made an abrupt turn without using a turn signal and backed into his home's driveway. The Focus stopped and the three people inside -- a 19-year-old man, a 22-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman behind the wheel -- argued with the offending driver, a CCW permit holder. The trio in the Focus left after the argument, but soon returned. The 22-year-old passenger got out of the Focus and hurled a bottle at the permit holder's car, cracking the windshield. The permit holder shot at the man as he sprinted away. The shooter missed his target and struck the 19-year-old man sitting in the Focus' passenger seat. The victim was driven to MetroHealth Medical Center with gunshot wounds to his upper body and ankle. The shooter was arrested. No charges had been filed as of noon Thursday. A criminal damaging report was filed for the shooter's cracked windshield.
POWELL, WY, 9/11/14: Park County Sheriff's deputies need your help after they answered a call about an apparent bullet hole in the side of a child's upstairs bedroom. It was reported around 11:00 AM at 1161 Road 9 in Powell. Luckily, the family had been out of town for a week. Investigators say the bullet appeared to have come through the wall and struck a dresser next to the wall. The direction of the bullet seems to have come from the area of the dog ponds near the Shoshone River.
OAKLAND, CA, 9/11/14: Oakland police are investigating a possibly accidental shooting that injured a 1-year-old boy Thursday. Officers were notified at 12:25 PM that a child had been shot on the 2600 block of 77th Avenue in East Oakland. The child was taken to UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said. "The child was in the presence of family members at the time of the shooting," said Officer Johnna Watson, an Oakland police spokeswoman. "Investigators are determining whether the incident was accidental."
ALEXANDRIA, LA, 9/11/14: A 17-year-old boy has been charged with negligent homicide after what appears to be an accidental shooting death Thursday night of a 15-year-old boy, according to the Alexandria Police Department. Police were called to the 600 block of Richmond Drive at 10:55 PM for a shooting. When officers arrived, they found the wounded boy, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The unidentified boy suffered a single gunshot wound, according to the release. "Investigators and crime scene officers conducted the investigation and, at this time, the shooting appears to have been accidental – in that the firearm unintentionally discharged while being recklessly handled," reads the release. An autopsy is pending, and an "additional investigation is underway." Police charged L'Darius Hicks of Alexandria will one count of negligent homicide.
WICHITA, KS, 9/12/14: Two people are hurt following an accidental shooting in south Wichita. Emergency crews were called to a home in the 5300 block of south Broadway at 4:30 PM Friday. Wichita police say a man and a woman were injured after a gun accidentally went off. They say the two were going through old things of someone who passed away, when they found an antique gun. The woman set the gun in the bed of a truck when it went off. Police say one bullet went through the man's hand and then hit the woman in her forearm. Both were taken to Wesley Medical Center with minor injuries.
NEW YORK, NY, 9/12/14: Cops swatted a .40-caliber Glock out of a drunken state narcotics agent’s hand Friday night after he shot two drinking buddies on the Upper West Side, authorities and witnesses said. Amsterdam Ave. erupted in gunfire and blood-curdling screams just after 9 PM when Victor Zambrano Jr., 49, shot a 31-year-old woman in the left foot and the woman’s 42-year-old boyfriend in the right calf during an argument over his weapon, neighbors and police sources said. The three pals had been drinking together and were walking on Amsterdam Ave. near W. 82nd St. when the woman asked the New York State Bureau of Narcotics enforcement agent for his pistol, a police source said. Zambrano handed it over, but quickly demanded it back, cop sources said. As the argument became increasingly heated, the agent fired a round. The bullet ricocheted off the concrete and hit both the woman and her boyfriend. “We do not know if he was shooting at them or just shooting,” a police source said. “Everyone involved is really drunk.” As diners along Amsterdam Ave.’s restaurant row ducked for cover, the narcotics investigator bolted. The boyfriend chased after him, and Zambrano allegedly turned to shoot but misfired — causing a live round to fall to the ground as he ran toward W. 83rd St., stunned witnesses aid. “(The shooter) was f----- up ... he was drunk,” said one witness, who did not want to be named. Plainclothes cops surrounded Zambrano outside Bustan on Amsterdam Ave. near W. 84th St., but the suspect wouldn’t give up his gun, which he now was holding under a Yankees jacket. After a few tense moments, a cop knocked the gun out of Zambrano's hand and tackled him, witnesses said.
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, 9/12/14: A 10-year-old boy is recovering tonight after accidentally shooting himself in the arm. Virginia Beach dispatch said they received the call for the accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound around 10:20 PM Saturday night. The accidental shooting took place in the 5800 block of Echingham Drive. Dispatchers said that the bullet grazed the child’s arm and that the boy has been transported to the hospital to receive treatment for his injury.
FERGUSON, MO, 9/12/14: A Riverview man is facing charges after a fatal shooting in Ferguson Friday. According to police, 19-year-old Jerry Lee Underwood is charged with manslaughter and armed criminal action. Police say it appears the shooting was accidental. Authorities say Underwood and the victim were discussing the sale of a gun, when Underwood allegedly pulled the trigger, killing the victim. Officials say the victim’s body was discovered around 3:00 PM Friday near Airport Road and Henquin Drive.
SANDY SPRINGS, GA, 9/12/14: Two people are in custody for the shooting death of a man during a robbery involving his video game console. Police said 28-year-old Danny Zeitz was found dead when officers responded to the 5300 block of Treelodge Parkway at about 9:30 PM on Sept. 12. According to Sandy Springs police, Zeitz had arranged to sell the couple a video game console on Craigslist. Police said they showed up to his apartment intending to rob him of the game console and ended up shooting him to death. Police say the shooter is a 16-year-old girl, who at this moment, is still charged as a juvenile. Her boyfriend, 20-year-old Nathaniel Vivian, of Stone Mountain, has been charged with murder. Police said they were able to track down the suspects after Northside Hospital called them to say Vivian was being treated for a gunshot wound at the hospital. During the robbery, the 16-year-old accidentally shot him in the hand, police said. They said the bullet passed through his hand and struck Zietz in the side. The incident is still under investigation.
CONYERS, GA, 9/12/14: A gathering at a home in Conyers resulted in a 17-year-old being sent to the hospital for an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to a home on Laurel Woods Lane just after 1 AM Friday, Sept. 12, to a report that a person had been shot. When they arrived, the found the teenaged victim sitting on the back of a car in extreme pain surrounded by blood due to a gunshot wound to his left calf. Deputies reported that the scene was very chaotic, with several people outside the home, many giving conflicting statements about what happened. The victim initially told deputies he didn’t know what happened or where the gun was and “kept yelling in pain to avoid answering any questions,” according to the incident report. Deputies then spoke with other witnesses at the scene, most of whom said they were inside the home when they heard a gunshot. “As I stayed with (the victim) and kept asking him questions, he finally stated that he accidentally shot himself and threw the gun in the right front area on the grass toward the next door neighbor’s home,” Murrain reported. Investigators later found the .40-cal. Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol near the corner of the house, behind a chain link fence. The deputy then spoke with the victim’s step-brother, Ambrose Starks, who said he was smoking a cigarette on the front steps of the home when he heard the gunshot and insisted he didn’t know anything about the gun. After the gun was found, the 23-year-old Starks said that he saw a couple of the other people at the home move the weapon. However, other witnesses said it was Starks who moved the gun, according to the report. The victim was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital and Starks, of 2980 Brittan Drive in Rex, was arrested and charged with obstruction of officers and tampering with evidence. Deontee Guffie, 23, of 2885 Priscilla Way in Morrow, who was also at the house when the gun was fired, was charged with possession of marijuana less than 1 ounce after a deputy located a small plastic bag of marijuana in his shirt pocket.
SILOAM SPRINGS, AR, 9/12/14: Siloam Springs Police Department and EMS responded to a calling regarding an accidental shooting at a home on S Seward St. Friday night. Police said a 16-year-old boy was shot in the head after he and a friend, 15, were upstairs handling a pistol when the gun discharged. The victim was stabilized at the scene and transported to Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville. He was later transferred to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, police said. The investigation is continuing and no additional information will be released at this time., according to Siloam Springs police.
CHARLOTTE, NC, 9/13/14: On Saturday, police were notified by Carolinas Medical Center staff members of a gunshot wound to a 7-year-old girl. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers arrived at CMC and spoke to the victim’s mother, Heather Davenport, 27. Davenport told police while she was sleeping her children, ages 5 and 7, found a loaded firearm in the residence on Bank Street. While the 7-year-old was handling the firearm, she accidentally shot herself, causing a non-life-threatening injury to her hand. Davenport told officers she drove her daughter to CMC for treatment. Police responded to the scene. Davenport was transported to police headquarters. After completing her interview, police said she will be charged with failure to properly secure a weapon.
ALICEVILLE, AL, 9/13/14: Sheriff's officials in western Alabama say they've investigating the death of a woman who was shot during a hunting trip. Pickens County Sheriff David Abston tells the Tuscaloosa News 29-year-old Heather Garner was killed when someone accidentally discharged a gun during a dove hunting trip on Saturday. Authorities say Garner and her friends were hunting south of Aliceville - which is about 45 miles west of Tuscaloosa. Abston says Garner was airlifted from the scene to the DCH Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
RANDOLPH, UT, 9/13/14: A 49-year-old man was accidentally shot and killed while hunting near Little Creek Reservoir over the weekend. On Saturday, two brothers were hunting antelope near the reservoir when one brother took a shot at an animal, but did not see his brother nearby. The man was shot in the head and killed. The man's name was not immediately released. UPDATE: The man shot and killed during a hunting accident during the weekend has been identified as 49-year-old James Townsend, of Weber County.
TALLAHASSEE, FL, 9/13/14: There was a stillness in the air at La Sorelle Salon this morning as employees returned to work without their boss. Employees had to let Renee Chaires' clients know that she would no longer be able to be their stylist. Chaires was fatally shot Saturday night while she was at a birthday party for her and her daughter. Chaires would've turned 40 this week. To celebrate, police say, they were holding a cookout at her older brother Eric Stayton's house. "During this gathering there had been an accidental discharge of a firearm which resulted in, ultimately, the death of one of the persons there at the cookout" says Leon County Sheriff's Office Spokesperson James McQuaig. Police say that Stayton was twirling a gun around. He went to re-holster the gun, it slipped out of his hand and onto a concrete floor. When the gun hit the floor, it fired, shooting Chaires in the neck. She later died at the hospital. Friends of the family have started up a GoFundMe account to help the family with anything they may need. Since it's creation 15 hours ago, they have already received over $6,000 in donations. As of today, LCSO is still investigating. Once they are finished, they will put it in the hands of the State Attorney to see if charges will be filed.
MURFREESBORO, TN, 9/13/14: A Drexel Drive resident will have to have some walls in his home patched after a neighbor's 9mm handgun was accidentally discharged, according to Murfreesboro Police Jason Sexton was allowing Ashley Wiseman to look at his handgun on Saturday, he told police. But when she took the magazine from the gun, she did not check the chamber, according to the police report. She pulled the trigger and a "negligent discharge" sent a round through Sexton's garage into his neighbor's house where it came to rest in a bedroom wall. No on was injured in the incident, which police declared an accident.
WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA, 9/13/14: A woman who lost her gun at the Big E appeared in court Monday… after being locked up over the weekend. West Springfield’s police chief tells ABC 40… Gabrielle Emerson of Keene New Hampshire was drunk when she approached him at the Big E Saturday, saying she lost her purse and there was a gun in it. Two women had already discovered the purse in a bathroom and turned it over to police. The chief says Emerson wasn’t licensed to carry a gun, so she’s facing charges on that. She’s expected to come back at some point in the near future to face the charges.
DALLAS, TX, 9/13/14: A 19-year-old West Dallas man was shot and killed over the weekend, according to Dallas police. The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office said Paul Lopez was pronounced dead about 3:15 AM Saturday at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. The office concluded he died of a gunshot wound to the head, ruling the case a homicide. Dallas police are looking for a 29-year-old man they say is responsible for Lopez’s death. Pete Guzman Gonzales faces charges of criminally negligent homicide. He was not in police custody as of 3:10 PM Tuesday, police said. Witnesses told police they, along with Gonzales and Lopez, were driving around in Oak Cliff early Saturday, drinking and shooting at stop signs, according to an arrest affidavit. Gonzales was driving and Lopez was sitting in the front passenger seat. Witnesses told police the two were “good friends,” according to the affidavit. During questioning by police, Gonzales said he stopped the car to drop off two of his friends who were sitting in the back of the car. While the car was stopped, Gonzales moved his handgun from the front seat of his car to the back seat. The gun discharged and a bullet struck Lopez in the head. Gonzalez drove his injured friend to Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Gonzales’ arrest affidavit states. Police didn’t immediately arrest Gonzales because they didn’t think he shot Lopez on purpose, said Melinda Gutierrez, a police spokeswoman. “He accidentally shot his friend … He wasn’t a suspect at the time,” she said.
CLOVIS, CA, 9/13/14: A 17-year-old Buchanan High School student is still in a bay area intensive care unit after a hunter accidentally shot him over the weekend. The family of Jim Moua says he was hunting squirrels with his father and little brother in the hills of Monterey County Saturday morning. The family says another hunter mistakenly shot him with a shotgun. He was airlifted to a San Jose hospital. Family members say he was hit with more than a dozen pellets of buck shot including 1 in his stomach and 10 in his chest alone. Jim's sister, Linda Moua says, "They are just worried about the ones from the neck up. I think there is like three that went through his brain. I think there is one in the brain right now, stuck in there. They can't take it out." Family members say doctors told them it's too risky to remove it right now. Linda Moua says her brothers were standing next to a tree on a hill, about 20 to 30 yards directly above another group of hunters when one of them fired. Moua says, "My younger brother screamed, don't shoot, you shot my brother come help me! That's when he came and ran to help him." Moua says the hunters thought they were squirrels. She adds her brothers were not wearing their orange hunting vests, but that they did have on orange baseball caps and bandanas. Moua says her younger brother ran to get help. But because of the rough terrain it took crews some 4 hours to airlift the teen out. Moua says, "I want to tell him that I love him. He's going to be 18 in November. I just want him healthy and to be here with us." Family members say they have no idea on when Jim will be released from the hospital and be able to go back to Buchanan High School to finish up his senior year. The Moua family says Jim is alert. However he can't talk because he has a tube down his throat.
RICHLAND CO., SC, 9/13/14: Richland County Sheriff’s deputies have arrested and charged a man in connection with an accidental fatal shooting. Michael Gregory Odom, 36, has been charged with obstruction of justice and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Odom and the victim, who were acquaintances, were walking to the store when Odom attempted to conceal his gun in his waistband around 1 AM September 13, Sheriff Leon Lott said. The gun slippped through Odom’s waistband, fell to the concrete, and the weapon discharged a round into the upper body of the victim, Lott said. The victim was taken to Palmetto Health Richland Hospital where he died as a result of his wound, Lott said. Odom is being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, Lott said.
ESTACADA, OR, 9/14/14: Forestry officials said Monday they would reassess the status of a 2,000-acre fire burning east of Estacada. The forest fire was dropping ash and causing an orange haze in Estacada and Oregon City all day Sunday, as more than 100 firefighters worked to get it under control. Additional crews were preparing to assist Monday. The flames were spreading on Forest Service land about 10 miles southeast of Estacada, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The heavy smoke stretched as far as Salem. The large white plume could be seen in satellite images. The smoke also settled into the northern Willamette Valley. Highway 224 was closed from North Fork Reservoir east to Ripplebrook, due to the fire and very hazardous conditions, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. Rocks and boulders loosened by the fire had fallen onto the roadway. By Sunday night, the 36 Pit Fire had consumed more than 1,000 acres and firefighting crews used tools including bulldozers and a helicopter with water buckets. The Lazy Bend campground was evacuated, along with the Silver Fox RV Park. The smoke plume was so large Sunday that it impacted air quality and showed up in snapshots taken from a satellite. Detectives told KGW someone practicing target shooting accidentally sparked the forest fire.
MURFREESBORO, TN, 9/14/14: A baby caught in the crossfire is recovering after she was accidentally shot by her own mother. Late Sunday night, Murfreeboro police came to a downtown apartment complex after receiving a report of a shot fired. They arrived to find a woman inside with a 9mm handgun. Police believe she pulled it out during a heated argument with her boyfriend -- the father of her daughter. "The two were involved in a verbal and then physical confrontation with the use of deadly force," said Kyle Evans with the Murfreesboro Police Dept. Police said the woman fired a single round at her boyfriend and in a bizarre twist the same bullet hit both the child and her father. The police incident report showed the bullet hit the boyfriend in the groin then traveled through him and struck their one-year-old child, who was sitting several yards away, in the rear-end. The 14-month-old was rushed to Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt for treatment and she was expected to be okay. No word on the condition of her father. Murfreesboro police are still investigating whether this is a case of self-defense or an aggravated assault. No arrests have been made in the case
PITTSBURGH, PA, 9/14/14: Pittsburgh police and paramedics responded to a man who accidentally shot himself in Point Breeze North on Sunday night, authorities said. Calls for a man shot came in from McPherson Boulevard about 9:45 PM, according to Allegheny County 911 supervisors. Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman Sonya Toler said the man accidentally shot himself in the arm. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
PHILADELPHIA, PA, 9/15/14: A 13-year-old boy was shot by a 16-year-old boy in North Philadelphia in what police are calling an accidental shooting. The shooting occurred shortly before 8:00 PM Monday on the 3600 block of North Marvine Street. According to preliminary investigation, police say the 16-year-old boy accidently shot the 13-year-old boy twice in the stomach. The victim is in stable condition at Temple University Hospital.
TALLULAH, LA, 9/15/14: Authorities confirm that a Tallulah toddler was killed in an accidental shooting Monday afternoon. Tallulah Police said it happened at 4:05 PM at 509 N. Chestnut Street in Tallulah. According to officers, a mother was taking care of three children, two boys and a girl, when she left the house for a couple of minutes to get them something to drink. Police said in that time, a three-year-old boy found a loaded .22-caliber handgun and accidentally shot himself with it. Officers said the boy did not survive his injuries. No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed. Tallulah Police said the shooting was accidental but the investigation continues.
BROWNSVILLE, TX, 9/15/14: The leader of a border volunteer group says he will not allow two members back on his camp once they are released from county jail. The arrests are detrimental to the group's agenda, he said. Officials say Steven Kurt Brooks, one of the group's members, left a handgun behind at the restroom at a Stripes Store. Brooks doesn't have a concealed handgun license. Brooks was arrested and charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon at a business that sells alcohol. Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio said a second militia member, Richard Coonie Smith, tried to claim the gun. Lucio said they knew Smith wasn't the person on the surveillance video. He was arrested and charged with making a false police report. "They were volunteers who came in from another state. They were here to help us on the border," K.C. Massey said. Massey is the leader at Camp Lonestar. The operation is nestled on private property against the border fence south of Brownsville. "We will not allow them back into the camp," Massey said. "I can't explain or say why he did what he did. I can tell you it is against what we tell people to do here at camp," Massey said. The arrests mark the second incident involving members from Camp Lonestar. Last month a Border Patrol agent opened fire on an armed volunteer. The man was not injured. Lucio said authorities are concerned about the group's presence in the region. "We don't know who they are," he said. Massey said they don't accept volunteers who are on probation or parole. He says they have already kicked out four people. Smith and Brooks will make that number six.
WAUSAU, WI, 9/16/14: A Marathon County Sheriff’s investigator is hospitalized after an accidental shooting Tuesday. Division Captain Greg Bean’s service weapon discharged while he was cleaning it at the county’s shooting range. Bean is being treated at Aspirus Wausau Hospital for injuries to his left hand. Sheriff Scott Parks confirms that a full investigation of the incident is underway, but cannot comment further at this time. He says Bean is alert and talking with his family at the hospital.
SKWENTNA, AK, 9/16/14: An elderly Eagle River man was shot outside a family cabin in the Bulchitna Lake area south of Skwentna on Tuesday according to the trooper dispatch. 59-year-old Stephen H. Hager was shot and killed while outside the cabin when a firearm was discharged inside the residence near Bulchitna Lake. Troopers received a report of the shooting at 12:15 PM on Tuesday and a Talkeetna-based trooper and the Alaska Bureau of Investigation responded and flew to the scene by floatplane to conduct an investigation of the incident. AST Spokesman Megan Peters stated that “the shooting appears to be accidental and the investigation is ongoing.” There is no further information being released at this time. Hager’s remains were transported by troopers to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Anchorage for autopsy. The investigation into Hager’s death is continuing.
YAKIMA, WA, 9/16/14: Yakima police say a bullet that a man used to shoot himself almost hit three people in an adjacent apartment. Police spokesman Mike Bastinelli says the attempted suicide happened around 4 PM Tuesday. A man shot himself in the head with the bullet traveling through a door and a wall and almost hitting a woman and two children. The Yakima Herald-Republic reports the man was taken to Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center, where he was listed as being in critical condition Tuesday evening.
BIRMINGHAM, AL, 9/17/14: Police say a relative accidentally shot three juveniles, ages 3, 15 and 17, at a home in north Birmingham on Wednesday. None of the injuries are life-threatening. BPD Captain Stevens says the relative fired a shotgun and the shells from the shotgun struck the three juveniles. One of the victims, a 15-year-old female, was shot in the leg. The shooting happened in the 2700 block of 35th Avenue North. Police are still looking for the relative who fired the shotgun. Captain Stevens says no adults were home at the time of the shooting. Birmingham police Sgt. Sean Edwards says they have a person in custody, but did not say how that person is connected to the case. UPDATE: A 14-year-old boy playing with a shotgun led to the accidental shooting of two teen girls and a toddler boy, police said today.
DELTA JUNCTION, AK, 9/17/14: A 9-year-old Delta Junction boy is in stable condition after his older brother unintentionally shot him with a rife, according to Alaska State Troopers. The incident involving a .22 caliber rifle happened Wednesday afternoon inside a residence. The other boy is 15. "The 15-year-old was handling the firearm and it was unintentionally discharged," troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said in an email. The older boy immediately called for help, Peters said. The incident was reported at about 4:30 PM. The 9-year-old boy was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital by ground transportation, Peters said. Injuries are reportedly non-life threatening. The troopers spokeswoman declined to disclose details about the 9-year-old's injuries. She said no adults were inside the residence at the time of the incident.
CHICAGO, IL, 9/17/14: A man has been charged with shooting an 8-year-old boy, who was grazed in the face Wednesday night during a domestic dispute in the South Side Auburn Gresham neighborhood. The boy suffered a graze wound to his face at 8:42 PM in the 7700 block of South Loomis, police said. William Martin, 37, was charged with felony reckless discharge of a firearm and misdemeanor child endangerment, police said. Martin and another of the boy's older male relatives were involved in a dispute when a gun accidentally discharged, police said. According to a police report, Martin brandished the gun while fighting with a 29-year-old man and the gun went off during the fight. The bullet struck the man in the hand before ricocheting off the floor and striking the boy in the nose, the report states. After a “brief standoff” when officers arrived, Martin exited the house and was arrested without incident, according to the report. The boy was driven by family to Holy Cross Hospital and later transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital. He was listed in good condition, police said. The other man was also taken to Mount Sinai with a gunshot wound to the hand, according to the report. Martin, who lived in the home where the shooting occurred, was expected to appear in bond court Friday.
KINGMAN, AZ, 9/17/14: A woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries in an accidental shooting late Wednesday night, according to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies said Kyleigh Jan Hall, 21, was checked into Kingman Regional Medical Center after she accidentally shot herself in the face at her home. A neighbor drove her to the hospital.
CAPE CORAL, FL, 9/18/14: A Cape Coral man remained hospitalized Tuesday following a recent accidental shooting. Julio Angel Irrizarry, 20, of 959 S.W. 15th Place, was listed in critical condition at Lee Memorial Hospital, where he was taken last week after the shooting incident, according to officials. At about 12:20 PM Thursday, Cape police responded to a report of a person shot at 959 S.W. 15th Place. The victim, identified as Irrizarry, had sustained a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. He and his mother were transported to the hospital via an ambulance, according to a report. Police officials reported in a prepared statement Thursday that the preliminary information indicated that the injury may have been the result of an accidental discharge when the weapon was dropped.
ST. LOUIS, MO, 9/18/14: After first being told conflicting stories, police have determined that the four-year-old boy who was shot in St. Louis last evening was shot by his five-year-old cousin. Police say the two were in their uncle’s apartment in the 5900 block of Oakhurst when they found the gun. The five-year-old fired the shot, striking the victim in the stomach. The victim’s parents drove him to the hospital. He is in critical and guarded condition. The uncle and his girlfriend are in custody. The gun has not been found.
KILL DEVIL HILLS, NC, 9/18/14: Kill Devil Hills police say a man accidentally shot someone Thursday morning. Around 11:50 AM, officers responded to the 1200 block of 7th Avenue for a report of a man who had been shot, according to Sgt. J.C. Towler, Jr. with the Kill Devil Hills Police Department. At the scene, police found the victim being cared for by the shooter, a 38-year-old man from Kill Devil Hills. Officers learned the shooter had been cleaning a Century Arms 7.64 rifle in his residence, and did not realize there was a live round in the weapon. Towler said he accidentally fired the gun, and the bullet traveled through a wall and outside, where it struck the victim in the lower back. The victim was an 18-year-old man from Southern Shores. He was airlifted to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Towler said. Towler said the district attorney’s office will decided if charges are appropriate in this case.
LIVE OAK, CA, 9/19/14: Two suspects in a Live Oak home invasion robbery are in custody after one shot the other in the foot after an alleged robbery, Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputies said. On Friday, deputies responded to a report of a gunshot victim at Dominican Hospital, Sgt. Kelly Kent said. The man, 24-year-old Erick Vlach of Scotts Valley, initially told deputies he was shot in the right foot by an unknown assailant. When deputies pressed for details, Vlach admitted his friend, 19-year-old Capitola resident Jeremy Spencer, accidentally shot him. Deputies connected the two to a home invasion robbery on the 1500 block of 30th Avenue on Friday, which happened the same time as Vlach told deputies he was shot, Kent said. "When someone comes in and they don't have their story straight, they make something up on the spot," Kent said. "It sounds fishy from the beginning and it's not very hard for us to unravel." In the robbery, two men using black T-shirts as masks entered the home with semi-automatic handguns and stole cash, marijuana and electronics.
COLUMBIA, SC, 9/20/14: Authorities say a 3-year-old girl shot herself at a Columbia home Saturday morning. The incident occurred on the 100 block of East Lake Trail. According to officers, preliminary information shows that the child found a loaded gun and accidentally shot herself in the leg. Jennifer Timmons with Columbia Police Department says the bullet also grazed her hand. She was transported to a local hospital and is in stable condition.
CHIPPEWA CO., MI, 9/20/14: Accidental discharges brought tragic consequences over the weekend claiming the life of a 12-year-old Sault Middle School student and leaving an adult woman with a serious foot injury in separate incidents. In the Saturday incident, Savoie reports, an adult woman was goose hunting near the Pickford Township Raber Township line when her shotgun went off sending the shot into her foot. The woman — who grew up in Pickford but is currently residing in Mt. Pleasant — suffered a serious foot injury from the accidental blast. No additional information was being released related to the Saturday accident.
WAMIC, OR, 9/20/14: A Portland woman was Life Flighted from Wamic Sept. 20 after an apparently accidental gunshot wound to the head inflicted by her husband. The Portland area couple, both in their 60s, had been hunting and camping in the forest lands of Wasco County, according to information from the Wasco County Sheriff’s office. The injuries to the female were not life-threatening. The incident occurred at the Pub and Grub restaurant parking lot. The gun was in the couple’s vehicle as they were getting ready to go hunting, said Wasco County District Attorney Eric Nisley. They had put a backpack on top of the gun. “He reached to retrieve the back pack,” Nisley said. “He was getting his wife’s hunting license — they were trying to be very law-abiding — and the gun somehow discharged.” Deputies responded and met with the victim and her husband. While the woman was transported, the man remained on scene and cooperated with investigators. Deputies used a dowel from the gun through the bullet hole in the pick-up door to verify that the trajectory of the shot was nearly level, confirming the couple’s explanation of the incident. Nisley reviewed the report on the incident and said no criminal charges would be filed.
TIETON, WA, 9/21/14: A 52-year-old Tieton resident is expected to fully recover from an accidental shooting this morning, according to a news release from the Yakima County Sheriffs Office. Sgt. Ed Levesque said the man loaded a single .22 caliber round into his Ruger brand 10-22 rifle by dropping it into the chamber. The rifle was held upside down so the round would fall in. He forwarded the bolt and then brushed his hand up against the trigger, accidentally shooting himself through the upper left thigh, according to the news release. The round traveled downward and exited out the left side of his thigh. The patient was treated and released from a local hospital.
BRADENTON, FL, 9/21/14: A 59-year-old Bradenton man accidentally shot his 58-year-old wife in the head about 8:40 AM Sunday in the 3800 block of 100th Street West, according to a Manatee County Sheriff's Office report. Deputies responded to Blake Medical Center to interview the principals separately. Both said they were preparing to play golf when he removed a small five-shot revolver from his pocket, dropped it and it discharged when it hit the floor, according to the report. The round grazed the woman on the side of her head and they drove together to the emergency room. The victim was alert and talking and was going to be released after receiving treatment for the wound. At this time, this incident appears accidental, according to the report.
SEBRING, FL, 9/21/14: A husband told Sebring police he shot his wife because he thought she was an intruder, Sebring police said Monday. Eusebio Christian Jr., of 1621 Hitakee Ave., told police that around 6:41 AM Sunday he heard a noise and then saw a shadow, Sebring Police Cmdr. Steve Carr said. Carr said Christian told police he fired his weapon several times. He ended up shooting his wife once in the face, but the injury was non-life threatening, Carr said. The wife, whose name was not released, was eventually sent to Bay Pines VA Healthcare System in St. Petersburg where she was treated and released, Carr said. The investigation remains open and no charges had been filed as of Monday afternoon, Carr said.
LOUISVILLE, KY, 9/21/14: Police say a large bar fight spilled into the street early Sunday morning, resulting in an accidental shooting which sent a man to the hospital. Alicia Smiley, a spokeswoman for the Louisville Metro Police Department, said a man was thrown through a window during a brawl at Happy Endings bar on 4th Street. He went to his car to get a gun, Smiley said, which went off accidentally when he was hit in the head. The bullet struck a man in a nearby car, who was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, police said. The man with the gun took a friend to the hospital then returned to the scene and cooperated with a police investigation, Smiley said. Police are still trying to identify all parties involved, and the investigation is ongoing.
MARATHON CITY, WI, 9/21/14: A man is hospitalized after a turking hunting accident in Marathon County Sunday evening. Marathon County sheriffs deputies say the shot was fired by an 11-year-old boy who shot his father in the chest. The incident happened Sunday evening shortly before 6 PM near Marathon City, near Alpine Road and Highway B. Investigators say a family of four was turkey hunting when an adult male was shot in the chest. The wound is in the upper left part of his chest near his heart. The man was flown from the scene to Aspirus Wausau Hospital for treatment. The man’s name has not been released, and was in serious condition Sunday night. The shooting remains under investigation by the DNR.
DRUMMOND TOWNSHIP, MI, 9/21/14: The Chippewa County Sheriff's Office is investigating a hunting accident that killed a 12-year-old girl. It happened Sunday morning while the teen was on a hunting trip with her father and friends on Drummond Island. Deputies say 12-year-old Shellsea Lefebre was sitting in the back seat of a vehicle when she was shot. "The gun was facing the back seat, tucked between the two seats in the front and with the safety off driving down Glen Cove Road. It's a little bit of a rough road, and the jarring or whatever went wrong to cause a discharge. She was in the path of the projectile and unfortunately she was killed instantly," said Sheriff Robert Savoie. Grief counselors and therapy dogs were on hand Monday to help students cope with the loss of their classmate. The sheriff's office says it's too early in the investigation to determine whether any criminal charges will be filed.
LAKE ARROWHEAD, CA, 9/21/14: An unidentified man was hospitalized with a gunshot wound on Sunday after accidentally shooting himself in the leg at the Arrowhead Fish & Game shooting range. According to a sheriff’s report, the man suffered a through-and-through wound in his leg shortly before 11:30 AM when the pistol he had been firing apparently discharged as he was attempting to holster it.
LITTLE ROCK, AR, 9/21/14: A Little Rock man has been charged with first degree domestic battery after police say he shot his girlfriend Sunday morning. Police responded to a shooting at a house on East 23rd Street shortly after 11 AM Sunday. Marcus Horton, 37, told officers he was cleaning his gun when it misfired and hit his girlfriend, 48-year-old Gloria Brown. Brown told police Horton shot her near her shoulders. She was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Horton was arrested, charged, and taken to the Pulaski County jail.
MISSOULA, MT, 9/22/14: Police were called to the Lucky Strike Casino in Missoula for a reported shooting Monday evening. A 22-year-old Missoula man accidentally shot himself in the leg outside the casino. He suffered minor injuries. Police told NBC Montana the man was intoxicated. Officials said the man initially refused medical care. He was then arrested. The arresting officer told us he did end up taking the man to the hospital before he took him to jail.
LOLO, MT, 9/23/14: A 42-year-old Lolo-area resident has died after accidentally shooting himself in the chest while cleaning a revolver. Missoula County sheriff's spokeswoman Paige Pavalone says the man's wife called for help at about 8:45 AM Tuesday. The man was declared dead at the hospital at about 10 a.m. His name has not been released.
RUSH, NY, 9/23/14: Vienchaleun and Saysamone Kettavong escaped from a Laotian Concentration Camp in the early 80’s and brought their six children to the United States to make a better life for them. The couple would’ve been married 50 years. 71-year-old Vienchaleun, was killed Tuesday while hunting behind his house. He was shot to death. Police said the man who shot him told deputies he thought he fired at a squirrel. That man, 32-year-old P. Kounnavong—is the son of one of Kettavong’s friends. Kettavong’s family was devastated to learn what had happened and went to the scene of the shooting. Police took them deep into the woods so they could see Kettavong and give their final goodbyes to him. Pepsy Kettavong said his father was retired but had worked at RIT for several years in shipping. He said he chose that job so his children could attend college there on a tuition waiver. Kettavong said his father made sacrifices for his family and was a humble, hard-working man. A man of few words, who said a lot in the little he spoke. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said this appears accidental, but they are still investigating. The State Department of Environmental Conservation is also involved, because the shooting happened on state land. When asked how they will remember their father, Pepsy Kettavong told us by living his life as he did, embracing the American culture and ideology and taking care of the family.
WEST PALM BEACH, FL, 9/24/14: A Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office corrections deputy was wounded this evening in an accidental shooting to the hand, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said. The deputy, whose name was not released, was at Manno’s Public Safety Supply, 909 S. Military Trail in West Palm Beach, to purchase a new gun holster when the shooting occurred. The incident happened just after 5 PM. The deputy was transferring the service weapon from the old holster to the new one when the gun accidentally discharged, spokeswoman Teri Barbera said. The deputy sustained a minor injury and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
CONWAY, AR, 9/24/14: A young man was shot and killed in a home at 149 East Cadron Ridge Road on Wednesday night. The Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting. Jeremiah Kingdon Hackler, 22, was shot once in the chest with what has been described as a .22 caliber handgun. Another young man in the home, Patrick Shawn Bauhaus, 18, called 9-1-1 at about 8 PM and said that he had accidentally shot Hackler. FCSO Chief Deputy Matt Rice said that the home operates as a hospice care center. Bauhaus was working there as a caretaker. Two elderly patients were taken to Conway Regional Medical Center. Investigators searching the home found evidence of homemade explosives, prompting a response from the Conway Fire Department Bomb Squad, ATF, FBI and Arkansas State Police. Conway Fire Chief Mike Winter described the items recovered as a couple homemade blasting caps. Two other 18-year-olds were in the home at the time of the shooting, and both were taken into custody for questioning. The owner of the home was also questioned. One of the teens was released, but the rest were all still being held as of Thursday morning. Though reported as an accidental shooting, Rice said FCSO will continue to investigate as though it were an intentional homicide.
TUSCALOOSA, AL, 9/24/14: A teenager was seriously injured and his step-brother was arrested after an accidental shooting Wednesday. Investigators said that the victim, 16, was shot when his step-brother, 20, was playing with a handgun. Police were called to the residence in the 500 block of 34th Avenue at 5:30 PM. The victim was shot once through the right arm, said Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit commander Sgt. Dale Phillips. Shrapnel was lodged in his chest, he said. “The victim’s injuries are serious, but not life-threatening,” he said. Investigators charged Zhalil Ware, 20, with second-degree domestic violence/assault. Both brothers stated that Ware was playing with the gun when it accidentally discharged. Ware remained in the Tuscaloosa County Jail Wednesday afternoon with bond set at $30,000.
HEWITT, TX, 9/24/14: A man was hospitalized Wednesday afternoon after he accidentally shot himself in the leg while cleaning his gun, officials said. The 40-year-old man was sitting on his couch at about 6 PM at his home in the 400 block of Connie Drive when the firearm discharged, Hewitt Police Chief Jim Devlin said. The man reportedly shot himself in the lower left leg, was treated on scene by emergency medical personnel and taken to Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center by ambulance.
SAN ANTONIO, TX, 9/24/14: A handgun that accidentally went off in a middle school classroom Wednesday morning was loaded with blanks, not bullets, San Antonio Independent School District officials said. SAISD police secured the gun and took the Harris Middle School seventh grader into custody, district spokeswoman Leslie Price said. The 12-year-old boy had brought the weapon to the school in a backpack and it discharged once around 10:30 a.m. as he placed the backpack on a table, she said. The district released a statement stressing that nobody was injured and kept the school locked down until shortly after noon while police investigated, drawing an anxious crowd of about 100 waiting parents who had been notified by an automated phone messaging system. Later in the afternoon, it confirmed the gun held blanks. By evening, the district said the boy had obtained the .22 caliber handgun earlier Wednesday from another boy, 14, also a student there. Both were detained and charged with possession of a firearm on a school campus.
BLOOMINGTON, MN, 9/24/14: Bloomington police say it is a miracle that a 10-month-old boy was not killed after a round from a high-powered rifle hit his crib, missing his head by inches. Ten-month-old Charlie Sewell was asleep when a man visiting the home next door accidentally discharged a semi-automatic rifle. The round went through the neighbor’s home, through the walls of the Sewell’s home, through Charlie’s stuffed animals, hit his crib and landed in the carpet. “It didn’t dawn on us that it penetrated the house,” Erik Sewell said. The Sewell family woke at midnight to find Daniel Larson at their front door telling them he had accidentally fired a high-powered rifle into their house. “My finger slipped down and discharged the weapon,” Larson said. The Sewells called Bloomington Police, who discovered the devastating trajectory of the round. “I came in here [the nursery] and the cops where in here. And I said, ‘What is all this white stuff?’ And they said that the bunny had been hit,” Carin Sewell said. The round hit Charlie’s basket of stuffed animals and then hit his crib, just inches from his head. An officer found the bullet buried in the carpet. “He [the officer] looked at me and said this is nothing short of a miracle that he is alive,” Carin Sewell said. The Sewell’s shock then dissolved into horror at how close a call this was. “All I have been doing is praying and thanking God, and crying, since this happened last night. We’re so lucky to have him here today,” Carin Sewell said. The emotion is shared by the 23-year-old gun enthusiast, Larson. “I have little siblings. I can’t even imagine,” Larson said. “There is no excuse for it. I shouldn’t have had the weapon pointed at anywhere with anyone inside. I am so sorry.” The Sewell’s are speaking out because they do not believe high-powered weapons should be allowed in residential neighborhoods. “I can’t imagine the parents that go through that and don’t get to hold their baby,” Carin Sewell said. Larson’s semi-automatic rifle was legally registered. Police found no evidence that drugs or alcohol were involved. The accidental discharge happened inside the neighbor’s home, not outside. As a result of all these factors he is likely facing a misdemeanor charge of reckless discharge of a firearm which is punishable by 90 days in jail and or a $1,000 fine. Both Larson and the Sewells say they would like to meet after a little time has passed. Carin Sewell says the fact that Larson is remorseful does help but it also doesn’t change how close that round came to hitting little Charlie.
LIVINGSTON, MT, 9/24/14: A 27-year-old Livingston man has pleaded not guilty to attempted deliberate homicide for a shooting that occurred during what prosecutors said was an argument over the victim's wife. The Livingston Enterprise reports Daniel Colvin entered his plea Thursday in District Court in Livingston. His attorney, Carl Knushel, successfully argued to have Colvin's bail reduced from $500,000 to $200,000. Colvin is charged with shooting Michael Aja late on Sept. 24 after Aja arrived at Colvin's house, where Colvin and Aja's wife were asleep. Aja told police and emergency room nurses that Colvin shot him in the head as he was trying to leave. Lyneia Aja said the same. Court records say Colvin initially said Lyneia Aja shot her husband. He also said he shot Michael Aja in self-defense and that he tried to scare him with the gun when it accidentally discharged.
MT. CLEMENS, MI, exact date unknown: A 21-year-old man from Mt. Clemens has been charged for the accidental shooting of a 20-year-old man found in the parking lot of Mt. Clemens High School. Police say that the victim had been driving on Orchard Street in a Pontiac Aztek when Lasail Hamilton, who was in the back seat, accidentally shot a handgun, firing a single shot. The bullet went through the front seat and hit the driver in the back. The victim drove to Mt. Clemens High School where he got out of the car and was found by school security officials. Hamilton ran from the scene before police arrived. He turned himself in Thursday. Hamilton was arraigned on Thursday and charged with firearms possession by a convicted felon, careless discharge causing injury, felony firearms and failure to stop and render assistance. His next court date is October 8.
RIDGEFIELD, WA, 9/25/14: A woman accidentally shot herself in the foot early this morning in Ridgefield. The woman, described as a woman in her 40s, thought she heard something suspicious in her yard or house at about 4 AM and so produced a shotgun, Clark County Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Dawdy said. As she was investigating, she was walking with the muzzle down and the gun discharged, injuring her foot, Dawdy said. Lt. Roy Rhine said the woman was "in a process of looking out the window." "She probably had her finger on the trigger when she shouldn’t have," he said. Police and Fire Personnel were dispatched to the residence, 310 Mill St. in Ridgefield, at 4:14 AM. The woman was taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. Her condition was not available. Rhine said that there would likely not be any criminal charges in the case.
ATLANTA, GA, 9/25/14: An Atlanta Fire Rescue employee accidentally shot himself in the leg while driving Thursday morning. It happened at around 8 AM at Pollard and Ralph David Abernathy boulevards in southeast Atlanta, just north of Turner Field. Atlanta Police spokeswoman Kim Jones said the victim was driving home from work in his personal car when the accident occurred. His gun discharged and a bullet landed in his left calf. A Grady Memorial Hospital crew was called to the scene to help the injured firefighter. He was later taken into surgery at Grady.
SULPHUR, LA, 9/25/14: An officer with the Sulphur Police Department accidentally discharged his weapon Thursday morning, authorities said. Police Chief Lewis Coats said they were conducting a search warrant in reference to narcotic trafficking on Lori Lane when the incident occurred. "One of the officer’s gun was discharged," Coats said. "No one was injured. The preliminary investigation indicates that the discharge was accidental. An official internal investigation is being conducted."
CLUNE, PA, 9/25/14: Authorities in western Pennsylvania say a stray bullet grazed the head of a 5-day-old infant in what officials are calling a hunting accident. Indiana County prosecutors said the bullet came into a home near Saltsburg in Young Township at about 7 PM Thursday. District Attorney Pat Dougherty said the infant's father had been sitting on a couch holding the infant when the bullet tore through the window of the home. Dougherty said the bullet is believed to have come from hunters on private property across the street. He said they had permission to be there. The child was taken to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, where a condition report was not immediately available. State police are investigating, but Dougherty said the case "appears to be an accidental shooting." UPDATE: The infant boy who was accidentally shot by hunters near Saltsburg Thursday is more seriously injured than authorities first thought, according to Indiana County District Attorney Pat Dougherty. “It was originally reported that the bullet had grazed the child's head, but it had actually penetrated the child's head,” Dougherty said. The child, who is six days old, had surgery at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Thursday night and remains in the intensive care unit. A condition report could not be obtained Friday.
LODI, WI, 9/25/14: A Lodi eighth-grader died Friday after being accidentally shot at his home Thursday, according to a release from the School District of Lodi. No other students or children were involved in the accident, according to the release. The Lodi Police Department said the incident happened outside city limits. The eighth-grader has been identified as Jacob Trotter. Lodi Middle School students were notified of Jacob's death Monday morning, and were given the opportunity to spend individual time with a counselor if they were upset or wanted to talk privately, officials said.
MARSHALL, TX, 9/25/14: One person was severely injured in an alleged accidental shooting in Harrison County on Thursday morning. Lt. Jay Webb stated at 10:15 AM, 911 dispatchers received a call for an ambulance and deputies to respond to a home in the 100 block of Rosebud in Marshall. When emergency officials arrived, Marshall EMT found a woman in a bedroom with a gunshot wound through her stomach and side. Her husband, Larry Watkins, said he was placing a loaded 7.65 MM rifle in the gun case and it fired one time. The bullet allegedly struck his wife, who was standing in the closet. When deputies arrived, the gun and case were on the bed in the master bedroom. Marshall EMT took the woman to a Marshall hospital in stable condition and for treatment of the injuries. At this time, it appears her injuries are not life threatening, however severe. She was able to speak to medical responders. This case is continuing to be investigated and an interview will be conducted with the victim, when she is able.
HOUSTON, TX, 9/26/14: A 13-year old girl accidentally shot and killed her older brother, police say. It happened inside the family's home in east Houston on Force near Crown around 10pm last night. Police say the older brother who is in his 20s was inside the house with his younger sister and one of their friends. It's unclear how the 13-year old ended up with the gun, but police say she accidentally shot her brother. He died from his injuries at the hospital. The teen and friend were not hurt. It's not yet clear if the girl will face any charges. MORE: A 22-year-old East Houston man died Friday night while showing his younger sister how to take apart a gun, police said Saturday. "The initial information is that the male was showing his sister how to take apart a weapon and somehow the gun discharges," said Victor Senties, a Houston Police spokesman.
SULLIVAN CITY, TX, 9/26/14: Federico Cantu is facing a first-degree manslaughter charge. He is suspected of accidentally shooting his girlfriend in the face. "Mr. Cantu initially made statements to the police officers that he was cleaning his firearm and that it accidentally discharged," JP Rodriguez of the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office said. His girlfriend of several years was 25-year-old Viridiana Hernandez. She later died at the hospital. At about 9 PM last Friday, first responders got a call to Cantu's Sullivan City home. "They observed a male, Federico Cantu, pulling the victim out of the home with an apparent gunshot wound to her face," Rodriguez said. Investigators found a handgun and drugs inside the home next to where Hernandez was shot. Cantu had told his story to Sullivan City investigators. Sullivan City later handed the case over to the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office. That was when Cantu stopped talking. "We have had limited cooperation from Mr. Cantu," Rodriguez said. "Based on the results of the autopsy, based on evidence that was at the scene... We've established enough probable cause to charge him with recklessly causing her death." The charges against Cantu could be upgraded by the District Attorney's office. He is being held on a $500,000 bond.
COLUMBUS, OH, 9/26/14: A teenage robbery suspect shot himself in the leg while running away from the place where he'd just tried to shoot another teenage boy, according to a Columbus Division of Police press release. The 17-year-old suspect checked himself into Mt. Carmel West Hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his right leg Friday afternoon, the release states. Police later discovered that 17-year-old had tried to rob an unnamed 15-year-old's friend earlier in the day. A different 15-year-old was working with the 17-year-old suspect in the attempted robbery, the release states. Although the teen suspects had tried to rob the victim's friend near 2400 Plum Street, the victim was able to help his friend and stop the robbery, according to the release. The release states both suspects later returned to the scene of the robbery, where they tried to shoot the 15-year-old and his friend with a handgun several times. The 17-year-old suspect then fled from the scene and accidentally shot himself in the leg while attempting to hide the handgun in his front pants pocket, the release states. Both teenage suspects are charged with Felonious Assault, according to the release. This incident remains under investigation.
DAVIE, FL, 9/26/14: Louis Venuto says his 2 year old daughter was picking up toys off the floorboard of a car he recently rented when she made a horrifying discovery, a loaded handgun. “I noticed she got quiet,” Venuto said. “So I quick looked back and I saw she was holding a handgun. I just immediately grabbed it from her.” At first Venuto thought the gun was a fake then he says he saw hollowpoint bullets in the gun clip. “I looked at the safety and the safety was off too,” he said. “All you had to do to fire the gun was pull the trigger.” Venuto says he rented the car from an Enterprise location in Sunrise. We tried to speak with someone at the business on Friday afternoon but they were closed when we arrived. Venuto wonders how the company could rent a car with a loaded gun inside. “I don’t understand how you own a big business like enterprise all over the world and you get a car back from someone and you don’t clean under the seat and then rent it to someone else,” Venuto said. Davie Police Captain Dale Engle said police officers took the gun for safekeeping but he said no crime was committed — just someone’s property left in a vehicle. Venuto wonders how the owner of the gun could have left it behind and how car rental employees missed it when cleaning. Ultimately, he’s thankful his daughter is safe. “That gun could’ve went off and someone could’ve got hurt and I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to my little girl,” he said. That’s everything for me.”
NEWBERRY, FL, 9/26/14: A Newberry man who had just bought a handgun was charged with aggravated assault Friday night for allegedly pointing the weapon at another motorist as they drove on Newberry Road, according to an Alachua County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. Charged was Richard Zachary Powell, 21, of 3312 NW 170th St. The report states that Powell had just purchased the gun and was driving east on Newberry Road. Near County Road 235, the witness said he saw Powell approach from behind at a fast pace. As the car driven by Powell came closer, Powell could reportedly be seen waving and pointing the gun, deputies reported. As Powell pulled alongside the witness, Powell swerved toward the witness’ car and pointed the gun in a threatening manner, the man told the Sheriff’s Office. The witness swerved off the road to avoid an accident, the report said. The witness told ASO he began following Powell at a safe distance to get his tag but near Powell’s home, Powell again pointed the gun at the witness, the report states. A deputy said he got to the house as Powell was going inside. The handgun was on the porch without a case or holster. About 50 rounds of ammunition were inside the car, mostly on the driver’s seat, the deputy said. Powell told deputies he had taken the gun out of the case to look at it on Newberry Road but did not point it at anyone. He also did not recall driving aggressively, deputies said. The report states the victim was brought to the house and identified Powell. The deputy noted that Powell smelled of alcohol.
PENNDEL, PA, 9/26/14: Police in Pennsylvania say a man accused of shooting a bullet through a neighbor's window told a judge he fired the gun because it was the only way he knew how to unload it. Middletown Detective Patrick Nicastro tells the Bucks County Courier Times that 31-year-old George Byrd IV of Penndel at first denied being behind the shooting but then acknowledged during his arraignment that he fired the weapon to clear the chamber because he was unfamiliar with guns. Authorities say Byrd fired the gun early Friday afternoon in the suburban Philadelphia community. No one was injured. Byrd is being held in the Bucks County jail on $20,000 bond. No attorney is listed on court papers. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 8.
KINGMAN, AZ, 9/26/14: A Kingman man accidentally shot himself in the foot last week, according to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies responded to the shooting report late Friday night, where they found 64-year-old Nicky George Serafin sitting in a chair in his living room. He was treated by Northern Arizona Consolidated Fire Department firefighters. He told deputies he accidentally shot himself while he was unloading his gun. The bullet entered the side of his left foot and exited through the bottom of his foot.
ONTARIO, OR, 9/27/14: Ontario Police officers, with the assistance of Oregon State Police, responded to a home at 718 N.W. Third St. after someone called in a possible shooting at about 10:30 AM Saturday. Police Chief Mark Alexander said the shooting was found to be accidental and one person was treated for a non-life threatening injury.
PUEBLO, CO, 9/27/14: A 45-year-old Pueblo man suffered minor injuries Saturday after he accidentally shot himself in the hand and leg while trying to unload a weapon. Gregory McGraw told police he was trying to unload a pistol belonging to his girlfriend at a home in the 1700 block of Eden Street when he had trouble opening the gun to remove the bullets. McGraw told police that when he tried to cock the weapon to breach the firing chamber, the gun discharged and the bullet struck him in the left calf and then through the living room floor. When questioned about the wound to his hand, McGraw said he had his hand on his calf when the gun discharged. McGraw was treated at St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center where the emergency room doctor said there was no bone or other major damage to his hand and leg.
RAPID CITY, SD, 9/27/14: A Rapid City man required hospital treatment Saturday night after he accidentally shot himself, according to a release from the Rapid City Police Department. While sitting in his living room in the 2500 block of Judy Avenue around 11:15 PM, Paul Weiler, 30, shot himself in the leg as he was cleaning a 9-millimeter handgun, the release said. Weiler was taken to Rapid City Regional Hospital for treatment. He was later arrested on a charge of reckless discharge of a firearm while intoxicated, according to the release.
MANHATTAN, KS, 9/27/14: A 60-year-old man was rushed to the hospital in Manhattan after accidentally shooting himself in the hand. Riley County Police say the man errantly discharged a handgun at a home in the 1100 block Sharingbrook Lane Saturday morning around 9. He was driven in a personal vehicle to Mercy Regional for treatment. RCPD reports his injury was not life threatening. No arrests were made or citations issued. Police simply filed a non-criminal information report.
MUSKEGON CO., MI, 9/27/14: A Muskegon man being treated for a gunshot wound to his foot Saturday, Sept. 27, told police the injury was the result of careless, drunken gun cleaning. However, the man wasn't giving police much detail about the incident after they spoke with him around 3:25 AM Saturday. He told police he had been drinking alcohol when he allegedly shot himself in the foot. The man was being treated at a local Muskegon hospital for the gunshot wound he suffered on the top of his foot. He was "visibly" under the influence of alcohol at the time he arrived at the hospital, police said. "He claimed that after a night of drinking, he was cleaning his gun and shot himself in the foot," according to a police report summary. "He would not provide any further details."
CANTON, MI, 9/27/14: A 34-year-old Canton man has been accused of firing a semiautomatic rifle into an upstairs neighbor’s apartment, frightening her, narrowly missing her dog and leaving her in tears, police said. The suspect, who police say has called the incident an accident, is expected to face arraignment Oct. 15 in 35th District Court in Plymouth on a misdemeanor charge of possession of a firearm while intoxicated, Detective Sgt. Chad Baugh said. The incident unfolded shortly before 9 PM Saturday at Stoneybrook Apartments, near Joy Road and I-275 on Canton’s north side. According to a police report, the suspect claimed he was showing his girlfriend how to clean the gun when it discharged and accidentally fired a bullet through the ceiling into a 29-year-old neighbor’s apartment. Baugh said the incident should serve as a warning to gun owners. “It’s very important to be sober when you clean a weapon,” he said. The upstairs neighbor told authorities she had just come inside her apartment from her balcony after politely asking the downstairs resident not to slam a door, the police report said. She indicated to police she and the suspect have never gotten along. The woman told police the gun was fired after she went back inside her apartment, the report said. Police described the woman as crying and upset when they arrived. She complained of difficulty hearing in her left ear and later sought an ambulance for what was described in the police report as a migraine headache. According to the police report, the suspect told police his girlfriend had indicated an interest in hunting and he was showing her how to clean a gun when it accidentally discharged. The report indicated he had consumed “five or six” 12-ounce beers. The suspect told police he immediately ran upstairs to check on his neighbor. He was taken into custody and was later released on bond as he awaits his formal arraignment. The charge he is facing is punishable by 93 days in jail and fines.
YANKEE SPRINGS TOWNSHIP, MI, 9/28/14: A woman was wounded in a hunting accident southwest of Middleville Sunday. It happened around 3 PM in the area of Bowen Mills Road and Patterson Avenue in Yankee Springs Township. A woman was shot in the leg in what authorities described as a “hunting accident.” She sustained a non-life-threatening wound to the thigh. The circumstances surrounding the accident are unknown.
WILLOWBROOK, CA, 9/28/14: Two men reportedly were shot early Sunday in what police suspect started as an accidental discharge. It happened around 1 AM on East 138th Street near San Pedro Street, according to the LAPD. Detectives were on scene trying to piece together what happened. They told CBS2/KCAL9’s Joy Benedict that a group of about ten men in their 20s were partying outside the home late into the night. Family members said Dominique Barnett, 24, was among the group and had brought a handgun to show his friends. They said a 23-year-old man who lived on the street was upset that Barnett would bring a gun to the party and tried to take it away from him. The gun accidentally discharged and killed the 23-year-old. Barnett was so wracked with guilt at his best friend’s death that he felt he had no other choice but to turn the gun on himself, relatives told Benedict. They said Barnett committed suicide at the scene.

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Friday, November 14, 2014

Gun Fail 80

ORIGINALLY POSTED TO DAVID WALDMAN ON FRI NOV 07, 2014 AT 08:11 PM PST.

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Friday, November 14, 2014

Gun Fail 80

Taylorsville teacher takes out toilet & 99 other stories: GunFAIL LXXX

ORIGINALLY POSTED TO DAVID WALDMAN ON FRI NOV 07, 2014 AT 08:11 PM PST.

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