Father of School Shooter Pleads Not Guilty to Gun Charges

Raymond Lee Fryberg

ABC

The father of the Washington state teenager who fatally shot four high school classmates and then himself in October pleaded not guilty in federal court on Thursday to five new firearms charges.

Raymond Lee Fryberg's lawyer, John Henry Brown, called the new charges "ridiculous" and said federal prosecutors were charging him for guns that he voluntarily turned over to the police under the terms of his release. He also said the state of Washington had given Fryberg a concealed weapons permit in 2013, and was never told he can't possess a gun.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ye-Ting Woo disputed that claim after Thursday's hearing in U.S. District Court. She said five of the guns were found when police searched his home in March, before his arrest. She said the handgun used by Fryberg's son was taken by police after the shooting and the four others were identified by sales records at Cabela's, where he bought the guns.

Fryberg remains out of custody awaiting his trial, which is scheduled for Aug. 31.

Fryberg was charged on March 30 with one count of illegally possessing the gun that his son, 15-year-old Jaylen Fryberg, used in the Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting that left one wounded and five dead, including the shooter. He pleaded not guilty to that charge the next day.

The original complaint said Fryberg was the subject a permanent domestic violence protection order issued by the Tulalip Tribal Court in 2002 and was prohibited from possessing firearms. The complaint said when Fryberg bought the gun at Cabela's, he filled out an Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form and answered "no" when asked if he was the subject of a "court order restraining you from harassing, stalking, or threatening your child or an intimate partner."

Alaska Boy Dead by Gunshot - "No Foul Play"

Local news

An Ambler boy has died following what troopers said was an accidental shooting Saturday night in the village.

At about 11 p.m., troopers in Kotzebue received the report of the shooting and chartered a commercial flight to Ambler in the early hours of Sunday morning. 

The investigation showed that a boy, 8, identified as C.G. in the trooper report, was playing with his cousins in the yard. The kids went into a nearby shed where they obtained a loaded firearm from the rafters, according to the trooper dispatch.

"One of the children then shot C.G. with the firearm, not realizing that the firearm was real or loaded," troopers said. 

The boy died from injuries sustained by the gunshot wound. No foul play is suspected.

Michigan 12-Year-old Accidentally Kills Sleeping Woman

Local news

A shotgun involved in the accidental shooting death of a woman while she slept Friday morning had been locked in a gun safe, said the grandfather of the 12-year-old boy who allegedly fired the shot.

The boy, who investigators said is "mentally impaired," came across the keys in the pocket of some clothing, his grandfather, Daniel Hummel, said.

"He got up before anybody this morning at 5:30 a.m.," said Hummel. "He said he was in my pocket trying to get change and he found the gun safe key."

"It's always locked up, and I always have the key on me, and so, nobody gets in it but me, he didn't even know I had it in my pocket," Hummel added.

Hummel said the boy then unlocked the safe, removed and loaded a shotgun, but knowing what he was doing was wrong, tried "to take the shell out of the gun."

"It was an unfortunate accident," he added. "The guns were locked up, you can't' do much more than lock them up."

Texas 3-Year-old Dies After Accidental Shooting

Local news reports

A 3-year-old boy died at the hospital after he was struck in what investigators characterized as an "accidental shooting" at his home in northwest Harris County.

Sheriff's deputies said the incident happened about 12:30 p.m. Friday inside the two-story home in the 7400 block of Betanna near Elmont.

The boy, his mother, and another young sibling were the only ones in the house at the time.
The mother was in another part of the house when she heard a gunshot, officials said.

She rushed to her two children and found the 3-year-old with a gunshot to the neck or jaw area, deputies said.

The boy, who has not been identified, was flown by LifeFlight to Memorial Hermann Hospital at the Texas Medical Center, where he died, officials said.

Sheriff's detectives said later Friday they have not yet questioned the boy's mother, who was at the hospital.

26 States Line Up in Opposition to San Francisco’s Gunlock Law

Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel is the latest to sign on to a friend of the court filing opposing San Francisco’s gun lock law, bringing to a total of 26 states asking the Supreme Court to intervene in the case. (Photo: Fox 11)

Guns dot com

Last week Wisconsin’s Attorney General Brad Schimel became the latest to file a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to throw out San Francisco’s law requiring guns to be locked up even at home.

The brief filed by Schmiel joins 25 other states, lead by Nebraska, who are seeking the intervention of the nation’s highest court to help overturn the California ordinance. This comes in the latest installment of the saga over Jackson v. City of San Francisco, which was unanimously rejected by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last March who upheld a district court’s ruling that the city’s gun lock law was valid.

“We must act, because if the decision by the federal Court of Appeals is not reversed, the precedent it sets could influence policy decisions and court holdings affecting the Constitutional rights of citizens within their homes, not just in the City of San Francisco, buy anywhere in America, including Wisconsin,” explained Schimel of his reasoning for joining Nebraska’s amicus curiae brief.

The case has been winding its way through federal courts since 2009. It challenged the city and county of San Francisco over local laws implemented in 2007 that compelled gun owners to secure guns either locked inside a container or disabled with a trigger lock.

Utah 12-Year-old Killed by Younger Sibling - No Mention of Any Charges - Naturally, It Was Just an Accident

Local news reports

Such events offer a tragic reminder that firearms need to be securely stored in homes, "at minimum a trigger lock, at maximum a safe. A safe is your best bet for weapons safety," the lieutenant said.

A tweet from the Davis County Health Department Sunday night said: "We urge all families to lock up firearms and discuss gun safety with children."

Safe Storage Proposed in Los Angeles

Local news

Florida 17-Year-old Charged with Manslaughter for Killing 14-Year-old - No Adults Charged

Local news reports

While playing around with guns, a 17-year-old boy allegedly shot a 14-year-old boy on Wednesday, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

The 14-year-old was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The teen told deputies he and the 14-year-old were "playing around" with guns.

The older teen "stated the victim was pointing a .20 gauge shotgun at him" at which time the older teen "picked up a 9mm handgun, pointed it at the victim and accidentally fired the gun," the Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

The 17-year-old was charged with manslaughter and transported to the Marion County Juvenile Detention Facility.

Arizona 11-Year-old with Access to Daddy's Gun Commits Suicide

Arizona 3-Year-old Shoots and Kills his 1-Year-old Brother

Huffington Post reports

A 3-year-old Payson boy shot and killed his 1½ -year-old brother after the boys found a handgun in a neighbor's apartment and took it to another room, the eastern Arizona town's police chief said Wednesday.

Police Chief Don Engler said his department's investigation of the Tuesday shooting will take about a week. Resultswill be forwarded to the Gila County Attorney's Office for a decision on whether to prosecute anybody, he said.

"What we're taking a look at is the circumstances regarding the securing of the weapon" and how the boys were able to get ahold of it, Engler told The Associated Press. "We are continuing our investigation, and we haven't ruled out criminal charges at this point."

He said it was too early to say what recommendation his department might maketo prosecutors.

The boys and their mother were visiting the 78-year-old neighbor in their apartment complex when the shooting occurred in a bedroom.

The brothers found the semi-automatic pistol somewhere in the living area where it was not in plain sight, the police chief said without elaborating. Neither adult knew the boys had the weapon, Engler said.

The boys were playing when they found the gun, police said. The weapon discharged, and the toddler was shot in the head.

Guns, ammunition Stolen from Cars of Florida Gun Show Attendees

Local news reports

  FOX 35 News Orlando

Safe Storage - Where to Keep Your Guns

Guns dot com

Make no mistake, stashing guns around your house is serious business–the safety of others is at stake so there is no room for error.  For this reason, an honest and informed (and even professional) assessment of your living space and conditions is crucial.  Where as a couple living alone in the woods with few visitors may get away with storing their frequently carried 1911 in an old boot in their shoe closet, a family of five has a lot more to consider.

The Down

The first decision is between long and short term storage while the paradox here is between security and access.  A corollary consideration is who are you really hiding your guns from: Kids? Thieves? Jackboots?

The decision and method you chose to hide your handgun will fall somewhere between the extremes of concealed carrying your gun at all times and burying your handgun as a super long-term survival strategy. When making this decision, more than ever, terrain and circumstances dictate tactics.

Short term solutions are ideal for every-day-carriers. Storage styles fall on a spectrum between two categories, “go-to guns” (primary weapons that can/will be accessed at a moments notice) and “backup guns” (guns that are better hidden and harder to access, but may hold some specific strategic value).  These back-up guns toe into the arena of long term solutions which apply more to BBQ guns and survival treasures (more on these in future installments).

The Dirty

When children are a part of the equation, look for high spaces and unfrequented (not “forbidden”) places–on the top shelf of Dad’s closet of mystery may not your best option (but then again, depending on your brood, it might).  Also realize that education is the only real long term solution to keeping your children safe around guns.

When it comes to hiding your handgun, custom solutions are often the best (and most satisfying) solutions.

Inevitably, someone is going to call out this article for divulging tactics and they will be right–adopting what is readily known is at odds with the philosophy you’ll need to abide by when keeping your handgun out of sight.  Take the information here as inspiration and seek out creative and adaptive solutions on your own for full effect (custom solutions are often the best solutions).

The best place for your handgun may be on your person and in a gun safe at all other times.

Farago once said, the ONLY  place for your gun is on your person or in a gun safe.

Wichita Safe Storage Repealed - Accidental Shootings Increased

Local news reports

There was a time in Wichita when an ordinance required adults to properly secure guns around children.

Some people, including the mayor, wish it was still that way. Others say that a law is not the solution to protecting children.

For 12 years, Wichita had an ordinance regulating gun storage around children. The Wichita law required that guns be properly secured if someone under 18 could have access and required that adults keep guns unloaded, locked away or secured with trigger locks. The City Council adopted the ordinance – punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 and up to a year in jail – in 1993 after a rash of accidental shootings involving children. In a little over two years, from January 1991 through April 1993, police recorded 69 firearms accidents in Wichita that resulted in death or injury. In 26 of the cases, the victim was under 18.

In 2005, the Wichita gun storage ordinance was repealed because a state law nullified it.

After the ordinance was repealed, from 2007 through 2013, Wichita police recorded on average eight accidental shootings at homes each year, according to numbers Lt. Dan East provided Friday. In 2013, 10 shootings were reported. No other details of those accidental shootings, including whether they involved children, were available, East said.

On the state level, there is no law specifically involving safe gun storage, said Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett.

Last month, the governor signed into law a bill that will prohibit local governments from enforcing local gun ordinances and will make gun laws uniform across the state.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/05/04/5001933/in-wichita-gun-storage-around.html#storylink=cpy

Missouri Dad was Smoking Pot When 4-year-old shot his Baby Brother

Local news reports

The St. Louis County prosecutor has filed charges against a father after authorities say a 4-year-old shot his 3-year-old brother in the arm.

Larry Madison is charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child as well a marijuana possession.  Authorities say Madison was smoking pot when the shooting happened.

Madison is accused of leaving a loaded gun in a closet that was easily accessible to the children.

Police say the brothers found the 12-gauge shot gun and were playing with the weapon when it fired one time.   Police received the call for help just after Noon on Easter Sunday.

Police say the children’s mother and father were home at the time of the shooting. The father was taken into custody.

Texas A & M Houdini Door

The monster is real

The reality is that a gun in the home is more likely to kill a family member than an intruder. It was that type of finding that caused the freeze on gun violence research since it "may be used to advocate or promote gun control".

 
Of course, if you really believe that something which is a potential hazard to your family is somehow "the best method of self-defence", then you are quite welcome to it.

Collect your Darwin award.

PLEASE!

Utah - Gun Paradise with a Suicide Problem

ADN

A Utah lawmaker is proposing a bill that would encourage to gun owners to buy trigger locks and gun safes and give stores incentives to implement suicide-prevention programs.

Republican Rep. Steve Eliason of Sandy says the proposed legislation could help curb the state's suicide rate and prevent young people from using their parent's firearms to take their lives. His bill, which has not yet been introduced, would offer a rebate to gun owners who purchase the safety devices. Retailers would have to agree to implement suicide-prevention programs in their stores to be eligible for the program.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1gcvrin ) that Utah has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation, with 10 residents taking their life each week, most often with a gun.

"The experts say, 'Look, if you want to move the needle on suicide prevention, you've got to educate people on gun safety and you've got to get guns secured,' " Eliason told the Tribune.

The idea has precedent. For example, about half of gun stores in New Hampshire now offer suicide-prevention materials and education.

The state would pay for the rebates with money from fees for concealed-weapons permits. Utah has a $2.4 million surplus in this fund.

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2014/02/09/3316105/gun-safety-proposal-aims-to-curb.html#storylink=cpy

More responsible gun ownership

It seems that Lauren Tannehill, wife of Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, turned in a rental car, but forgot to remove an AR-15 rifle from the back seat.  it doesn't appear that leaving a weapon used to slaughter people (e.g., small children) in rental cars is a crime.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/15/3872773/report-wife-of-miami-dolphins.html#storylink=cpy

Southern Beale's Tennessee Gun Report

Southern Beale has a treasure trove of gun stories, as usual, including this one:

1- A Nashville area gun store was burglarized and 30-40 guns were stolen. I read these stories all the time, so many of these gun stores are little mom and pop operations. There needs to be some kind of minimum standard for securing the inventory at night. Hell, jewelry stores do it all the time.

NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather

A Question about Safe Storage Laws

"If you lawful gun owners were constrained by law to lock up your guns at home, that wouldn't lessen the number of guns stolen each year? Please answer that question straight up, yes or no."

To elaborate a bit, the question was put to Greg several times to no avail. Whenever he's faced with a difficult question, one whose answer would prove him wrong in an earlier comment, he dodges and obfuscates the situation to the point of tedium. His earlier comment which prompted my question was this:

"Mikeb, what I've said to you is that your proposals would disarm good people without removing guns from bad people."

My idea is that if safe storage were mandated by law, most gun owners would comply. They would go out and buy the gun safes that many of them have been intending to buy anyway.  Being motivated by the legal requirement, they would comply. They are law-abiding after all.

The other part of my thinking is that of the half-a-million guns stolen each year, very few of them were locked up in gun safes. They were kept in night-stand drawers or closet shelves, some under the pillow or mattress. Thieves come in and pick up the guns like picking ripe fruit off a tree. When a burglar is confronted with a locked safe he sometimes has the time and tools to break into it, but not always. In many cases, perhaps most, his priority is to silently take what's available and get out as quickly as possible.

The result of this one simple gun-control law would be quite the opposite of what Greg said in his hysterical attempt to defend his threatened freedom. NO good people would be disarmed and MANY guns would not end up in the hands of bad people.