Monday, February 28, 2011

Odd Suicide at the Gun Range

Zorroy offered the link to this one. "Hey, Mike--I know how much of a kick you get out of these gun range suicides, so thought you'd be interested in this odd story:"

A man is in critical condition after shooting himself in the head five or six times at a Panama City gun range.

The Bay County sheriff's office says the shooting was self-inflicted but doesn't know yet if it was accidental or on purpose.

The man walked into Jays Guns and Accessories on Highway 390 near the old airport to use the range just before one o clock. First responders got the call half an hour later that someone had been shot multiple times in the head.

Paramedic's rushed the man to Bay Medical.

Jays Guns and Accessories is divided into a gun shop and a shooting range. Major Tommy Ford of the Bay County Sheriff’s Department told NewsChannel 7 no one was in the range with the man at the time.

"The employee of the shop was watching from the shop side separated by the wall. There were no other customers in the store and no other subjects shooting in the range area at the time."

Authorities haven't released much information about the man yet, but we do know he is in his mid twenties and carried an out-of-state driver's license.
Odd, to say the least. Do you think it's possible to shoot yourself repeatedly in the head?

8 comments:

  1. "Do you think it's possible to shoot yourself repeatedly in the head?"

    Unlikely but quite possible. Note also that it's not a suicide per this article, but an attempted suicide. It seems likely he must have been using a .25 ACP or other anemic round.

    More curious was when Gary Webb allegedly killed himself shooting himself twice in the head. It was ruled a suicide but many people with good reason suspect that the two wounds would have been at the back of his head at an angle not possible for him to have done himself.

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  2. That reminds me of the (joke) about the man that was found shot with a bow and arrow - police were tentatively ruling it a suicide.

    In this case, it may depend on the caliber of the firearm. I can see someone shooting themselves multiple times with a .22, depending on where in the head they were shooting themselves.

    Definitely a strange story, I'd like to see some more details as they're released.

    ...Orygunner...

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  3. Very odd. How does one accomplish a suicide with multiple shots to the head?? I think the police should investigate this one carefully as potential homicide.

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  4. There was a case in the west. I believe it was Wyoming but I am not sure where a man died from a couple of gun shots. Both were contact wounds and he was found alone with his prints on the gun. The locals found this to be suspect but had no other evidence.

    It was determined in autopsy that both rounds had been fired at the same time, that is bang bang, and that it was determined that the spasm of the trauma had caused him to pull the trigger the second time. So yes it is within the realm of possibility.

    On a second note, every indoor range I have shot at has fairly good video coverage and I would guess this one does too. If they can recover the tapes and see what's going on from there we might get a definitive answer.

    I am sure this will get close scrutiny as the original story does have enough oddities to cause one to wonder.

    If it's not a suicide I would believe it will be proven so. If it's a suicide, then it's a horrible thing for the staff to deal with.

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  5. Was this guy's name Duncan MacLeod by any chance?

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  6. Ok, I can see two shots, but...five or six froma trigger finger spasm?

    Do I need to remind Mike's readers how few shots actually connected when the Tucson shooter was shooting away from himself at close range - 19 out of 31 shots, a little over half, and that was with a presumably more comfortable aiming position.

    Not to be too graphic, but the effective positions for suicide are to theside of the head (often the ear) or with the gun under the chin or in the mouth. Even so-called anemic rounds are pretty dangerous in those positions.

    I'm skeptical this will turn out to be a suicide. It will be interesting to see if there are video tapes, or if they suddenly go missing or have some other problem. Also curious as to what a good ME can figure out from the injuries.

    Poor man. Doubly awful for the gun store staff.

    Zorroy, I believe you improperly characterize Mike B as getting a kick out of gun range suicides. I don't believe the emotions involved are amusement or pleasure of any kind. That was unwarranted.

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  7. Thank you, Dog Gone, for telling Zorroy like it TIis.

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  8. not likely accurate. probably journalistic ignornace. It's akin to hanging yourself repeatedly.

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