Five of 41 guns forgotten by passengers and found by TSA agents at airports across the country last week.
Hey there, GunFAIL fans. Long time, no see.
Well, no point in trying to explain what happened. The real point is that people haven't stopped shooting themselves or others accidentally, and I never stopped keeping the list of the times they did it. Had the publication continued uninterrupted on a weekly basis, this would have been GunFAIL CXXXI. So, let's get right to it for the week, then, shall we?
My top story for the week has to be the Lancaster, Ohio, enthusiast who showed up to "guard" the Armed Forces Career Center recruiting station in his local strip mall, and then accidentally fired his very awesome-looking AR-15 into the parking lot pavement. I note that the weapon was very awesome-looking in order to give a little background to what happened here. See, it seems that the gun had an admirer in the crowd, who asked if he could "take a look at" it. It was in the process of unloading the weapon to make it "safe" to hand over that the accident occurred.
But gun enthusiasts would like you to note that our hero did everything right, here! After all, he followed the rules which say that you never hand a loaded weapon over to someone else, and that when unloading it, you keep it pointed in a "safe" direction, in this case, the ground. Excellent job!
However, he did forget one of the key rules of using your firearms to actively guard something, which is that if someone asks you if they can "take a look at" your weapon, the correct answer is, "No, I am guarding something." Seems like that would have saved us a lot of embarrassment here.
There were probably a lot of things that could have avoided the rest of the week's trouble. None of the old patterns have changed since the last publication of GunFAIL. Of our original 38 incidents (keep in mind that the numbers are subject to change as new reports come in), fully 21 involved people who accidentally shot themselves or a family member, and 18 of the 38 incidents involved children as victims, ranging in age from 3 to 17. In fact, kids were the ones who pulled the trigger in 14 of this week's reported GunFAILs. As for the rest of the old, familiar patterns, this week's reports speak for themselves, below the fold.
- DETROIT, MI, 7/19/15: A 4-year-old boy is in critical condition after shooting himself with his grandfather's gun Sunday night in a home on Detroit's west side, police said. “The grandfather, who works security, was getting ready. He took his weapon, the firearm, put it on top of the refrigerator, went downstairs,” said Capt. Mark Bliss. “The 4-year-old, who was in the kitchen, basically climbed up and got to the firearm. He was basically looking at it, playing with it.” The gun discharged, shooting the boy in his abdomen, Bliss said. The boy is being treated at Sinai-Grace Hospital. Bliss said the grandfather does have a license for the gun.
- COVINGTON, KY, 7/19/15: A man accidentally shot himself when he sat down with a gun in his pocket Sunday, according to Covington Police. Police found Steven Franklin, 18, suffering from a gunshot wound when they responded to the 1800 block of Eastern Avenue around 7:30 PM. He was transported to University of Cincinnati Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. After an investigation, officials determined the shooting to be accidental. "Evidence suggests that the victim was carrying a loaded .22 revolver in his pocket that discharged when he sat down," read a Covington Police statement released on Monday.
- LAREDO, TX, 7/19/15: A 60-year-old man accidentally shot himself while cleaning his gun, according to Laredo police. The incident happened at about 3:30 PM Sunday in the 2000 block of East Gustavus Street. When officers arrived at the scene, the man told them he had shot himself accidentally with a .22-caliber handgun. Police said the man was in his room working on his handgun. He thought he had unloaded it, reports state. One single shot fired hit him in his right thigh, according to police. He called 911 for assistance. “All the evidence was consistent that he had shot himself,” said Investigator Joe E. Baeza, LPD spokesman.
- EL PASO, TX, 7/19/15: A complaint affidavit stated that a 19-year-old woman was playing with a handgun before she accidentally shot a man Sunday night in West El Paso. Jessica Deo, of the 4700 block of North Mesa Street, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting Adrian Herrera at 9 PM Sunday in the 1600 block of Via Appia Street, police said. Deo was playing with .32-caliber handgun when she accidentally fired one round that struck Herrera in the hip, according to a criminal complaint affidavit filed by police. Herrera, 19, of the 5700 block of Kalpana Chawla Court, was taken to University Medical Center of El Paso where he was treated for a wound that police described as not being life threatening. El Paso County Jail records show that Deo was released from jail on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond. Police did not say disclose the relationship between Deo and Herrera.
- HAGERSTOWN, IN, 7/19/15: The following individuals or businesses reported incidents to the police: Allison Short, Hagerstown: Accidental shooting, 13000 block of Jones Road, 8:40 PM Sunday
- BUENA VISTA, WI, 7/20/15: An 84-year-old man was hurt Monday morning when he accidentally shot himself in the foot at his home in the town of Buena Vista in southern Portage County. The man was taken by ambulance to Ministry Saint Michael’s Hospital in Stevens Point at about 10:25 AM, according to Lt. Jim Pozniak of the Portage County Sheriff's Office. The man’s .22-caliber revolver went off after falling to the floor from a holster when he bent down to tie his boots, Pozniak said. The holster had been tucked between the man's arm and torso. The bullet made both an entry and exit wound near the man’s left foot, Pozniak said. The man was expected to recover from his injury, Pozniak said. No charges were expected to be filed as a result of the incident, Pozniak said.
- CASSVILLE, WI, 7/20/15: A 17-year-old boy is dead after an accidental shooting in Grant County. Sheriff's deputies found Jared Winkers dead while responding to a report of a shooting at a home in the Township of Cassville just after 9 PM Monday. They say he was killed by an accidental discharge from a weapon that Dillon Vogt, 19, was holding. The two were shooting targets at Winkers' house with some friends when the incident took place. The Sheriff's Office says they believe this was just a tragic accident, but the shooting is still under investigation. No charges have been filed against Vogt.
- MOBILE, AL, 7/20/15: Mobile Police said a three-year-old child was accidentally shot by a six-year-old relative. According to family members of the children, the two are brothers. Somehow, family members said the 6-year-old obtained a loaded gun kept inside the home for protection. When the child began playing with the gun, the 6-year-old accidentally shot his younger brother, according to police. While Mobile Police did not confirm where the child was shot, scanner traffic indicated the child was shot in the head. The shooting happened Monday afternoon at the child's home on Border Circle North in West Mobile, according to police. Police responded to the home around 1:25 PM Monday, July 20. Upon arrival, the first responding officer determined the child needed immediate medical care. So the officer took the child to Providence Hospital in a patrol car. "The child definitely needed care urgently, and it would have taken longer for fire rescue to get here than for the officer to just load the child in the car and actually leave," said Officer Terence Perkins with Mobile Police. After the child was stabilized at Providence, he was taken to USA Medical Center where he was last listed in critical condition. Police said, so far, there are no criminal charges pending, as the shooting was an accident. Officials did not release the name of either of the children involved in the incident.
- MANCHESTER, CT, 7/20/15: The Manchester Police Department is investigating an apparent accidental shooting that happened at 64 West St. The shooting took place at around 5:30 PM on Monday and injured a 21-year-old man. During the incident, the man suffered a non-life threatening gunshot wound to the arm after being shot with a handgun. He was transported to St. Francis Hospital for treatment. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation at this time.
- SPRINGFIELD, IL, 7/20/15: A Milwaukee man accidentally shot himself in the foot during an incident Monday in the 2800 block of South Grand Ave. East that likely will result in drug charges against him and two other men. Springfield police arrived at Popeye’s Chicken on South Grand about 5:50 PM in response to a possible shooting/robbery and took four men into custody. Brandon A. Blunt, 22, and Lontonio J.D. Smith, 27, both of Milwaukee, and Marcus G. Newman, 30, of the 2500 block of Lowell Avenue were apprehended outside the restaurant. Brian C. Turner, 23, of the 1500 block of Glenn Street was caught by police after a short chase. Springfield police gave this account of the incident: Blunt and Smith were with Turner and later met with Newman at a home on the north end of Springfield. All four drove to a business of South Grand where they began to argue and Newman ran from the vehicle. Smith chased Newman with a handgun, police said, and Blunt followed. Smith handed the gun to Blunt, who accidentally shot himself in the foot. Blunt, who was treated at St. John’s Hospital for his gunshot wound and then released, was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and unlawful use of a weapon.
- ST. LOUIS, MO, 7/21/15: Homicide was requested after a 3-year-old boy sustained a self-inflected gunshot wound Tuesday morning, police said. According to police, the child found a loaded gun in a bedroom and accidentally shot himself in the head in the 1200 block of Walton around 9:15 AM. The child did not live at the home where the gunshot wound was sustained. After sustaining the gunshot wound, the child was taken into surgery. The child's condition is currently listed as critical and unstable, police said. The next 72 hours are critical for the child’s recovery, according to police. The child’s family are cooperating with police. The incident is being investigated by child abuse and homicide units.
- PORTSMOUTH, VA, 7/21/15: A Sheriff’s deputy accidentally shot herself in her patrol car outside City Hall on Tuesday, said Misty Holley, a city Police Department spokeswoman. The incident happened just before 4:30 PM, she said. The deputy was at the intersection of Crawford Street and Columbia Street. “She was in her vehicle and she alerted dispatch that she had accidentally shot herself in the leg,” Holley said. The deputy had gone into the Portsmouth City Jail to search a female prisoner and had secured her service weapon in her car before doing so, said Lt. Lee Cherry, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office. There is a policy prohibiting deputies from carrying guns inside the jail. “When she came back to her car, she reacquired the weapon in her vehicle and that’s when it discharged,” Cherry said. The bullet struck her on the outside of her right thigh and traveled about six or eight inches down her leg before exiting her body, he said. Cherry said the wound is not life threatening and that the deputy’s name will be released Wednesday, after her family has been fully notified about what happened. He said the city’s Police Department will investigate the shooting, as well as the Sheriff’s internal affairs officers.
- ANDOVER, MA, 7/21/15: Lucky the Hamburglar wasn't around the McDonalds on North Main Street earlier this week when a customer accidentally left behind his loaded Glock 27 pistol in the men's bathroom. According to police records, the licensed gun owner stopped by the bathroom after a visit to the restaurant this past Tuesday around 4:30 PM. But when he left the restroom, the unidentified man inadvertently forgot his gun as he left the restaurant. Moments later, the restaurant's manager entered the bathroom and discovered the unattended gun, according to police. He immediately alerted the Police Department. "The man used the toilet and left (the gun) in there by mistake," Andover Police Commander Charles Heseltine said. "When officers arrived, (the gun owner) was returning, as once he pulled out of the lot he realized he left it and returned immediately." The gun owner returned to the McDonalds to retrieve the gun as police were arriving at the restaurant. The Police Department and McDonalds are within a mile of each other. The man is fully licensed to carry a firearm, Heseltine said. Charges are not expected to be filed. According to police records, however, detectives brought the gun back to the police station with them.
- MUSCOY, CA, 7/21/15: SUSPECT: Armando Mora, 50 years old/ Mando Mora, 31 years old/ Jessica Sambrano, 26 years old - all residents of Muscoy. On July 21, 2015 at approximately 1:32 AM, deputies responded to 3036 N. State Street in Muscoy (unincorporated area of San Bernardino) in reference to a shooting investigation. Upon arrival deputies made contact with a subject who was shot in the stomach. Through investigation, it was learned the subject had accidentally shot himself. While checking the residence for additional victims and evidence, identifiable stolen property was located. A search warrant was authored and served at the residence. The stolen property was linked to thefts at the University of California Los Angeles and other burglaries. Approximately $12,000 worth of stolen power tools, heavy equipment and military issued equipment were recovered. Mando Mora and Jessica Sambrano were both arrested and booked at Central Detention Center. Armando Mora remained hospitalized and charges of possession of stolen property are pending.
- OAKLAND, CA, 7/21/15: A man is facing murder charges after he allegedly admitted to accidentally shooting another man in the back of the head with a shotgun in his East Oakland apartment last week, police said. The shooting was reported at about 12:40 AM last Tuesday in the 2700 block of E.C. Reems Court, a short cul-de-sac off MacArthur Boulevard, according to police records. The suspect’s father called police and said his son, 19-year-old Isaiah Powell, had accidentally shot another man, according to a probable cause statement by Oakland police Officer Kris McClain. The victim was identified by prosecutors as 18-year-old Frank Franz. Responding officers found Franz suffering a gunshot wound to the back of his head. He died at the scene, McClain said. Powell was taken into custody and police found the shotgun he allegedly used and took it into evidence. Powell admitted to police investigators that he shot Franz while playing with the shotgun, according to McClain. Four other people fled the apartment after the shooting and police were still looking for them as of last Tuesday night. Powell was scheduled to appear in court this morning for arraignment. He remains in Santa Rita Jail without bail, according to jail records.
- OLATHE, KS, 7/22/15: A 14-year-old boy in Olathe suffered a gunshot wound Wednesday in what police called an accidental shooting. Police responded to the incident about 5 PM in the 600 block of East Welston Avenue in Olathe. A male teen had been wounded in the upper arm by a bullet from a .22-caliber rifle fired by another teen, according to police. Investigators believed the shooting was unintentional and the injury was not life-threatening. The injured teen called to report his own injury, police said, and was taken to a hospital. The investigation continued Wednesday.
- MCPHERSON CO., KS, 7/22/15: A Gypsum man was booked into the Saline County Jail Wednesday on charges of domestic battery and felony damage to property, after being treated for a gunshot wound to his hand. Sheriff Glen Kochanowski said deputies were sent to a home in Gypsum late Tuesday on a domestic disturbance call. When they arrived they found a 1998 F-150 with all the windows broken out. A woman at the home said 53-year-old Edward L. Swisher broke the windows out with a tire tool after getting into an argument with her and left with friends, but also had a gunshot wound to his hand. Swisher was located with his friends Wednesday in Canton, and returned to Saline County. Kochanowski said Swisher, who had been with friends shooting a rifle in McPherson County, suffered the gunshot wound after he held out a hat for his friend to shoot. His friend missed the hat and shot Swisher in the hand. Alcohol is believed to have been a factor in both the battery and damage to property cases as well as the accidental shooting.
- PINE BLUFF, AR, 7/22/15: The Pine Bluff Police Department is investigating the shooting of a 5-year-old child. According to Sgt. David E. De Foor, the child was shot in the head Wednesday morning after, 26-year-old Sirtravis Franklin, the child's mother, and another person were looking at a pistol on the 500 block of East 28th Street when the gun went off. De Foor said at this point, the shooting appears to be accidental, but Franklin has been arrested and charged with felon in possession of a firearm and second-degree battery. The sergeant said he ran after the shooting and was found by officers the next morning. No other charges have been filed in the case. The child has been taken to the Arkansas Children's Hospital; he condition is unknown at this time. At the time of this report, Franklin was booked into the Jefferson County Jail.
- STEVENS POINT, WI, 7/22/15: A veteran Portage County deputy sheriff accidentally shot himself in the leg with his pistol following a training exercise, authorities said Thursday. The shooting occurred late Wednesday afternoon after some training with the special response team, said Capt. Dale Okray of the Portage County Sheriff's Department. The deputy, a 15-year veteran whose name was not released, was adjusting his Glock .40-caliber pistol in its holster when somehow the trigger accidentally got pulled, Okray said. The bullet struck the deputy in the calf, Okray said. He was treated and released at a hospital. "His pride is more damaged than his calf," the captain said.
- MADISON, WI, 7/23/15: A Madison boy accidentally shot himself in the hand with a handgun he took from an unlocked vehicle early Thursday morning, Madison police said. The boy took the handgun from an unlocked pickup truck around 3 AM and went back to his home in the 300 block of Wyalusing Drive, according to a release. The boy reportedly concealed the gun in his waistband. When he went to unload the gun, he pulled the trigger and shot himself in the hand, police said. The boy faces tentative charges of possession of a dangerous weapon, carrying a concealed weapon and negligent use of weapons.
- CHICAGO, IL, 7/23/15: An off-duty Chicago Police officer was injured when their own gun went off Thursday morning in the South Shore neighborhood. The officer was in the 2200 block of East 69th Street about 11:30 AM when they “took action to stop an in-progress crime,” according to police. The officer’s weapon discharged and the officer was injured, police said. The officer was taken in good condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Police did not release the officer’s gender or age. No other injuries were reported. Area Central detectives are investigating.
- WELASCO, TX, 7/23/15: Investigators are on the scene in Weslaco, where a shooting happened on Thursday near 6th Street and Louisiana. Weslaco police got a call about a gunshot wound. When they arrived, two 15-year-old boys told officers they were playing with their dad's gun, when it went off. One of the teens was holding the gun when one shot was fired. That bullet struck the other teen in the hip. The teenager who was shot was taken to a McAllen hospital without any major injuries. Weslaco police took the other teen to the police station for questioning. Officer Bernie Garza said the incident appears to be an accident. Police are still investigating to make sure there wasn't any malicious intent.
- NICOMA PARK, OK, 7/23/15: Authorities are investigating a shooting involving a boy accidentally shooting himself in the face in Nicoma Park. The shooting was near Northeast 36th and Westminster. Officials said a 10-year-old was shot and was conscious when he was transported to an area hospital. Officials said the child did not live at the home, but was the child of a contractor working on the home.
- STAR TOWNSHIP, MI, 7/23/15: New information has been released following a shooting that killed a young boy in Antrim County. It happened Thursday at a home on Tobis Road in Star Township around 9:45 AM. The Antrim County Sheriff’s Office tells us they ruled the shooting that killed 11-year-old Thomas Belanger as accidental/self-inflicted. Sheriff Daniel Bean says Thomas and his 14-year-old brother grabbed their grandfathers .357 revolver from a dresser drawer. The handgun was kept unloaded but the sheriff says the boys then went to another place in the home for ammo. Sheriff Bean tells us the two brothers then went to a makeshift fort where Thomas tripped on some boards, fell, and the gun fired, hitting Thomas in the face. Thomas then died from the gunshot wound.
- MEMPHIS, TN, 7/23/15: Memphis police officers are investigating an accidental shooting near a Walgreen's drug store. According to police, a 32-year-old man accidentally shot himself in the leg near the 3400 block of Elvis Presley Boulevard. A security guard at the Walgreen's said the man shot himself down the street from the store, then drove to the store's parking lot to wait for the ambulance. Police said the victim was taken to the hospital in non-critical condition.
- DICKINSON, ND, 7/23/15: A 48-year-old man was taken to CHI St. Joseph’s Health after he accidentally shot himself in the foot while cleaning a gun on the 1700 block of Seventh Avenue Southwest in Dickinson. Lt. Dave Wallace said the man neglected to remove the gun’s magazine or empty its chamber before attempting to clean it.
- LANCASTER, OH, 7/23/15: An armed volunteer guarding an Army recruiting station in the River Valley Mall area has been charged with a misdemeanor after he accidentally fired his AR-15 rifle this afternoon. One shot was fired, and no one was injured, Lt. Shane Wilson said. Someone from the recruiting station at 1530 River Valley Blvd. flagged down an officer at 12:01 PM to report the incident, Wilson said. Christopher A. Reed, 28, of Lancaster, was charged with discharging a firearm in the city limits, and was issued a summons to appear in Fairfield County Municipal Court on Tuesday, according to the police incident report. Reed told the officer who responded that he was standing, holding his AR-15 rifle in front of the military recruiting station to guard the personnel inside when someone approached him and asked if he could take a look at the weapon. Reed agreed to show him, and while he was trying to clear the ammunition from the weapon, he accidentally fired into the asphalt pavement. The only damage was a hole in the pavement. The rifle was taken from Reed pending his appearance in court, the incident report says. Conviction on the fourth-degree misdemeanor is punishable by a maximum of 30 days in jail. Some armed civilians have been guarding military recruiting stations in Ohio and elsewhere following the fatal shootings of five service members at a military recruitment center in Tennessee. Reed said in a telephone interview this afternoon that he had started guarding the recruiting station on Monday. “I’m nobody special,” Reed said. “I’m just a guy doing my job because my own government wouldn’t do it.” Reed said he is not a military veteran. He described himself as an active gun enthusiast who makes a living working side jobs. He downplayed the accidental shot fired. “It is what it is,” he said. “Nobody got hurt.”
- PIKE CO., OH, 7/23/15: Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader reports that at 10:27 AM Pike County Sheriff’s deputies responded to 2733 SR 41 in reference to an accidental shooting. “Investigators from the Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene and located a 13-year-old victim suffering from a single self-inflicted gunshot wound,” said Sheriff Reader. “Pike County Sheriff’s Office Investigators learned from the victim and his mother that the juvenile was cleaning the weapon when it discharged, striking the child in the lower abdomen.” The victim was transported by Bainbridge Squad to an Air Evac helicopter and was then transported via helicopter to Children’s Hospital.
- NAVARRE, OH, 7/24/15: A Wayne County woman does not appear to have life-threatening injuries after she shot herself Friday morning outside a township business. The shooting appears to be accidental, said Stark County Sheriff George T. Maier. The woman, who works at Miller Weldmaster Corp., which offers machines used in manufacturing items such as inflatable products, awnings and tarps, had a loaded gun in her purse and the safety was off. When she exited her vehicle just after 9:30 AM Friday outside the business at 4220 Alabama Ave. SW, she dropped her purse and the gun fired. She was taken to a local hospital, Maier said. The woman does not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, Maier said. The Stark County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident, and no charges had been filed Friday morning.
- GALLIPOLIS, OH, 7/24/15: The Gallia County Sheriff's Office is investigating a shooting incident involving a teenager. Sheriff Joe Browning tells WSAZ a Gallipolis Police Officer pulled over a vehicle for erratic driving. They say the mother of a 15-year-old was taking him to get medical attention after getting shot. The incident was reported about 11:17 PM on Clay Lick Road. Browning tells WSAZ the shooting was initially reported as accidental and the teen may have dropped the gun. According to the sheriff, the teen received a pretty significant wound to his shoulder and was taken to a Huntington hospital. The Gallia County Sheriff's Office and Ohio BCI are investigating. Due to the victim's age, his name is not being released.
- GALVESTON, TX, 7/24/15: A four-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the head Friday afternoon, but he is expected to survive, according to Galveston Police. Around 2:45 PM police responded to a call at a home in the 2200 block of 37th street in Galveston. Officers said the child had a gunshot wound to his forehead. The boy was treated immediately by police and emergency officials on the scene. He was taken to the John Sealy Emergency Room at UTMB and his condition is still being assessed at this time. However, the bullet apparently caused a deep laceration and grazed the skull, police said. Detectives interviewed family members and witnesses on the scene and are working to make sure no one else was involved in the shooting. They are also working with the Galveston County District Attorney's Officer to determine the appropriate level of criminal action to be taken, police said.
- TULLAHOMA, TN, 7/24/15: A 12-year-old has been injured in an accidental shooting according to police. The incident happened around 5:30 PM Friday when the young male was accidentally shot with a hunting rifle. Officials said the victim was taken to Harton Regional Medical center by his parents before being taken by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Authorities said the 12-year-old was responsive, but his condition was unknown.
- WICHITA, KS, 7/24/15: A 16-year old boy walked into the Wesley Medical Center emergency room around 1 AM Friday with a gunshot wound to his leg, police said. He said the gunshot was from a drive-by shooting near his home in the 700 block of South Hunter. Police officers went to the area to investigate the shooting, but as the investigation unfolded and officers talked with the 16-year old’s mother, the boy changed his story. The 16-year old eventually admitted that he shot himself in the leg while at home, police said. The boy and his mother cooperated with the investigation, and when police went to the home they found two handguns. One was reportedly stolen and the other was defaced of its serial numbers, police said. Police said the 16-year old had a criminal record that did not allow him to possess a firearm. They took the him into custody on suspicion of firearm charges after being treated for the wound.
- DURANGO, CO, 7/24/15: A man who police shot at in Durango has turned himself in. Durango police were investigating reports of shots being fired at a house on Hillcrest Drive. When officers went to talk to the neighbor, 21-year-old Ian Meier, he walked out of his home carrying an AR-15. An officer asked Meier to put the rifle down but police say he then raised it. That is when the officers fired two shots and the suspect took off. Meier later surrendered and told police the whole thing started when he accidentally fired his weapon while cleaning it, hitting his neighbor’s house. Police believe Meier may have been drunk at the time.
- ATTALLA, AL, 7/24/15: Attalla Police Chief Dennis Walker and Deputy Chief Ryan Condy believe the Lord was looking out for some people in Attalla last Friday, when an accidental shooting ended up being far less of a tragedy than it could have been. A man was injured, but he’s already out of the hospital. He or one of the three children in his car could have been killed, Walker said, when the gun went off. Walker said the emergency call came in about 4:30 PM Friday. Initially, the call was that a child had been shot with a .22 pistol. “Of course, that makes your heart drop,” Walker said, “thinking it’s a child.” Dispatchers quickly learned an adult had been shot and a child was holding the gun when it happened. Walker said the adult and his son had gone to pick up the man’s nephews, who climbed into his back seat. The man works out of town a lot, Walker said, so he kept a gun under his car seat for personal protection. The gun apparently slid out so the boys in the back seat saw it. A 7-year-old picked up the gun, Walker said, and it fired. The bullet went through the back of the seat and struck the man in the side of his back, ending up lodged in his arm. “The boy thought it was a toy,” Walker said. The uncle told police he usually took the gun out of his car if he knew children were going to be riding with him. “Just this one time, he didn’t,” the chief said. Condy added, “One time is all it takes.” Still, it could have been a far worse situation, and both officers hope it’s one that will make all gun owners — and parents — think.
- ATHENS, GA, 7/24/15: On July 24, Deputy Cody Dalton was dispatched to Fuller Road, where a man had accidentally shot himself. The man said he was sitting in his Jeep, putting his Glock pistol in his holster when it went off, shooting a bullet through his left leg and exiting the side of the leg. Medical units were working on the wounded man when the deputy arrived.
- GADSDEN, AL, 7/25/15: A Glencoe man was accidentally shot between 9:30 AM and noon Saturday at a trade day in the 1700 block of Meighan Boulevard. Police were called to a local hospital to a reported accidental shooting. The 75-year-old man with the gunshot wound told them he was trying to purchase a Jennings model J-22 pistol from a Piedmont man at Poor Man’s Trade Day. When the gun seller was showing him how to load it, the seller racked the slide and allowed it to go forward and the gun fired, shooting the potential buyer in the left leg just below the hip joint. The man who accidentally fired the gun was at the hospital checking on the victim when police made the report.
- PORT ORANGE, FL, 7/25/15: An elderly man was accidentally shot Saturday in Port Orange, according to police. Officers responded to a home on Sweetwater Boulevard at about 2 PM. There, Carolyn Spivey, 76, told investigators that she intended to harm herself when her husband, George Spivey, 77, intervened. Port Orange police officers say George Spivey was accidentally shot trying to stop his wife. He was taken to Halifax Hospital for treatment. No word on whether his injuries were life-threatening. The shooting remains under investigation.
- ALAMOGORDO, NM, 7/25/15: Alamogordo Police Department detectives continue their investigation into an accidental shooting in the 200 block of Hamilton Ridge Road Saturday morning, an APD spokesman said. Detective Lt. Roger Schoolcraft said the initial investigation indicates a woman was accidentally shot inside the home around 10:30 AM Saturday.
- CARUTHERSVILLE, MO, 7/25/15: A child was wounded when her family's vehicle was apparently accidentally shot at while traveling on Interstate 55 Saturday. At approximately 6:30 PM Saturday, personnel from a hospital in Blytheville, Ark., contacted the Pemiscot County Sheriff's Department advising officers an 11-year-old female was being treated in their emergency room for a gunshot wound to the neck. The family reported to authorities the shooting had occurred on Interstate 55 near the two mile marker in Missouri. According to Pemiscot County Sheriff Tommy Greenwell, deputies interviewed the family at the hospital. The Kirksville, Mo., family told officers while they were traveling south on Interstate 55 as part of their vacation, the driver's side window suddenly blew out. "The first thought was the heat caused it, however the 11-year-old was in the back seat and began complaining of pain in her neck," Greenwell said in a news release. "It was determined she had been shot with a 9mm round." Evidence gathered at the scene indicates the shot came from a northbound vehicle on I-55. Deputies were contacted Sunday by an individual who was shooting his pistol Saturday afternoon about the same time the victim was shot. Greenwell reported preliminary investigation indicates where the shots were fired if one missed the berm it would be in line with I-55. Two pistols were turned over to deputies for ballistic test by the crime lab. "At this time we feel this probably a terrible accident and no other persons are in danger," Greenwell said. The victim was flown to LeBonuer Children's Hospital in Memphis, where she is expected to under go surgery Sunday.
- BEAVERDAM, VA, 7/25/15: Hanover County officials have declined to file criminal charges in the case of a shooting on Saturday in which a 5-year-old accidentally shot a 7-year-old girl in her calf. The shooting happened after one of the children, who was following a cat that crawled under a bed, stumbled upon a gun that was stored under that bed, according to the Hanover County Sheriff's Office. It happened in the 20000 block of Beaverdam Road in the Beaverdam area of Hanover at a home-for-sale that the family of the 7-year-old was considering buying, according to the sheriff's office. The girl's gunshot wound was not considered a life-threatening injury. She was flown to VCU Medical Center for treatment. "The Sheriff’s Office has conferred with the Hanover County Commonwealth’s Attorney, and no criminal charges will be brought in this incident," Hanover Sheriff's Deputy Karen Godfrey wrote in a statement.
- SEYMOUR, IN, 7/25/15: The apparent accidental discharge of a weapon in a Seymour motel room Saturday led to the arrest of a man on a charge of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, police reported. The incident that led to the arrest of Joshua J. Love, 35, of Elizabethtown began after the bullet from the weapon lodged in a mirror in a room on the floor below the room where Love was staying with two other men, Detective C.J. Foster said. A man, a woman and her two children were in that second room at the Days Inn, 302 S. Commerce Drive, where the bullet wound up, but no one was injured, Foster said.