Friday, May 28, 2010

Human Resource director unintentionally shoots self in leg

The Port St. Lucie, Florida Human Resources Director unintentionally shot herself in the leg at her home while handling a .45-caliber handgun. According to the police report:
She told police she wanted to surprise her husband by going to the gun range. She got out the instruction booklet for the gun and started reading it to see how to operate the gun. She put the bullets in the magazine and loaded the gun. She thought the safety was on and the gun wouldn't shoot but when she pulled the trigger the gun fired.

"She told me she felt like a moron and an idiot," the report states.

Ohh shoot.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Stray bullet strikes woman in head

A Connecticut mother was driving her daughters, ages 1 and 5, and her two nieces, ages 7 and 9, to a birthday party when a stray bullet crashed through her windshield and struck her in the head. Her car was stopped at a stop sign when a man standing on the street nearby pulled out a gun and started shooting at a second man, who also had a gun.
Doctors say it is a miracle the woman survived the shooting. A few millimeters in either direction and she would have been dead.
"And, if I hadn't bent down to change the radio station, my niece in the back seat would have gotten the bullet. So there would have been a 7-year-old instead of me," said the victim, "I'm very grateful that it was me and not her."
Ohh shoot.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

No one injured when police officer unintentionally fires gun

A Pasadena police officer unintentionally fired a shot during an arrest. The police car was following a suspect wanted in a domestic violence case. As one of the officers was getting out of the squad car he accidentally fired his weapon inside the vehicle. The bullet went through the windshield of the officer's car. One of the officers in the car suffered hearing loss from the gun shot and was taken to the hospital.
Ohh shoot.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Unintentional firearm deaths: a comparison of other-inflicted and self-inflicted shootings

A study published in the July 2010 journal of Accident Analysis and Prevention examined data from the National Violent Death Reporting System for other-inflicted and self-inflicted unintentional firearm fatalities for the years 2003-2006. The study found:

- in almost half of all unintentional firearm fatalities someone other than the victim fired the shot.

- the younger the victim, the more likely the decedent was shot by someone else.

- victims of unintentional shootings were overwhelmingly male. So were the shooters. The few females who died were usually shot by another person, almost always male.

- most firearm deaths occurred in the context of someone playing with the gun, cleaning or loading the gun.

- handguns rather than long guns caused most of the unintentional firearm deaths.

- in almost half the other-inflicted deaths the shooter is from the same family as the victim, often a brother.

- the danger to children and adolescents is largely from being shot by others - typically friends or siblings.

The authors, Hemenway, Barber, and Miller conclude:
These finds lend credence to programmatic and policy proposals to improve gun storage, and to make it normative for parents to ask about the availability of guns in the homes visited by their children.
The real costs of unintentional firearm death are not borne exclusively by the victim and his family, but also include the guilt and grief of the shooter and his family. In half of all other-inflicted unintentional fatal firearm incidents the shooter was a friend or acquaintance. Usually, both shooter and victim are young, with many expected years of life ahead of them.
By dividing unintentional fatalities into other-inflicted and self-inflicted injuries, our study underscores the need to examine another party along with the victim - the shooter - and suggests that prevention of unintentional firearm fatalities, should focus on influencing the shooter as well as the victim.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Teen Come Together to Talk Gun Safety

Two months after a 12-year-old Kentucky boy was unintentionally shot and killed by his 14-year-old brother while the two were playing with guns a group of teenage friends are coming together to turn the tragedy into a teaching opportunity.
A community activist is organizing a series of radio programs to both honor the boy's memory and spread the message of gun safety. The aim is to foster an open and honest discussion about teens and why they are so drawn to firearms. The series will run throughout the summer.
Ohh shoot.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Minneapolis-St.Paul Star Tribune story: Gun Play: Kids Shooting Kids

The accidental shootings send dozens to Minnesota hospitals each year. Immaturity and today's gun culture create a persistent problem.

A fascination with firearms and a false sense of security around guns has fueled more than 1,550 unintentional shooting of young Minnesotans between 1999 and 2008, a Star Tribune analysis of state Health Department data found. What's more, unintentional shootings of young people is a statewide problem, not just an urban phenomenon. Each year, accidental shootings break down in roughly equal numbers between the seven-county metro area and the state's other 80, mostly rural counties.

Ohh shoot.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Toy dart guns recalled after 2 boys die

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall for 1.8 million toy dart gun sets after a 9-year-old boy in Chicago and a 10-year-old boy in Milwaukee died when they chewed on the one-inch, soft-plastic darts, which slipped into their throats.

Evey day in this country children are killed or injured due to poorly designed firearms - lack of built in safety locks, no load indicators, handguns that go off when dropped, etc., etc.

Yet guns are the only consumer product manufactured in America not regulated by a federal agency for health and safety.


No matter how poor the design, no matter how many injured, thanks to the power of the gun lobby the Consumer Product Safety Commission has no authority to issue a recall on any guns or ammunition.

Ohh shoot.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Friendly game of poker goes awry

An 18-year-old Louisiana boy was unintentionally shot and killed by his uncle at family gathering. Relatives and friends were playing cards when the uncle picked up a gun in jest and pulled the trigger twice believing the gun was unloaded. On the second pull the gun fired. The bullet hit the teenager in the chest.
A grand jury will review the evidence to determine if any charges will be filed.
Ohh shoot.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Two men recovering from gunshot wounds

Two men were injured recently in separate incidents in Tennessee. A Union City man was shot in the chest when a .22 rifle being handled by his girlfriend and her son unintentionally discharged. The man was flown by Air Evac helicopter to Jackson-Madison County General Hospital.
A Martin man unintentionally shot himself in the leg while trying to unload a .45 caliber pistol. He was also flown by helicopter to Jackson-Madison County General Hospital.
The average cost of a non-member Air Evac flight is $12,000.
Ohh shoot.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

That was no turkey, that was his friend

A 29-year-old Maine man shot his 30-year-old friend with a 12-gauge shotgun while out turkey hunting. Surgeons removed pellets from the face, neck and upper left torso of the victim. The wounds were described as serious.
"This is a case of mistaken identity of a target," said a spokesman for the Maine Warden Service. "Wild turkeys have very sharp eyesight. To hunt them effectively, hunters usually dress in camouflage. That makes the hunters very difficult to see."
Ohh shoot.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Man commits suicide, kills wife by accident

A 70-year-old Kansas man committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. He was lying in bed when he pulled the trigger. The bullet passed through his head and then struck and killed his 66-year-old wife who was sleeping beside him.
There is no indication that he intended to injure his wife. "I've never worked one like this before," said a Wichita policeman.
Ohh shoot.

Monday, May 10, 2010

The problem with keeping a loaded gun under the couch.

Two 19-year-olds were playing video games at a home in Ogden, Utah when one of them found a loaded .22-caliber rifle under the couch. The teen picked up the gun, pointed it at his friend and pulled the trigger.
According to police, the bullet struck the man in the back, traveled along his side and exited his left side. No vital organs were injured.
Ohh shoot.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

He was putting his loaded gun into a drawer when.......

A Tennessee man shot himself in the hand while putting a loaded.38-caliber handgun with the safety off into a drawer. Justin Elliott told police he was putting the loaded gun back in a drawer in his bedroom when the hammer got caught on the rim of the drawer and the gun discharged.
In March Elliott was arrested for criminal trespassing and public intoxication.
Ohh shoot.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Guilty plea brings peace to family.

A 22-year-old Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of his 20-year-old friend. Under the terms of the agreement he will serve up to four years in jail. He insists the shooting was an accident.
On the night of the shooting he unloaded the gun and set it aside to finish eating. When he picked up the .38-caliber handgun it unintentionally discharged, striking his friend in the abdomen, killing him.
Jonathan Reyes said he is "very against guns" but began to carry one to protect himself and his family. He said that he had had a gun pulled on him 12 times, his brother was shot at twice and his mother was "jumped by 30 people."
He said he "obtained a permit and carried a gun because he was the only one in his family who could do so legally."
Ohh shoot.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

PA turkey hunting season opens with tragedies.

The first day of turkey hunting season in PA was marred when one hunter was shot and killed and another critically wounded in unrelated, unintentional shootings.
A 67-year-old Windham Township man was shot and killed by a 77-year-old hunter who mistook the man for a turkey. The two were not hunting together.
In an unrelated incident, a New Berlin man was wounded by "another shotgun-wielding hunter." The two were not hunting together. The man is currently in critical condition.
Ohh shoot.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Detroit police chief laments irresponsible gun owners.

Last Friday a two-year-old girl was shot in the head by her 4-year-old relative. The girl is currently in critical condition. When her father heard the shot he came running in the room and found the four-year-old holding the .22 caliber handgun, apologizing for what happened.
Detroit police chief pointed out that in the last six months there have been other accidental shootings involving children including a three-year-old who was shot and killed. He says there are too many guns in the city and too many irresponsible gun owners.
"If the child recovers, that's a two-year-old shot in the head, recoveries only do so much. Both kids are scarred for life," he said. "How many kids have to get shot before people realize this is not a game?"
Ohh shoot.