Southern Beale's Tennessee Gun Report - First Week of February 2014

A woman, that police reported as the mother of a four-year-old boy that accidentally shot himself, leads officers into her apartment in Parkway Village Monday afternoon during an investigation at the scene.

Southern Beale has the usual grisly roundup.

Three accidental shootings this week — two of them fatalities, for those of you keeping track. That’s not counting the usual rash of drug and gang-related gun violence (we get three or four shootings a day here in Nashville).

Local news reports

A 4-year-old boy shot and killed himself Monday afternoon while playing with a gun he found in his Parkway Village apartment, police said.

The incident happened about 1:30 p.m. in the 3900 block of Camelot Lane in the Camelot Manor apartments. Police believe the boy discovered the gun, began playing with it and then pulled the trigger. His mother was with him in the apartment at the time.

Late Monday night, police identified the boy as Joshua Johnson. No charges had been filed Monday.

Has anyone else begun to notice how many of these incidents we're seeing lately? The pro-gun crowd love to write these cases off based on the CDC stats which state that there are only about 600 accidental deaths a year. Yet, between Southern Beale and myself, we seem to be catching nearly that many, and ours is by no means an exhaustive and comprehensive accounting.

What could explain this? Is it beyond the realm of possibility that the revered CDC numbers are under-reported? Is it not possible that their 600 a year is just the tip of the iceberg and in reality there are far more than that?

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Gun in Waistband Leads to Accidental Shooting

Local news reports

First Joseph A. Hewitt earned himself a trip to the hospital after accidentally shooting himself Friday night. Then he earned himself a trio of felony charges for allegedly having handling a reported stolen weapon, police said Saturday.

Schenectady Police Lt. Mark McCracken said Hewitt, 21, of Schenectady was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of criminal possession of stolen property following the shooting. He said police received a call at 7:55 p.m. Friday for a man who was shot in the groin at the Imperial Motel on State Street. Police later found Hewitt accidentally shot himself with a revolver when it went off while in his waistband.

The handgun was reported stolen from North Carolina, McCracken said, adding that Hewitt wasn't able to have a gun because of a previous conviction.

This story reminds me of the discussions I've had recently with Texas Colt carry. The way he describes it, this young man is a rarity among gun owners. His type may exist in the criminal world, but among lawful gun owners guys like this are hard to come by.

Of course, I have a different impression.  I think there any too many, even among law-abiding gun owners who do stupid stuff like this.  We read about them every day, and obviously those that make the news are only the tip of the iceberg.  I suppose sticking a loaded gun in your waistband is something you learn on TV or in the movies.  It's cool.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Shootings by Dogs

 Ohh Shoot

Since OhhShoot began on January 1, 2010 there have been a number of stories about dogs causing unintentional shootings.

For example, there were two hunting stories at the end of 2001, one where a dog jumped into a boat, caught his paw in the trigger of a shotgun and unintentionally shot a duck hunter in the buttocks. The other involved a dog who knocked over a high powered rifle, discharging the gun and shooting a hunter in the leg, damaging his femoral artery.

As Baldr mentioned on another thread, even these can be traced to negligence on the part of the gun owner.

What's your opinion?  Pleae leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting Death of Tennessee 15-Year-old - No Charges

Local news reports

Knox News wins the prize for best situational oxymoron of the year:  

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reviewed the case and found no evidence of foul play.

I wish our friend Tennesseean was still coming around.  He could explain to us why this young man's father is not in jail right now.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Texas 9-Year-old Shot in Hunting Accident

Local news reports

Houston County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a report of an accidental shooting that occurred Dec. 29 or 30 in the Grapeland area. Officials said a 9-year-old boy was shot in the arm.

HCSO deputies went to the East Texas Medical Center Crockett ER to investigate after a boy was brought in with a gunshot wound.

Chief Deputy Gary Shearer of the Houston County Sheriff's Department said two unsupervised boys were hunting in the woods with a .410 shotgun when the incident occurred. Somehow, the 9-year-old boy holding the shotgun fell, and the weapon fired. The other boy, who had been walking in front of him, was shot in the arm.

Shearer said there was no indication of foul play and that the case has been ruled an accidental shooting.

Even many gun rights activists would agree, I think, that 9 years old is a bit young to be hunting unsupervised.

The responsible adults should be held accountable for this. Don't you think so?

Please leave a comment.

Lawful Phoenix Gun Owners Drinking and Playing with Guns - One Dead

Local news reports

Indiana Deer Hunter Shoots His Buddy

Local news reports

Officers said 35-year-old Jeremy Horn of Crawfordsville, was shot in the elbow by his hunting partner, 48-year-old Troy Payne, of Linden.  

Investigators said Payne had just shot an antlered deer and had his shotgun loaded with the safety off, while he checked on the deer.  

Officer said while Payne was checking the deer, Horn arrived to assist in dragging the deer out of the woods. Payne slung his shotgun over his shoulder, without placing the safety in the on position, and bent over to grab onto the antlers of the deer.  

When Payne bent over to grab the antlers, the shotgun slid off of his shoulder.  Payne caught the shotgun with one hand in the area of the trigger.  The shotgun discharged and struck Horn, who was standing about four feet away, in the elbow.

Investigators are ruling the shooting as an accident. Indiana Conservation Officers encourage hunters to be cautions when handling firearms. They said to make sure to control the muzzle and its direction at all times. They said the safety is a mechanical device, and can sometimes fail.

This kind of bumbling negligence should receive more than a friendly warning. But in Indiana, that's must they way things go.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

The Toll of Gun Negligence

Local news reports

Donnie Mills, 28, told police he was attempting to unload a semi-automatic pistol when he inadvertently fired it and shot himself in the hand. The bullet passed through Mills’ hand and struck his friend, 25-year-old Andrew Morgan, in the leg. 

Daniel Wagnon, an investigator with the Grimes County Sheriff Office, said he has no reason to doubt Mills’ and Morgan’s explanations for the incident, and that it’s not uncommon for a weapon handler to unintentionally fire a semi-automatic weapon. 

“You’ve got your magazine for ammunition as well as the cartridge in the barrel,” Wagnon said. “There still can be a round in the chamber that can fire — you have to check.” 

Wagnon said that to his knowledge Mills did not have a license to carry a concealed weapon, but did not need one because he was on private property. 

No charges have been filed and authorities aren’t pursuing any, Wagnon said. 

Just your typical story about gun stupidity.  Every single day there are several of these in the national news.  Whenever I try to say it's a problem, the gun-rights folks point out that there are 100 million gun owners and only 600 of them die each year from accidents. They say this as if it makes it OK.

Well here's an interesting statistic from that same article.

According to the University of Utah, 600 people in the United States were killed in accidental deaths from firearms in 2010. Each year, approximately 200,000 people sustain non-fatal injuries from firearms, the university reported.

Did you catch that number of wounded people each year? Most of them went to the emergency room, in many cases by ambulance, cops were called out. Afterwards they missed work, in some cases permanently.

From an old New York Times article, the costs have probably gone up, the average cost of a gunshot-wound visit to the emergency room was about $50,000. That makes $10 billion a year just for the "accidents."

What's your opinion?  Is it about time to take this more seriously.

Please leave a comment.

Lawful Gun Owners

They don't ALL do stuff like this, but too many of them. And you know why, because there's inadequate qualifying for gun ownership.

Accidental Shooting by Off-duty Policeman - His Son is Dead

local news reports

Retired Rochester Police Captain and current Perry Police Officer Michael Leach and his son Matthew, 37, were sharing room six of the Clark's Beach Motel Friday night on a group trip to Old Forge.

"We have a group of police officers that come every couple of years and they come on their motorcycles. They're some sort of a police motorcycle club," explained Clark's Beach Motel Owner Dan Rivet.

Rivet, also a paramedic, responded to an emergency call at 12:51 a.m. Saturday at his motel.

"The son went in the room, the father was sleeping in the bed. And for some reason, whether he had a flashback or whatever, he pulled his service gun and he shot his son in the back," he said.

State Police say Michael may have thought his son was an intruder. Rivet says they rushed Matthew to Saint Elizabeth's in Utica, but there was little they could do.

The thought-he-was-an-intruder explanation begs the question of whether it's legitimate to shoot intruders in the back. In any case, we can conclude that this is another unfit gun owner who happened to be a cop.

Better ongoing screening is the answer.  What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Barry O'Connell, Police Officer and Dad of the Year

When we spoke about this one before, I said, "of course, no charges." I was right. The Seattle Times reports

Prosecutors say a Spokane police officer will not be charged for the accidental shooting in which his 10-year-old daughter wounded herself in the leg with his gun.

Barry O'Connell could have been charged with reckless endangerment, but Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Brian O'Brien says there's no evidence his actions were intentional.

KXLY reports ( http://is.gd/fVJ8hK) the 18-year veteran could still face department discipline for failing to secure his duty weapon.

The girl went into a bedroom on Easter Sunday to look out the window for Easter eggs when she found the gun and started playing with it.

It was the fourth child shooting this year in Washington state and the second involving a law enforcement officer's child.

It's absolutely unconscionable how they cover up for each other. The prosecutors aren't charging him because "there's no evidence his actions were intentional." But, what in the hell does that have to do with negligence? Isn't negligence always unintentional?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Oregon Teen - No Charges

The Argus Observer reports

16-year-old Andy Stroebel was looking at a handgun around 3:45 p.m. Sunday when it discharged and a bullet struck him in the neck.

As of this morning, Stroebel has undergone a second surgery on his neck.

Stroebel and an adult friend went shooting earlier in the day and were back at Stroebel’s house looking at his friends handgun. There were several unloaded guns in the house at the time, and the two had been cleaning them.

Stroebel’s friend left the area to get a movie, and the friend had taken the ammunition out of the gun, but at some point Stroebel put the ammunition back in.

Stroebel’s mother was in the other room at the time the shot was fired. Stroebel was taken via Air Ambulance to a Boise-area hospital and then was flown to a Portland-area hospital.

What's your opinion? Isn't it hard to believe that anyone with even a minimum of experience with guns could do something like this. Yet it happens every day.

Conclusion: Some people are unfit to handle guns safely.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Tennessee Teen - Gun Owner Charged or Not ??

From Southern Beale via Ohh Shoot 

38-year-old Cynthia Ann Ward, of Collierville, Tennessee, gave her 17-year-old son a 9mm Luger handgun to "play with". She also wanted him to make sure the magazine was fully loaded for the next time she carried the gun, loaded and hidden, in public.

The boy took the magazine out of the gun and then began joking with his sister, pointing the gun at her. Not realizing there was still a bullet in the chamber, the boy pulled the trigger and shot his 14-year-old sister in the upper back.

The girl was taken to Regional Medical Center in Memphis where she remains in serious condition. The mother was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment.

First comment:

Anonymous: Umm, please correct your statements get them right before you post. I am very close with that family and the mother was never charged with anything& second the girl is 15 and he was never given the gun to 'play with' really?! Get your facts right before you blog or post about it. 

Now that seems more consistent with the stories we report on every day. After all, it was only an "accident."

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Port Arthur Toddler's Dad Speaks Out for Gun Safety

We talked about this one the other day. Now the negligent and irresponsible dad is putting his face on the news. What's your opinion? How about for guys like this, 30 days in the pillory with a sign reading, "I lost my gun rights for being a stupid and irresponsible ass."

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of 8-Year-Old CA Girl - Possible Charges Pending

The Daily News reports

The victim, whose name was withheld, was shot in the arm by a 20-gauge shotgun.

The shotgun had been left loaded and propped against a wall of the dining room with the butt of the gun on a small wicker chair when it fell and discharged a load of birdshot into the living room, the release said.

Pellets went through the arm of one of the couches and struck the victim in her bicep and abdomen causing major injuries.

The 8-year-old victim and her 7-year-old friend were watching television alone in the living room when the gun went off.

I think something's wrong with the reporting of these stories. Pro-gun folks keep quoting stats which show how few gun accidents there are. Yet, every single day I see four or five stories which make the main stream news. That alone would be 1,500 incidents each year and that's just what pops up on Google. The true figure must be ten or twenty times that.

What's your opinion? Isn't the argument that there are relatively few accidents with firearms a shabby argument anyway? Isn't that a calous approach to a problem that is easily corrected?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Washington Man by Himself - No Charges

Local news reports

Kuna Police Chief Cody Aldrich told KTVB that two men in their 20s were inside a pickup truck preparing to go hunting. The passenger was holding a pistol when it accidentally discharged, striking him in the leg.

His injury is said not to be life threatening. The man was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Aldrich says this was an accident and no charges will be filed.

This is a disgraceful report for two reasons. The gun didn't accidentally discharge. It was negligently fired. And secondly, the automatic default of not filing charges when it's determined to have been an "accident" is wrong. People who do that are a menace to themselves and others. To think that all or even most of them learn from their mistakes is a dangerous, and I believe a losing bet.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Tyler Texas 4-Year-Old - Incredibly, No Charges

Local news reports

It could be a Class A Misdemeanor. What the hell is wrong with these people. Leaving a gun where a kid can get it should be a Felony that carries a 10-year jail sentence. In cases like this, the judge could waive the prison time, since the parent already lost so much, but the future gun rights have to go.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Baltimore 13-Year-Old - Charges Forthcoming

via CBS Local news

I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this thing. In accidental shootings the chances of the responsible person being punished runs like this, in descending order.

1. Black guy with scary tattoos
2. Black guy
3. White guy
4. White guy who happens to be a policeman

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Spokane 10-Year-Old Cop's Daughter - Of Course No Charges

The Seattle Times reports

The 10-year-old daughter of a veteran Spokane police officer was in stable condition after shooting herself in the leg on Easter with her father's duty weapon, authorities said.

Officer Barry O'Connell, an 18-year veteran of the Police Department, has taken time off to care for his daughter. When he returns, he will be assigned to desk duty while an investigation by Spokane County sheriff's detectives is under way, police said.

It's hard to see the degree of recklessness that must go into a story like this in a picture. Maybe if you talked to the guy it would show. How could ANY gun owner EVER allow something like this to happen? I honestly cannot fathom it.

As inexplicable as it is, one thing we can conclude is that it does happen, and that it happens too often.

The solution is certainly not to throw up our hands and say accidents will always happen and there's nothing we can do about it.  That's what the gun-rights folks want.  The solution is twofold, first we need better screening and training and secondly we need to swiftly and severely punish those found wanting.

Loss of gun rights is the first thing that should happen, after due process of law, of course. Although some may learn from their mistakes, those who have proven to be capable of such stupidity should never have a chance to repeat it.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Kentucky Man by Himself - He's Dead

Local news reports

The victim's son told News 5 the man was walking down a staircase while carrying a gun when he fell, causing the gun to fire.

The bullet struck the man in the head, killing him. His name has not been released.

Now, wait a minute. If there are five of these stories in the main stream news every day, which I can assure you there are, that's 1,800 a year right there. How many more do you think there are that don't make it to the national headlines, maybe 5 times as many, maybe 10.

That would be 9,000 or 19,000 each year. Yet, our gun rights friends keep quoting figures much lower than that from supposedly reliable statistical sources.

What can explain the discrepancy? We're talking about only "accidents" now. What can explain such a great discrepancy that the pro gun folks can keep saying they represent a tiny percentage.

It doesn't seem so tiny to me.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.