Finally closing the books on April 2016! And what a closing week it was: 24 people accidentally shot themselves, 11 kids were accidentally shot, 8 people accidentally shot family members or significant others, 8 people accidentally discharged their guns into neighboring properties, 7 other people did so while they were out on the town and in public, 6 people died in accidental shootings, 4 people accidentally shot themselves while reholstering their guns (one in the parking lot of a gun show, of course), 4 more were accidentally shot while hunting, and another 4 were accidentally shot by guns they or a colleague decided to bring with them to work.
Going beyond the numbers, there was an embarrassment of embarrassments involving guns during the week. I don’t have room to highlight every one of them, but if you’re the kind of person who habitually smacks yourself on the forehead when you read about particularly stupid human tricks, be sure to review your concussion protocol before reading through the list.
It’s difficult to know where to begin, but let’s ease into things with a hunting story from out of Indiana. I guess I’ve always wondered whether something like this ever happened, and now I know it does. Hunter number 1 sets out turkey decoys, and sounds his turkey call. Hunter number 2 hears turkey call, spots decoys, mistakes them for live turkeys and fires. That’d be dumb enough if the story ended here, but it doesn’t. Hunter number 1, seeing that another hunter has stupidly mistaken his decoys for live turkeys, finds it prudent to move further away from them. Meanwhile, hunter number 2, having failed to “kill” the decoys, begins “stalking” them. I say “stalking,” of course, because they’re decoys, and technically, I don’t think you can stalk a decoy. But hunter number 2 gave it his best shot, anyway, no pun intended. As a matter of fact, his next shot could be considered his worst, because having come around to “surprise” the decoys from the other direction, he fired a second time, and again failed to “kill” the decoys. Only this time, he accidentally shot hunter number 1, who had walked out into the field beyond the decoys in an attempt to avoid being shot at again by hunter number 2. Strange game. The only winning move is: not to play.
I would also call your attention to the story from out of Sarasota, Florida. It’s actually just the first of a GunFAIL play in two acts, but which doesn’t come fully to fruition until May 16. But on April 27, Todd Johnson accidentally shot himself in the knee at his Sarasota home while cleaning his gun. It’s that accident that’s listed in this installment. I single this otherwise routine accident out in order to offer you this spoiler, scheduled to run in the upcoming GunFAIL CXCIV: On May 16, someone at the same address took advantage of Florida’s then still-existing law permitting backyard shooting ranges even in residential neighborhoods—a law recognized even in gun-mad Florida as obviouslyinsane enough to deserve legislative repeal in February 2016, but with an effective repeal date of July 1, 2016—to hang a paper target on their wooden fence and take fire a few practice rounds, just for fun. Several rounds were later recovered from the side of a nearby condominium. And one was later recovered from the body of neighbor David Morse, found shot to death at the end of his driveway while watering the flowers in his garden.
Florida is also the source of our title story, which thankfully did not result in any injuries, but which I offer as a sort of “perfect storm” of GunFAIL, Islamophobia, social media-driven panic, terrorism and campus shooting fears, and concerns related to the introduction of campus carry laws. It was approaching final exam time on the campus of the University of Central Florida, when students began both reporting to police and circulating stories on social media that a “suspicious person,” described as “Middle Eastern,” and “wearing either a burqa or hijab,” and who “was looking panicky and shaky,” as she, “quickly went to a corner and fell to her knees.” Panicky students in the library at final exam time aren’t all that uncommon, of course. And there’s considerable difference between a burqa and hijab. But police were also told, “My friend saw a silver and black hand-held object—80 percent sure it was a gun, or that it was a weapon, and she looked, like, really freaked out to see us. We were shaking, that’s how scary it was.” Well, one thing led to another, the campus was locked down, the library was evacuated, police arrived in tactical gear and armed with AR-15s, and yadda yadda, it was just a Muslim student taking a moment to pray, and the supposed weapon was a Koran. There was, however, an active shooter on campus, however briefly. It was a campus police officer, who accidentally discharged his weapon among the crowd of students “safely” evacuated from the library.
Well, that could have ended badly. Certainly several of the week’s other equally ridiculous incidents did. And they’re recounted below.
- HERRIMAN, UT, 4/24/16: A call of shots fired in Herriman brought police and a police mobile crime lab to a home on Quiet Shade Drive, early Sunday morning. Calls came into dispatchers at 6:17 AM. It seems to be a domestic dispute that got out of hand. Police say, there was a party at the house. Witnesses told police that a man at the residence became angry with his girlfriend and, while brandishing a handgun, asked the party goers to leave. The girlfriend sustained a gunshot wound to her ankle and to her hand. She will be okay, but may need surgery on her hand. She is a the hospital now. Police say, they suspect that she was shot while trying to take the gun. It may have accidentally discharged in a struggle. She initially reported that she had accidentally shot herself while cleaning the gun. A friend, who drove her to the hospital, told police that story was likely false. Lex Bell, with the Unified Police Department, said that party goers returned to the scene after the shots were fired, and beat up the suspect. Police are interviewing him now to try and discover what happened. He will also be ok, he suffered only minor injuries, police say. A witness told ABC4 Utah news that the arguing was audible all night and well into the early morning hours, leading up to this incident.
- WOODSTOCK, IL, 4/24/16: McHenry County Sheriff's officials are investigating an accidental shooting that occurred Sunday, April 24, in the 3600 block of North Queen Anne Road where an assistant instructor allegedly shot his own hand. Sheriff's police and the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District responded to the scene at 1 PM where a 35-year-old Skokie man was injured. The man was assisting with instructing a concealed carry class when the gun fired, according to Deputy Aimee Knopp, spokesperson for the McHenry County Sheriff's Office. The class was being held at a residence, Knop said. The shooting is still under investigation, and no citations had been issued as of Monday afternoon, she said. The man's name was not released. Woodstock Fire/Rescue Capt. Scott Nieman said the man was transported to Centegra Hospital-Woodstock with non-life-threatening injuries.
- AMERICAN CANYON, CA, 4/24/16: A 50-year-old American Canyon man was hospitalized after an accidental shooting Sunday afternoon, according to police. Officers were called to the 1700 block of American Canyon Road at 2:45 PM. There, a man apparently was trying to holster his gun when the firearm went off, wounding him in the right thigh, according to Sgt. Doug Pace. The victim was taken by ambulance to a hospital. No foul play is suspected in the shooting, Pace said.
- FLOYD CO., IN, 4/24/16: A 13-year-old girl was accidentally shot in the armpit Sunday morning after a hunting outing in Floyd County. The teen was transported to Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville where she was listed in fair condition on Monday afternoon. Sheriff Frank Loop said in a statement Monday morning that Alysee Defee of Mauckport was hunting with Charles Ringo when the two were loading the firearms into a truck in the 6200 block of Ind. 62. An investigation showed that the weapon discharged and the girl was struck in the right armpit. Two county police officers, Georgetown Fire, an air ambulance and Yellow EMS all responded to the scene after word that the victim had been shot in the chest. The girl's first name in hospital records was spelled Alysa, according to Kosair officials. The incident prompted Loop to issue three reminders about gun safety - always keep the weapon unloaded until ready to use, keep the finger off the trigger until ready to shoot and keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
- SANFORD, NC, 4/24/16: Aaron Slish Jr. of Niagara Falls, New York, reported at 8:56 AM Sunday that he was accidentally shot with a shotgun. He suffered internal injuries, a report said, but no other details were given. [Note: This 1996 article from the Buffalo News: A 2-year-old boy blew the ring finger off his right hand Friday morning with a shotgun he found in his mother's 24th Street home, Detectives James Lincoln and William Smith said. Aaron Slish Jr. of 536 24th St. was injured at 10:15 AM when he apparently found the weapon in a case under his mother's bed and began pulling it out, Lincoln said.]
- LAGRANGE, GA, 4/24/16: Police also responded to Wellstar West Georgia Medical Center just after 3 AM Sunday after a man showed up with a gunshot to his right hand. According to the victim, he and a friend were “playing around” with a gun. The man told officers when he attempted to grab the weapon out of his friend’s hand the gun went off, striking him in the hand. When police asked the victim where the incident occurred, the man said he did not know and did not want to provide any more information.
- DELTA, PA, 4/24/16: A Maryland man accidentally shot himself in the leg Sunday while at a private fish and game club in Delta. State police said Timothy Franklyn Wolcott, 37, of Bel Air, suffered a gunshot wound to his right calf during the 10:45 AM mishap. According to police, Wolcott was putting his pistol into his holster but had his finger on the trigger, and the gun fired. Police said it happened at 173 Pikes Peak Road. That is the address of the Delta Peach Bottom Fish and Game Association. Wolcott was treated at York Hospital and released on Tuesday, according to a York Hospital spokeswoman. No one answered the phone Wednesday afternoon at Delta Peach Bottom Fish and Game Association. The private fish and game club offers instruction in shooting, including a hunter safety course and a pistol class, according to its website, and has about 650 members.
- SALINA, KS, 4/24/16: Salina Police have identified a man who died from a gunshot wound in an apparent accidental shooting on Sunday. Police Captain Chris Trocheck tells KSAL News that 28-year-old Bryant Sanchez of Salina died at the hospital on Sunday morning after showing off a new gun he had recently purchased to a group of friends gathered in a driveway in the 1900 block of Dover. Police say the .40 caliber handgun accidentally discharged and the bullet struck Sanchez in the head. Sanchez was transported to Salina Regional Health Center and died a short time later.
- ST. REGIS PARK, KY, 4/24/16: A woman was shot and killed Sunday and her husband is behind bars at Metro Corrections. Police said 22-year-old Damien Lacambra was arrested overnight and faces a murder charge. The coroner identified the victim as Amelia Lacambra, 21. Amelia Lacambra was fatally shot at a home Sunday afternoon along Woodmont Drive near Statton Road in St. Regis Park. Damien Lacambra told officers he accidentally shot his wife. He told police he didn't know the gun was loaded when he pointed it at his wife and pulled the trigger, according to the police report. Talbott Allen used to be the mayor of St. Regis Park. He's lived there for more than 30 years. "Something like a shooting and a killing, that's foreign to us. We're not used to that," Allen said. Allen and other neighbors want answers. They want to know what really happened behind closed doors but they understand they might never find out. "You don't know what drives people to do things like this," Allen said. Police said there was a child inside the house when the shooting happened. The child was not hurt. A not guilty plea was entered for Damien Lacambra Monday. His bond was set at $1 million.
- FAYETTE CO., IA, 4/24/16: An Oelwein man was fatally injured Saturday while turkey hunting in Fayette County. The Iowa DNR says 63-year old Michael Adams was hit in the face and chest area by a shot from a 12-gauge shotgun fired from another hunter in his hunting party at approximately 3 PM Saturday north of Maynard. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident remains under investigation by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
- LUBBOCK, TX, 4/24/16: A 16-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries after, police say, he was shot by a 15-year-old Sunday night at a Lubbock home. Lubbock police said officers were dispatched before 10 PM in the 1900 block of 46th Street in response to a shots-fired call. A juvenile call out, police said, was initiated after first responders found the 16-year-old had been shot by another teenager. Lubbock police Lt. Ray Mendoza said there were at least two other juveniles in the bedroom when the incident occurred. According to a police report, the 15-year-old was showing off a pistol when the trigger was pulled, shooting the 16-year-old in the neck. The 16-year-old was taken to University Medical Center in what police called stable condition. He remained in the hospital in unknown condition late Monday. Detectives were called to the scene. Mendoza said while the shooting was unintentional, people need to be more responsible in storing their weapons. While no arrests have been made, he said, detectives are still investigating how the juvenile obtained the firearm. “Responsible gun ownership,” Mendoza said, “it’s not something to be taken lightly.” The last accidental shooting occurred on Feb. 16, when a 5-year-old was killed while his father cleaned/worked on a rifle in a South Lubbock home. Police determined it was an accidental discharge and no charges were filed. Mendoza described everyone at the scene on Sunday night as “traumatized.” A-J Media reached out to those involved, but no one has come forward about the incident.
- SAN ANTONIO, TX, 4/25/16: A man cleaning his gun accidentally shot himself and another man who was with him at a West Side home early Monday morning. Police say the two victims were sitting at a table at the home in the 1400 block of Delgado Street when the gun went off. The man cleaning the gun shot himself in the finger. He’s expected to be okay. The bullet then hit other victim in the side; His condition is not known. Both men were taken to University Hospital for treatment. Police said the shooting remained under investigation.
- WILLIAMSTOWN, MA, 4/25/16: A North Adams man was seriously injured early Monday in what may have been a hunting accident. Michael Pontier, 50, was shot about 7:30 AM near Hopper Road in Williamstown, according to Williamstown Police. He was transported to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, and was later transferred to Albany Medical Center in New York. The person responsible for the shooting, who has not yet been identified, remained at the scene and is cooperating with investigators, police said. Monday was the first day of hunting season for wild turkey in Massachusetts. Hopper Road winds through a wooded area in South Williamstown. The Massachusetts Environmental Police, the Massachusetts State Police Berkshire CPAC Unit and the Williamstown Police are continuing to investigate. Local police deferred calls seeking more information to the Massachusetts Environmental Police, which did not return calls.
- HILTON HEAD, SC, 4/25/16: A Hilton Head Island woman was accidentally shot in the arm by her boyfriend Monday as he cleaned her gun while on a break from work. Deputies arrived at the Helmsman Way apartment around 6:30 PM to find the woman emerging from the bedroom and the .40 caliber pistol on the coffee table, a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report said. The woman’s boyfriend told deputies he had decided to clean the weapon during his break. He went into the bedroom and sat on the bed next to the victim, the report said. He told deputies he cocked the weapon to make sure it was not loaded, then depressed the trigger so that he could remove the slide and check a spring he believed was broken, the report said. When he pulled the trigger, he shot his girlfriend in her upper left arm, the report said. His girlfriend confirmed the story and said they had never had any domestic violence issues, the report said. She was taken to Hilton Head Hospital for treatment. As deputies questioned her boyfriend, they asked if he was under the influence of any drugs or alcohol. He said he was not and gave deputies permission to search the apartment after telling them they’d likely find marijuana, the report said. They did — 7.3 grams of pot hidden under a bathroom sink, the report said. He was subsequently charged with simple marijuana possession.
- KAILUA-KONA, HI, 4/25/16: The death of a man who was in police custody in Ocean View has been ruled inconclusive, pending toxicology results, an autopsy concluded Wednesday. Police responded to the home of Jonathan Watson, 46, on Monday morning after a man called them saying he had been shot. Watson accidentally shot himself in the left leg, police said in a press release, which was bandaged before police arrived. When the first three officers arrived, Watson came out of the house “in an aggressive manner.” He fought with two of the officers, one of whom was injured on the leg, said Major Mitchell Kanehailua of the police department. Watson was taken into custody and a police sergeant arrived on scene shortly after, Kanehailua said. Watson became unresponsive and officers attempted to revive him, which was taken up by medics upon their arrival. Watson was declared dead at 3:40 PM Monday at Kona Community Hospital. Kanehailua said the toxicology study and medical examiner’s final report normally take two to three weeks, although the examiner may complete it earlier. The injured officer did not require medical treatment, he said, and officers have recovered the firearm they believe responsible for the injury. “As is standard practice when someone dies while in police custody, the Police Department’s Area II Criminal Investigations Section is conducting an investigation into the death and the circumstances leading to it, and the Office of Professional Standards is conducting an administrative investigation,” police wrote. The officers have returned to normal duty, Kanehailua said.
- FRANKFORT, KY, 4/25/16: Frankfort Police are investigating a shooting this morning that occurred in an apartment in the 200 block of Centennial. According to a preliminary report, Jordaan Metts, 18, told police he was sleeping in his bed when he felt a pain in his hip and awakened to discover he was bleeding and had been shot. Frankfort Police Major Rob Warfel said Metts was taken to the Frankfort Regional Medical Center and his injury is not believed to be life-threatening at this time. Warfel said a very preliminary investigation indicates that the bullet that struck Metts was fired from the apartment located above his and traveled through the apartment floor and Metts’ ceiling, striking him in the hip while he was sleeping. Warfel said officers are waiting on a search warrant to be issued so they can search the upstairs apartment where no one is currently home. “It appears it could be an accidental discharge,” Warfel said, “but the investigation is still preliminary.”
- CHICAGO, IL, 4/25/16: A suspect fleeing police tried to throw his gun onto a roof, but it hit a wall instead and went off, hitting an officer in the shoulder, prosecutors said Thursday. The officer's partner kept chasing Rafael Martir-Ubiles, 25, Monday afternoon and cornered him in a gangway in the 2300 block of South Trumbull Avenue, where the officer used a Taser twice to subdue him, prosecutors said. Martir-Ubiles appeared in court Thursday, charged with aggravated battery to a police officer, aggravated assault of a police officer, resisting an officer and unlawful possession of firearm by a gang member, police said. Judge Peggy Chiampas ordered him held without bail. Martir-Ubiles and two others were walking east on 24th Street around 4:15 PM Monday when the two officers noticed that Martir-Ubiles appeared to have a gun. He was holding his left side and there was a bulge in his shirt, prosecutors said. The officers stopped their SUV in front of the three, and Martir-Ubiles ran, prosecutors said. As they chased him down the alley, Martir-Ubiles "pulled a .45-caliber handgun from his waistband with his right hand and attempted to throw the gun on the roof of a nearby apartment building," prosecutors said in a statement. The gun hit the wall instead and fell to the ground. It discharged and a bullet went through one of the officer's right shoulder. The other officer continued to chase Martir-Ubiles and arrested him in a gangway. The wounded officer was treated at Stroger Hospital and released later that day, police said. Prosecutors said Martir-Ubiles, affiliated with the Latin Kings street gang, admitted to throwing away the gun during the chase. He lives in the 2400 block of South St. Louis Avenue, about a block from the shooting.
- DALLAS, GA, 4/26/16: A 3-year-old boy shot and killed himself after finding a gun inside a Paulding County home, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office said. It was not clear how Holston Cole got hold of the weapon. He was struck in the chest when the gun went off, Sgt. Ashley Henson said in a statement. Deputies responded shortly after 7 AM to a 911 call at the residence in the 70 block of Camp Circle near Dallas, Henson said. Deputies performed life-saving procedures on Holston until fire rescue officials arrived. They took him to WellStar Paulding Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Holston lived at the residence with parents David and Haley Cole and 1-year-old twin sisters Paisley and Macy. Sheriff’s officials are investigating the incident. No charges have been filed. MORE:[Sgt. Ashley Henson of the Paulding County Sheriff's Office] said in a statement that Holston Cole used his father David's semi-automatic pistol to shoot himself Tuesday. David Cole called 911 and told a dispatcher that his son got the gun from the father's book bag.
- MILWAUKEE, WI, 4/26/16: A woman died late Tuesday morning after being accidentally shot by her 2-year-old son who found a gun in the backseat of the vehicle and fired it, the woman's father said. A single bullet went into 26-year-old woman's back, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office said. The woman stopped the vehicle on Wisconsin Highway 175 near West Vliet Street. Andre Price said his daughter, Patrice Price, was a hard-working mother who had three children. He said his daughter was driving her boyfriend's car. He is a security guard and left his gun in the vehicle. The boy was able to reach it and accidentally shot his mom in the back, killing her. "Now I don't have her no more. My chest has been hurting," Andre Price said. "I have a knot in my chest. They won't even let me see my daughter. I wanted to hold my daughter for one last time."
- COLUMBUS, OH, 4/26/16: Police say a Columbus man shot and wounded his own son after mistaking him for an intruder. Officers responded to a home Tuesday morning for an unknown complaint. When they arrived they say 51-year-old Biyaga Ceesay told them that an unknown person had shot his son. Later, the man said he accidentally shot his son because he thought he was an intruder trying to rob the family. The boy is hospitalized in stable condition and is expected to recover. Ceesay has been charged with domestic violence, assault and child endangerment.
- ORLANDO, FL, 4/26/16: Threats of an active shooter at the University of Central Florida’s library Tuesday turned out to be meritless, but students still had a bullet to dodge. Shortly after students were given the all-clear, a shot pierced the air and students scrambled to get away. It turns out that the shot was an accidental discharge, the UCF Police Department said. As a UCF officer was putting his service weapon into his cruiser, it went off, officials said. The incident happened just feet away from the hundreds of students still standing outside the library after being evacuated due to the original threat. “It was literally feet in front of me, so it was really scary,” UCF student Kayla Stevens said. “You kind of just saw the guy holding the gun, like it kicked back, and everybody that was standing there ran the opposite direction.” No one was injured by the accidental discharge. No explanation was immediately given of what caused the accidental discharge UCF did not release the name of the officer involved.
- SALINA, KS, 4/27/16: The accidental discharge of a 9mm handgun Wednesday evening caused a bullet to travel through three apartments at a south Salina apartment complex. Salina Police Captain Chris Trocheck said 23-year-old Braxton LeDuc was cleaning the gun at about 8:30 PM at his apartment at Chapel Ridge Apartments, 2363 Chapel Ridge, when a round discharged through the wall of his apartment, into and through the dining room wall, kitchen wall, and bathroom wall of the adjacent apartment. The round continued outside into an apartment of another building through a window in a bedroom. No one was hurt, and Leduc called police to tell them what happened. No charges or citations were issued.
- OMAHA, NE, 4/27/16: A high school senior told police that the bullet which struck a 14-month-old boy Wednesday was fired accidentally as the teen was handling a handgun in the basement of a north Omaha home. La’Shannon Bland, 18, was charged Thursday in Douglas County Court with second-degree assault, using a weapon to commit a felony, possessing a stolen firearm and tampering with physical evidence. Judge John Huber set bail at $750,000. Bland must pay 10 percent, or $75,000, to be released from jail. The teen wore a yellow jumpsuit in court, signifying that he was being kept segregated from the rest of the jail population. An assistant prosecutor with the Douglas County Attorney’s Office said Bland told police he found the gun two weeks ago and knew it was stolen. He also said he was handling the gun in the basement of a home at 7441 N. 34th St. at about 5 PM Wednesday when it discharged. The bullet went through the ceiling and passed through the left wrist of the child, Da’Qontez Mayfield. That broke the child’s ulna and may have damaged nerves, the prosecutor said. Bland allegedly told investigators that he unloaded the gun after it went off and hid it in the backyard of the house. He was taken into custody at the scene. A defense attorney said Bland is taking independent study classes at the Omaha Public Schools’ Teacher Administrative Center, near 30th and Cuming Streets, and was living with his girlfriend at the time of the incident. The shooting took place next door to 7437 N. 34th St., where 71-year-old Merlin Prinz was found slain Monday. In connection with that death, Kenneth Munhall, 61, a roommate, has been charged with first-degree murder, use of a weapon to commit a felony and possession of a gun by a prohibited person.
- LAS VEGAS, NV, 4/27/16: A woman was shot Wednesday night when a neighbor accidentally discharged a gun, Las Vegas police said. Police responded just after 9 PM to a call of a woman shot at an apartment complex in the 4400 block of Sirius Avenue. She was taken to an area hospital with a nonlife-threatening gunshot wound to the stomach. A man in an adjacent apartment accidentally discharged a gun, and the bullet passed through a wall into the apartment the woman was in, police said. It is unclear whether the woman lived there or was visiting the tenant. Police found and arrested Raymond Powell Jr., 30, that night for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Powell also had a warrant out for his arrest for driving without a license.
- COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, 4/27/16: Rudolfo Morin got lucky Wednesday, according to Colorado Springs police. Morin, who is accused of negligently discharging a firearm in his home in the 5500 block of Woodmen Ridge View, put neighbors at risk. The 40-year-old man was handling the firearm while under the influence of alcohol and prescription medication when the gun went off around 9 PM, police said. The bullet went through Morin's bedroom window in the direction of an occupied apartment multiplex. Police found no signs the bullet struck the complex, and all occupants inside were safe. Where the bullet came to rest is unknown. The gun also was fired close to Morin's face. He suffered puncture abrasions to his face from the unburned powder and debris exiting the barrel of the firearm, police said. Morin was cited on suspicion of prohibited use of weapons and reckless endangerment.
- OCEANSIDE, NY, 4/27/16: Police say a doctor and a retired NYPD officer were accidentally shot when the retired officer’s gun accidentally discharged inside the doctor’s Long Island office Wednesday morning. It happened at about 10:30 AM inside the office of Dr. Matthew Nester, a podiatrist, on Long Beach Road in Oceanside. According to Nassau County police, the 77-year-old retired officer was in the office when he removed his licensed 10 mm semi-automatic pistol to show to the doctor. The weapon accidentally discharged a round which struck the owner in the thigh and continued through his leg, striking the doctor in the right foot. Both victims were taken to an area hospital for treatment of their nonlife threatening injuries. There is no criminality suspected at this time and the investigation is ongoing, police say.
- ALAMO, IN, 4/27/16: Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating a hunting accident that occurred in near Jim Davis Bridge this morning. According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Jeremy Phillips, 37, of Crawfordsville was shot by David Dawson, 31, of Ladoga while they were both turkey hunting along a farm field near the bridge. Phillips had set up some decoys along the edge of the field and was attempting to call in a turkey. Dawson noticed the decoys but had mistaken them for actual turkeys. Dawson took a shot from across the field at the decoys. Dawson then began stalking the decoys. Phillips had gotten up after he noticed his decoys had been shot at. Dawson came in from the back side of the decoys and fired a single shot at the decoys, striking Phillips, who was in the field beyond the decoys. Phillips was transported to Franciscan St. Elizabeth — Crawfordsville with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the face and shoulder. The DNR strongly advises hunters to never stalk a turkey. The hunter should identify the target and what is beyond it. A complete list of turkey hunting safety tips can be found at www.in.gov/... This case will be sent to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office for review. Agencies assisting on the scene included the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Alamo First Responders and Crawfordsville EMS.
- GROUT TOWNSHIP, MI, 4/27/16: A three-year-old boy is recovering after accidentally shooting himself in the arm Wednesday. The Gladwin County sheriff says the boy found a gun at his home in Grout Township. It went off and hit his arm. Gladwin County Sheriff Mike Shea says the case started when EMS told deputies they were treating someone with a gunshot wound to the arm. That person ended up being the three-year-old boy. Sheriff Shea says the boy found his dad’s loaded nine millimeter pistol in a drawer where he could reach it. That’s when he accidentally fired the gun. His dad was at a home nearby and called 911 when he found out his son was shot. The sheriff says the dad has been cooperating, but a request for charges has been filed to the prosecutor. He says it is very lucky this didn’t end worse. The sheriff says the father could face a misdemeanor charge for leaving his gun where his son could get to it. The prosecutor will be reviewing the case possibly Thursday or Friday.
- JACKSON, MI, 4/27/16: A subject showed up at Henry Ford Allegiance with a gunshot wound to the leg. It was discovered that the victim was unloading the weapon and accidentally discharged a round. Officers report the victim is a valid concealed pistol license holder.
- FARMINGTON HILLS, MI, 4/27/16: A 52-year-old employee of an asphalt company in the 20700 block of Osmus was hospitalized April 27 after accidentally shooting himself, reports state. Police had suggested he seek care at Beaumont Hospital-Farmington Hills due to the seriousness of the injury, but he reportedly said he needed to go to Garden City Hospital for insurance purposes. No information on his condition or details on the incident were immediately available.
- ST. JOSEPH, MO, 4/27/16: St. Joseph police have determined a reported home invasion that sent a 22-year-old man to the hospital was actually a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Officers responded to a report of a home invasion and shooting at an apartment complex at 3515 Gene Field Road just after 7 AM Wednesday. Authorities confirmed Wednesday that the man was taken to the hospital and treated for a gunshot wound to his foot. The man told police an unknown man knocked on his door, tried to force the door open then shot the 22-year-old in the foot. He told officers the shooter was wearing all black and fled. Thursday, Capt. Jeff Wilson, St. Joseph Police Department, said detectives’ investigation revealed the man had shot himself in the foot. There was no attempted home invasion, Wilson said.
- SARASOTA, FL, 4/27/16: About a month before investigators say a fatal round was fired from the backyard at 4632 N. Shade Ave. — a bullet that struck and killed 48-year-old David Morse who was watering plants 200 yards away — another accidental shooting occurred at the home. On April 27 at about 1 PM, according to Sarasota County Sheriff's Office reports, Todd Johnson, 29, shot himself in the knee with a .40 caliber Glock 22 “while cleaning his gun.” Johnson is the son of April Lipstein, who is listed as the home's owner. Sarasota County Sheriff's Deputy Hayden Gallof was sent to the scene, along with paramedics. Gallof was among the first responders sent to the 2400 block of 47th Street a month later when Morse was killed. Deputy Gallof noted in his April 27 report that at the hospital, “Mr. Johnson stated he thought the gun was empty after he removed the magazine and when he pulled the trigger, which is required on Glock handguns to disassemble them, the gun discharged.” “At first Mr. Johnson did not think he was injured, but then he felt a burning pain in his knee,” the report states. “Mr. Johnson looked down and observed a gunshot to his knee, with an exit wound on the same knee. He then called 911 for help.” The deputy interviewed Lipstein, Johnson's mother, who told him she did not think the shooting was a suicide attempt, “and that she fully believes this was an accident.”
- CHICAGO, IL, 4/28/16: A man accidentally shot himself Thursday afternoon while fighting with a home invader in the West Elsdon neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Shortly after 4 PM, the 69-year-old man heard a noise inside his home in the 3600 block of West 57th Place and then spotted an male inside the residence, according to Chicago Police. The man grabbed a handgun, but the home invader attempted to disarm him and a struggle ensued, police said. During the struggle, the 69-year-old man was shot in the hand, police said. The home invader then ran away. The man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was listed in good condition, police said, adding that he is not expected to be charged. No one was in custody in connection with the incident Thursday afternoon as Area Central detectives investigate.
- GONZALES, LA, 4/28/16: A Cabela’s employee accidentally shot himself in the hand Thursday afternoon while showing a handgun to a customer, Gonzales police said. The round from the .22-caliber gun went through the palm of the employee’s hand about 4:30 PM. It ended up in the floor of the 165,000 square-foot sporting goods store near La. 30 and Interstate 10. No one else was injured, police said in a Facebook post. Police officers are still investigating the shooting, but they have initially concluded the incident was an accident, police said. The employee was treated at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Gonzales and is in stable condition, police said. An employee answering the phone Thursday evening at the store said she could not give out any information about the shooting and could not connect a reporter to a manager.
- RIO RANCHO, NM, 4/28/16: A 9-year-old Rio Rancho child accidentally shot a younger sibling in the shoulder while handling a gun Thursday evening. The child who was shot was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The shooting happened on 21st Street near Golf Course and Highway 528 around 6 PM. 13-year-old Noah Ortega says she was an eyewitness to the incident. "I walked outside to go take the trash out and then I heard him scream, and then I saw his shoulder...and it was all bleeding," Ortega said. "He ran inside screaming really loud and his brother came out and was like, 'call 911!'" Rio Rancho police have not confirmed the gender of either child involved, though Ortega said they were both boys. The boy who was shot is expected to recover. Rio Rancho Deputy Police Chief Paul Rogers said he had no further information to report. UPDATE:Rio Rancho police have wrapped up an almost-four month investigation into a shooting involving two young brothers last spring and have turned over their report to the District Attorney’s Office for review. No charges have been filed in the April 28 incident in which a 5-year-old boy was wounded, according to police. The boy, police said, was shot in the left shoulder with a handgun fired by his 10-year-old brother. The boys and their 9-year-old sister were home alone at the time. According to the investigation report, the 10-year-old also showed off a firearm for school friends on the school bus earlier in the day. Rio Rancho Public Schools put out a notification to parents about that reported incident. The siblings are the children of Curtis Adams and Kerry Adams, who have since divorced. Kerry Adams, now Kerry Baldwin, and the children were living at the home on 21st Avenue at the time of the shooting, according to the report. Kerry Adams had been a non-paid columnist for the Observer and blogged about religion and politics. According to the investigation, Rio Rancho police investigator Kevin Dupre responded to reports on April 28 that a 5-year-old child had been shot. Dupre found splatters of blood on the home’s walls, a bedroom door frame and down a hallway that led outside onto the home’s driveway. Inside the older boy’s bedroom was the smell of “fresh-fired gunpowder” and evidence a bullet passed through the bedroom door, through a bathroom door next to the bedroom and struck the bathroom wall. A .40-caliber casing was found at the foot of the child’s bed, adorned with Spider-Man bed sheets. In the parent’s master bedroom’s closet was an unsecured BB gun, a .22-caliber rifle and ammunition. A .40-caliber Glock 23, with loaded magazines, was found inside a handgun case placed on a nearby chair. Investigators’ interviews with Curtis Adams, the victim and his brother revealed the 5-year-old was shot through the older boy’s bedroom door. The three children were home from school and their mother had gone grocery shopping at the time of the shooting. The older boy, according to the investigation, confessed to his father that he had the handgun in his bedroom, was joking with his younger brother and “wanted to scare his brother.” The younger brother was outside the bedroom, and the older brother “pointed the handgun at the door and it went off.” The boys’ sister – who was in her bedroom at the time – alerted neighbors of the shooting, who then contacted police and emergency responders. The victim was transported to and treated at the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he was later released the next day. The older boy, according to police, had taken the weapon to school on the same day of the shooting and showed the weapon to friends on the school bus, according to police. Curtis Adams, an Army veteran who completed five tours in Iraq, had taught his oldest son and daughter how to shoot a handgun – showing his children a safety video and teaching them about “basic firearms discipline” and how to disassemble and clean a handgun, according to police. He once took them to a gun range for their birthdays. He gave the .40-caliber Glock to Kerry Adams as a Mother’s Day present, police said. He told police he never taught his oldest son how to shoot the Glock. The parents have since been given dual custody of their three children. Kerry Adams chose not to be interviewed or provide a statement to police regarding the incident, Rio Rancho Police Department Lt. Nicholas Onken told the Observer. She did not respond to the Observer’s call or email for comment.
- AUSTIN, TX, 4/28/16: Police say a pregnant woman high on drugs shot herself in the hand last week while playing with a gun. According to the arrest affidavit, Rosita Briones Sandoval, 20, is charged with possession of a controlled substance, a third degree felony. Court documents say last Thursday police officers were flagged down near the Gas Pipe located at 701 East 5th Street after a parking attendant found a woman who had shot herself in the finger. Officers met Sandoval and her husband Narciso Perez-Rebollar as EMS medics were attending to Sandoval, who had blood splatter on her chest, arms and legs. Police say both had mumbled speech and were very slow to answer questions. Perez initially denied anything had happened. But after repeating every question multiple times, police were able to determine that the couple had been at a home in Northeast Austin earlier in the day when Sandoval found a gun and was "playing with it." Sandoval said she shot herself with it and she asked Perez to driver her to a hospital. When asked why they didn't stop at the two hospitals on I-35 that were between Northeast Austin and Downtown Austin, Sandoval said she was using GPS and it told her where to go. After marijuana, bags filled with a white powdery substance, pills and scales where found in her vehicle, Sandoval, who is pregnant, admitted that she had "dropped a bar" of Xanax earlier in the day. She does not have a prescription for Xanax, court documents say. And the white powdery substance in the bags located in her vehicle later tested positive for cocaine. Both were arrested. And because the gun was found under the driver's seat, Perez was charged with felon in possession of a firearm.
- POST FALLS, ID, 4/28/16: A tragedy was narrowly avoided Thursday when a 3-year-old boy accidentally fired a loaded gun at Kiwanis Park in Post Falls, according to police. The toddler who fired the weapon found it inside a vehicle he was in. "We could've easily had a dead child on our hands," said Post Falls Police Capt. Greg McLean. "A few more inches and it would have struck a child in the driver's seat in the vehicle next to them." The boy’s parents, Dusty and Jeremyah Polito, both 26-year-old Coeur d'Alene residents, were cited for injury to a child. The bullet ricocheted off the driver's side window of the vehicle next to the one the 3-year-old boy was in. Dusty and a friend each had two children with them during the incident. "Dusty advised the (9 mm) firearm belonged to her husband (Jeremyah)," the police report states. "Dusty advised she had no idea the firearm was in the vehicle." Jeremyah was not at the park during the incident, and met with police at the police department later in the day. He admitted to police that he left the firearm in the vehicle. "He stated that he and Dusty took the children for a drive the night before the incident," the report states. "He advised the children fell asleep in the vehicle. He stated that once they returned home, he and Dusty carried the children into the residence and he forgot the firearm was in the vehicle. He advised he usually carried it on his hip and simply forgot he had left it in the vehicle." The 3-year-old sustained a small cut to his forehead and a small bump on his forehead above his right eye, the report states. "Dusty advised the injury resulted from this incident and she believed the gun recoiled causing it to strike (the boy) in the forehead," the report states. Police responded to the park south of Interstate 90 along the Spokane River off Ross Point Road at 3:08 PM for a report that a small child may have discharged a gun inside a vehicle. "Someone could be heard yelling that everyone was OK," the report states. Dusty told police she and her children met another mother and kids at the park. "Dusty advised that her 3-year-old son got into the center console of the (2001 Dodge Durango) where she advised he picked up a handgun and fired a round from the weapon," the report states. "She advised the round appeared to have gone through the rear passenger door of the Durango which was open and struck the windshield of (her friend's) vehicle." The officer wrote that the bullet came within "mere inches" of a tragedy. "Given the fact that (the friend's) children were seated in the vehicle that was struck and the fact that there was another child in the vehicle in which the shot came from, this incident put all parties involved in serious danger of being seriously injured or killed," the report states. The incident was the latest example of cases gaining national attention of young kids getting hold of weapons and accidentally firing them. A 2-year-old boy fatally shot his mother from the back seat of the car as she drove along a Milwaukee, Wis., highway on Wednesday, less than two months after a Florida mother was shot and wounded in similar circumstances. In 2014, Veronica J. Rutledge, a 29-year-old mom, died at the Hayden Walmart after her 2-year-old son accidentally shot her with a gun she was carrying in her purse. McLean said the PFPD plans to hold a series of training seminars on gun safety prior to Idaho's new law allowing concealed carry without a permit, taking effect July 1. "There is nothing built into the law requiring some sort of training, so there's concern that we have irresponsible people out there," he said. The classes will be held in May and June, on dates to be determined. "There is a big concern out there with the new law about people acting irresponsible and leaving guns in a place where they can get into a child's hands," McLean said. "We want to get out as much education as possible so we don't have as many mishaps like this. People have to make sure guns are away from children. Get gun locks. We were very fortunate we didn't have the death of a small child."
- SAVANNAH, GA, 4/29/16: Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department say Friday morning at an apartment on the 12000 block of Middleground Road a 5 year old boy accidentally shot himself. Police say the boy found the gun in the apartment and pulled the trigger. Police say the boy was grazed by the bullet and received non-life threatening injuries. The child was taken to Memorial Univesity Medical Center, The 5-year-old’s mother and two juvenile siblings also were home during the incident. No additional injuries were reported. Police continue to investigate.
- AUGUSTA, GA, 4/29/16: Joe LeonGuerrero and his coworkers though they had a quiet Friday afternoon in store at the Weaver Distribution center in Augusta. But within a matter of seconds, things changed. "While working, I heard a firearm discharge," LeonGuerrero says. "I was previously in the military so I know the sound. And me and a coworker went to see what was going on and we saw a female get out of a vehicle and a child who was crying." A three-year-old girl had accidentally fired a shot in a car in the parking lot with her mom and five-year-old brother inside. A family friend went inside to pick up car parts, but left his gun in the car. The bullet went through the girl's backside and was lodged inside the car's windshield. "It's a very unfortunate accident," LeonGuerrero says. "Obviously there could have been precautions taken so that this had never occurred." An unfortunate accident that's already taken the lives of 176 U.S. kids under the age of 11 in 2016 alone. 798 people across the country have been shot accidentally this year as well, either by someone else or themselves. The shooting also comes on the one-year anniversary of the death of a one-year-old in Augusta after a 115-year-old accidentally pulled the trigger. As a father who's familiar with guns, LeonGuerrero says the gut-wrenching reality is these things happen all the time and there must always be an effort to keep guns out of the hands of children even if they think it's empty. For now, he says he's glad to hear the child is alright. But he says there's always a responsibility when it comes to packing heat. "I have children of my own and you have to take precautions if you want to own a firearm," LeonGuerrero says. "If you're gonna own a firearm, you've got to educate yourself. That's the bottom line." The girl remains in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and is expected to be okay.
- WICHITA, KS, 4/29/16: One person was seriously injured Friday morning in an accidental shooting in west Wichita. Wichita police say the incident occurred about 11 AM in the parking lot of Davis-Moore Chevrolet in the 8200 block of W. Kellogg. Police say two employees, a 28-year-old man and a 34-year-old man, were on their lunch break sitting in a vehicle looking a guns owned by the younger man when one of them apparently accidentally discharged. The older man was shot in the leg by the 28-year-old man. He was taken to an area hospital for treatment of his injuries.
- SYRACUSE, NY, 4/29/16: A man brought himself to the hospital Friday morning after shooting himself in the foot in Syracuse, police say. A 33-year-old man walked into Upstate University Hospital just after 6 AM with a gunshot wound to a toe on his left foot, said Detective George Hack, of the Syracuse Police Department. It appears the man accidentally shot himself, he said. The injury is considered minor, Hack said. Although the man claimed the shooting happened in the 200 block of Green Street, Hack said it's unclear whether the incident actually occurred on the North Side street. "Detectives are still trying to piece everything together," he said. "Still, it does not appear to be criminal in nature."
- CHARLESTON, WV, 4/29/16: Police are investigating after a handgun discharged during a children’s swim lesson at the University of Charleston on Friday. It was a scary moment for some parents and their children after the evening incident. No one was injured. Jackie Kay, of Charleston, said her 17-year-old daughter teaches swim lessons through the HYCAT program, which meets at the Gorman PE Building on the University of Charleston’s campus. Kay’s daughter was in the pool with several students while the children’s parents sat around the pool, watching the lesson. “This man was sitting not 2 feet away, and his gun went off,” Kay said, recalling what her daughter told her. “She said he had a huge hole in his pocket. “Everyone was upset. It could have been a terrible tragedy for many people.” Randy Ross, UC’s director of public safety, said the man, whose name has not been released, was carrying a Springfield Arms XDM .40-caliber handgun in his back pants pocket. The man has a concealed carry permit, Ross said. Weapons are not allowed on UC’s campus. The weapon was accidentally discharged, Ross said, adding that it was a “strange” occurrence for that type of weapon, which has what he called a “double-action” safety. “It’s very hard to do that with that weapon,” Ross said. “Weapons don’t just go off like that. It’s almost something like you have to consciously do and I know that that wasn’t the case.” Ross said the discharge likely wouldn’t have happened had the man been carrying the weapon in a proper holster. The round was fired through the man’s back pocket, ricocheted off the tile floor and struck a bench, he said. Ross said the man was “traumatized” by the incident. “I question his judgment in carrying the weapon that way, but he seemed like a responsible man,” Ross said. “He didn’t have the weapon out. He seemed embarrassed and traumatized by the whole thing.” Ross said the man was cooperative with campus security officers and Charleston police, who also responded. The gun was confiscated and the man was released and left with his children, Ross said. Parents and children at the pool were distraught, he said. “We’re just so thankful that no one was hurt,” Ross said. Lt. Steve Cooper, Charleston’s chief of detectives, said Charleston officers are investigating the incident and consulting with the Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. “We anticipate that charges will be filed and are glad that no one, especially children, were injured or worse this evening,” Cooper said.
- ELIZABETH CITY, NC, 4/29/16: Elizabeth City police officials have identified the man who inadvertently shot himself on Friday and who was found in distress in a driveway off Oak Stump Road. Marque Morris, 31, had his registered .380 caliber handgun in the passenger area of his car, a 2000 Dodge Intrepid, as he was driving on Oak Stump around 5:30 PM, according to a press release from Capt. John Young. The firearm fell onto the floorboard, and in picking up the weapon Morris accidentally shot himself in the upper left thigh, according to the release. He immediately pulled into a driveway and began trying to flag down motorists for help, it states. Retired police officer Terry Gurganus, who was driving home from a store, saw Morris and stopped to assist, administering first aid, the release continues. Young reported Pasquotank-Camden Emergency Medical Services transported Morris to Norfolk Sentara Hospital. Young reported he didn’t know Morris’ condition, but wrote the injury was not considered life threatening. The release also states that Morris’ vehicle was towed and taken “pending further investigation.”
- BLUFFTON, SC, 4/29/16: A 15-year-old male was airlifted to a Savannah hospital Friday evening after he accidentally shot himself in the leg in Bluffton. Bluffton Police Department spokesperson Joy Nelson said Monday the teen was in the Pine Ridge neighborhood when the shot rang out around 6 PM. He was taken by helicopter to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah, Nelson said. She could not provide information on the teenager’s condition Monday. The investigation into the shooting is ongoing as police attempt to identify to whom the weapon belonged, Nelson said.
- GREENWOOD, IN, 4/29/16: A 24-year-old man was hospitalized Friday afternoon after accidentally shooting himself at the Greenwood Park Mall. The Franklin man was using the restroom at the mall and was putting his .45-caliber handgun back into his holster when the gun accidentally fired. according to a police report from the Greenwood Police Department. The bullet went into his right buttock and exited from his right leg, according to the police report. The holster rests inside of the man’s waistband along the right hip. He was transported to the Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, and has since been released. In addition to his self- sustained injury, the bullet also broke a piece of the tile floor in the bathroom, the report said.
- TACOMA, WA, 4/29/16: A 16-year-old boy’s plan to rob a pot dealer went awry Friday when he accidentally shot himself in the groin, court documents say. Police responded to a 9:18 PM 911 report of someone screaming that they had shot themselves at 9330 59th Ave. SE in Lakewood, Wash., the records state. Officers found the teenager with a gunshot wound through his left groin and left buttocks, and a robber mask nearby. The teenager was taken to Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where a seven-hour operation repaired a fractured pelvis, fractured femur and severely damaged femoral artery, records state. The teenager is being held on suspicion of committing first-degree robbery with a firearm sentencing enhancement and unlawful possession of a firearm. Two people believed to be accomplices were arraigned Monday on first-degree robbery charges. According to court documents: The teenager set up a drug deal on Facebook with a friend. His friend met the dealer, who showed him the marijuana he wanted. The friend grabbed the bag and ran. The dealer and the passenger from his car chased the friend about 50 yards before the teenager – wearing a mask and showing a handgun – showed up and asked, “What’s up?” The dealer and passenger then ran toward their car. The teenager went to put the gun back into his pants and the weapon fired a bullet through his leg. The friend was arrested, along with another acquaintance of the teenager who allegedly took the marijuana and firearm from the scene. Police found the gun in University Place.
- LEBANON, TN, 4/29/16: A 10-year-old boy reportedly found a weapon Friday and accidentally shot himself in the stomach. The boy’s little sister called 911, according to Cpl. PJ Hardy with the Lebanon Police Department. The child was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center by ambulance. His condition has yet to be released. Police said he would have been flown by LifeFlight but weather conditions interfered. Authorities told WKRN that at this point they do not know where the boy’s mother and father are.
- GREENEVILLE, TN, 4/30/16: A man accidentally shot himself in the foot late Saturday night at a house on Airport Road, sheriff's Deputy Jon Harness said in a report. Edward R. Hitchens, 25, of Cross Anchor, told deputies he had just purchased a Smith & Wesson .38 Special from a friend and was attempting to open the cylinder "and the gun discharged, hitting the victim in the right foot," the report said. Hitchens "had a hole in his foot consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound," the report said. No further information was included in the report.
- HUNTINGDON, TN, 4/30/16: Officials say a weekend shooting that left a Huntingdon man dead was accidental. Police responded around 1:49 AM Saturday to a gun shot report at Hunter Ridge Apartments, according to a release from Director of Public Safety Walter Smothers. Officers found Peyton Gates, 18, inside an apartment with a gunshot wound to his head and a .38 Smith & Wesson revolver lying next to him, according to the release. Gates was still breathing and was taken by ambulance to Baptist Memorial Hospital. He then was transferred to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville where he was pronounced dead at 11:39 AM. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation along with Huntingdon police concluded the gunshot wound was self-inflicted and accidental, according to the release. An autopsy was performed Monday by the State Medical Examiner in Nashville.
- DAYTON, OH, 4/30/16: A man was sleeping in his bed early today when a bullet came through his bedroom wall and struck him. Now, police are trying to find out who fired shots in the air while the victim continues to recover from his injury at a local hospital. Police and medics were called around 12:30 AM to a home in the 3900 block of Palmerston Avenue after a man reported he had been shot in the head. Dayton police Sgt. Craigee Coleman said the victim’s injuries are not life-threatening. “As crews canvassed the area, they observed several shell casings — approximately 100 feet east of the victim’s residence — in the street,” Coleman said. “This appeared to be just a random act of a person who was indiscriminately firing a weapon into the air and not sure where the bullets were going.” Coleman said this kind of violence has to stop, that the community “cannot continue to let this happen, all these weapons in and around our area … must do something as a society, as a city, to stop this gun violence.”
- SANDY, UT, 4/30/16: A man went to a hospital with a superficial gunshot wound Saturday after his firearm accidentally discharged in the parking lot of a venue where a gun show was underway. The shooting occurred around 4:15 PM in the parking lot at South Towne Expo Center, 9575 South State Street in Sandy, Saturday. According to police at the scene, a man left the gun show and returned to his vehicle in the parking lot. Because loaded weapons are not allowed inside the venue during the show, the man had left his gun in the car. “Following the gun show he had returned to his car and he had retrieved his weapon and was re-holstering it prior to leaving, at which time he accidentally discharged the weapon, which is a .40-caliber pistol, shooting himself in the right thigh,” said Sgt. Dean Carriger of the Sandy Police Department. The 62-year-old man from Kaysville suffered a minor injury. He was transported to a nearby hospital to be evaluated. “It’s just a reminder to everybody that they need to fully understand their weapons and use due diligence and caution when handling weapons, especially if they know that they are loaded,” Carriger said.
- ODENTON, MD, 4/30/16: Anne Arundel County police believe a man was high on cocaine when he said he shot his rifle at two would-be burglars before jumping out of a second-story window and calling police. Officers were called around 12:20 AM Saturday to a report of a burglary in progress call in the 1300 block of Burlington Drive in Odenton. Upon arrival, officers were met by the man who told police he was home alone when two people broke into his house. The man told police after seeing one person and in fear for his safety he jumped out of second-story window and called police for help. Officers learned the suspect fired a shot from a firearm inside his house. During the investigation, police learned that the man, identified as 30-year-old Jason Elliott Brown, was high on a controlled dangerous substance, and that the house was not burglarized. During the incident, Brown laid under a bed, and fired a round from a 30-30 rifle and then jumped out the window, police said. The house is a duplex and neighbors believed a 16-year-boy was home alone at the address next to Brown's. The door of the neighbor’s was forced open to make sure no one was accidentally shot, but no one was home, police said. The round that was fired traveled about three to four inches off the floor from the master bedroom, and went through two interior walls and several items lodging somewhere in the third interior wall of Brown's home, police said. Police said they recovered the weapon, a spent casing, the rifle used in the incident, two additional rifles and cocaine residue. Brown was not injured from the jump from the window, police said. Police said no burglary ever happened at Brown's home. Brown was charged with false report, discharge of a firearm, deadly weapon, possession of cocaine, and reckless endangerment.
- HOT SPRINGS, AR, 4/30/16: A woman was struck in the face by a bullet during her husband’s suicide attempt, deputies say. The Garland County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called at 3 AM on Saturday to a residence on Caroline Acres Road southeast of Lake Hamilton in response to a shooting. When they arrived, they found an unnamed 79-year-old woman who said her husband accidentally shot her. Deputies said she had a severe laceration to her nose, and she was hospitalized. In the woman’s home, they found an unnamed 77-year-old man in bed with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound that resulted in his death, according ot the Garland County Sheriff’s Office. A weapon was found at the home, and investigators were able to determine that the bullet from the man’s suicide wound was the one that grazed the woman’s nose, according to deputies.
- WINSTON-SALEM, NC, 4/30/16: A Winston-Salem business owner was showing his gun to another employee and it accidentally went off and a projectile went through the wall and into another business. Winston-Salem police said it happened as Phillip Cary Long was demonstrating how to operate a firearm to another employee at Long Jewelers at about 11 AM April 30 at 105 Hanes Square Circle. Police said Long’s handgun was discharged unintentionally inside the business and a projectile went through a wall and into the kitchen area of Panera Bread. No injuries were reported. Long has been charged with discharging a firearm in the city limits and resisting and delaying an officer.
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