The family of a teen killed in what has been deemed an accidental shooting two years ago in Columbus County has filed a lawsuit against the maker of the rifle blamed in her death. Two other women hurt in the shooting have joined in the lawsuit against Remington Arms Company, LLC.
Jasmine Thar, 16, of Charlotte, died Dec. 23, 2011, when a single bullet fired from inside a house across the street hit her, Treka McMillian and Jah'mesha McMillian as they stood in a Chadbourn driveway getting ready to go Christmas shopping.
James Blackwell, who lived across the street, told Chadbourn Police his Remington Model 700 rifle fired without pulling the trigger.
Earlier this year prosecutors announced they would not charge Blackwell with a crimeafter an investigation determined Thar's death was the product of an accidental discharge resulting in an unintended consequence.
I'll bet the Remington folks will make a strong case against mechanical failure. Lying gun owners who act negligently love to blame the gun. Our own commenters have been known to do this. But everyone knows true mechanical failures are so rare that it's safe to assume it was due to negligence on the part of the gun owner.
Mike, for some reason your search this blog isn't working for me, though I do recall commenting on this very case earlier. If I recall correctly, you had posted an article regarding accidental shootings not being prosecuted.
ReplyDeleteOne of the examples, if I recall correctly, was this case. Law enforcement sent the rifle into the FBI firearms lab for analysis and when they received the report from the FBI, they dropped the charges and refused to give any more information because they said there might be a lawsuit in the works.
I'll keep trying to find your original posting. Perhaps someone else can do a quick search. I do recall your reply to my comment that there seem to be a lot of lawsuits piling up for this brand of rifle was a bit skeptical.
Mikeb, you don't acknowledge this, but the Remington 700 has been noted for having mechanical defects in at least some of the lot. This was the subject of an NBC investigative report a while back. Just as with cars, if there's a mechanical defect that causes loss of life, a lawsuit is appropriate.
ReplyDeleteTalk about turning the tables, I'm now going to remind you there are 300 million guns out there. The true mechanical failures are so rare, percentage-wise, that we can forget about them.
DeleteFalse. Such events are rare, but when they happen, they are the responsibility of the manufacturer--if the gun is new. Machines do wear out over time, so an old gun may have acquired defects.
DeleteBut none of that is an argument in favor of the proposals that you desire to see become law.
Yeah, and none of that says anything about the lying bumbling gun owners who keep blaming the guns for their fuck-ups.
DeleteGiven the rarity of events of that nature, it's hard to determine a general statement that we can make.
DeleteIt's only rare if you divide by the total number of guns. Why don't you divide by all the planets in the galaxy while you're at it.
DeleteAnother way to look at it is it't too common.
Many things are too common Mike. But using the one death is too many mantra while a noble goal isn't a reasonable outcome just because of the wild variety of possible outcomes. One has but to look at the deaths caused by buckets for instance.
DeleteHow many deaths are acceptable?
DeleteI never said any deaths are acceptable Anon. We always strive to keep people safe, but there are also practical limits. And you are also reverting to the mantra I just described.
DeleteNothing is without cost. Even free speech.
No response from the gun loon.
Delete"But using the one death is too many mantra"
DeleteI don't do that. There are people dying every single day of the year due to negligence. I post some of them. In addition there are many more wounded.
Many of them could be eliminated with little or no change to the freedoms you enjoy.
Your mantra is deaths are fine as long as I get my right. A selfish deadly mantra to live by, not to mention ANY steps to lesson those deaths is called an "infringement on your right" by your gun loon side. An acceptence of needless deaths.
DeleteMikeb, everything that you propose would be a huge burden on the law-abiding, while doing just about nothing to stop violence. The real causes of violence are the War on Drugs, lousy schools, broken families, and a society that coddles criminals. Solve those, since the solutions won't violate the rights of citizens.
Delete"coddles criminals"
DeleteOur prisons are overflowing.
Greg, I've told you many times it's not an either/or deal, besides we are working on all those problems you mention.
Delete"everything that you propose would be a huge burden on the law-abiding, while doing just about nothing to stop violence"
This is where you're a liar, Greg. You grossly exaggerate the first part and you flat out lie about the second.
So be a man of your word liar and leave.
DeleteIf we can sue the cigarette companies for lying about the deadly effects of their product, we can sue gun companies for falsely stating that their products cannot injure, or kill through a simple act, like dropping their products.
ReplyDeleteIf you can show that the company sold a defective product, then yes, you can sue for damages.
DeleteThese dropped guns going off is proof they made a dangerous weapon. Dropping something comes under reasonable expectations, that a gun should be able to pass. The proof is that they go off at all by simply dropping them.
DeleteAnon,
DeleteThen the answer is simple, do some research and perhaps see what handguns are legal to be possessed in California. If memory serves, the handguns on the California list are required to pass a "drop test" to ensure their safety.
As for this story, it involves a rifle, and there seems to be many lawsuits piling up.
The research shows almost daily reports about guns going off simply because they were dropped. Any suggestion by gun makes that they do not, flies in the face of real reports. Both you and Greg called a gun going off when it is dropped, rare. The evidence, police reports and news reports, prove you wrong.
Delete"Both you and Greg called a gun going off when it is dropped, rare. The evidence, police reports and news reports, prove you wrong."
DeleteAs I mentioned earlier, if the firearm has a firing pin block to prevent a discharge unless the trigger is pulled, then we are back to some sort of mechanical failure, which as Mike correctly states, is very rare.
So if the someone claims it was dropped and went off, and it has this safety feature, then the police would have every right to call bullshit. That is what happened in this case. He was charged and was being prosecuted until the results came back confirming that it really was one of those rare mechanical failures.
If, if, if; and the news reports about guns going off by simply being dropped continue to be reported.
DeleteAnonymous, since at least some of those gun owners are making up claims about what happened, you can't make blanket statements like that on the basis of sound reasoning.
DeleteRight, now it's just a lie that guns go off when dropped. No wonder you are known as this sites lying criminal coward.
DeleteAh, but you can make blanket statements that are proven wrong. Got it.
Delete