CBS Evening News & David Waldman / GunFAIL – 2015-11-04 01:23:30

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/30/1430765/-Good-guy-with-a-gun-takes-out-a-theater-shooter-GunFAIL-CLXIII

The Invention of a Safer Gun
CBS Evening News

(November 2, 2015) — Kai Kloepfer, a young “smart gun” innovator, talks about why he’s developing the new weapon that can only be fired by its owner and how he hopes it helps put a stop to gun violence

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Good Guy with a Gun Takes out a Theater Shooter — Himself!
David Waldman / GunFAIL & The Daily Kos

(November 1, 2015) — Self-inflicted shootings are really racking up the numbers toward the end of the year. It’s hunting season now, and I think that magnifies the problem. In fact, five of our GunFAILs were hunting accidents, two of which were fatal.

During the week of this installment, it was still early in the season, but we still found 20+ people who accidentally shot themselves. Seems like 23 or so for sure, with another two incidents that are highly suggestive of self-inflicted injury, but where the language of the report is less than 100 percent clear on the question of who pulled the trigger. Or rather, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, when the gun “suddenly went off,” as the saying goes.

In a countdown of other familiar categories, six people were accidentally shot by family members, five people accidentally discharged guns while cleaning them, four people were accidentally shot while sitting in cars (well, one was in a golf cart), three each were accidentally shot while target shooting or had accidental discharges while at work, two were accidentally shot in bars, and just one left a loaded gun behind in a public bathroom.

The week also included two GunFAILs by cops and/or security guards, two movie theater GunFAILs, two GunFAIL shootings by toddlers, and two Salina, Kansas GunFAILs.

One of the hunting accidents this week actually prompted the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department to move to ban hunting for the period during which its personnel are restocking the forests with game birds. Yes, this is a thing which had not yet been done, because Live Free or Die. But apparently, the risk that someone would Die got to be too great when people actually began shooting at pheasants still in the process of being released by Fish and Game biologists, which is in fact something of a risk to the Fish and Game biologists, who are not even in season.

Our title story is that of Cody Denault, the good guy who brought his gun with him into the “gun-free zone” of the Starplex Cinema at the Central Mall in Salina, Kansas, because reasons. Cody is ex-military, you see, so he’s trained, and you can trust him . . . to make his own tourniquet.

At least he was prepared with a sturdy belt, which is amazing in hindsight, given that he didn’t bother preparing so much when it came to buying a holster for his pocketed Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 9mm. (The same gun Veronica Rutledge was carrying in her purse when her 2-year-old found it there and killed her with it in a Hayden, Idaho Walmart last December, by the way.)

Anyway, it was a foolish mistake, but Cody wants you to know that it’s not an indicator of his skill with guns. He’s totally awesome normally. So awesome, in fact, that he felt safe in ignoring the private property owner’s posted firearms restrictions, not bothering with a holster, keeping a round chambered, and blindly fidgeting with his gun in his pocket.

It’s just one of those unavoidable accidents that in so doing he accidentally both disengaged the safety and somehow activated the trigger. There was no real way — other than obeying the law with respect to the weapons prohibition, buying a holster that would have shielded the trigger, or just resisting the urge to finger his weapon in the theater — to have prevented this.

But at least he lived the dream and proved the theory: a good guy with a gun finally took out a theater shooter.

One Week of Gun Deaths and Injuries in the United States

1 CHERRY HILL, NJ, 10/11/15: A man suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound near a popular Cherry Hill beer garden early Sunday morning, a restaurant employee confirmed. The incident was reported to have occurred during a large fight and happened after the Craft House, located on Marlton Park, closed at 2 AM. “A gun went off and he shot himself,” said Michael Donahue, a manager at the Craft House who was not present at the time of the incident. He said witnesses told him it occurred 30 to 40 yards away from the restaurant. The wound, initially reported as in the groin area, was not life-threatening, said a spokesperson for the Camden County prosecutor’s office.

2 MECOSTA CO., MI, 10/11/15: A man was taken to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries after a gun accidentally discharged in the back of a golf cart and shot him, Mecosta County sheriffs say. It happened Sunday afternoon on 20 Mile Rd. Deputies say that Terry Apol, a 57-year-old man from Grandville, was riding as a passenger in a golf cart on private property. There was a gun being carried in the back of the golf cart, which fired as they were riding through a field. Apol was shot in his left upper arm. Apol was taken to the hospital for treatment.

3 BUNKER HILL, IN, 10/11/15: A retired teacher at Maconaquah Middle School remains hospitalized after deputies say he accidentally shot himself in the abdomen with a rifle. Witnesses told deputies that Jim Jenkins was attempting to stop two dogs from fighting with a .22 caliber rifle when the gun discharged and hit him in the abdomen. Deputies said Jenkins fired a few shots in the air in an attempt to stop the dogs from fighting. He then struck one of the dogs with the butt of the gun, which caused it to discharge. Jenkins was air lifted to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, where he underwent surgery for his wounds, deputies said. He remained hospitalized Monday in critical condition, according to hospital officials.

4 FREDERICK, CO, 10/11/15: Frederick police on Sunday responded to the 200 block of Fourth Street on an accidental shooting report. A 35-year-old man had shot himself in the hand while cleaning his gun. He was taken to the hospital.

5 NEVADA CITY, CA, 10/11/15: A reportedly accidental shooting in Nevada City on Sunday morning sent one man to a Roseville hospital, and one man to jail on attempted murder charges. Nevada City Police officers were dispatched to a residence in the 500 block of Uren Street at about 9 AM, and arrived to find a man with a gunshot wound to the left arm, said Officer Shane Franssen. The victim, who was not being identified, said he was at the property to split some wood for the woman who owns the property, when he began arguing with her son, who lives on the property in an RV, Franssen said. The victim reportedly owed the son — identified as Robert Asa Johnson, 52 — money. Johnson began yelling at the victim to get off the property, then leveled a double-barreled 12-gauge shotgun at him, Franssen said. He reportedly pointed the shotgun at the victim, then swung it away and fired, hitting the victim in the left elbow. Johnson fled the scene and hid the shotgun in the rafters of an outhouse on the property, Franssen said. The property was searched with the assistance of Grass Valley Police and Nevada County Sheriff’s deputies, and Johnson was located and taken into custody. He was booked into county jail on suspicion of attempted murder and is being held without bail. The victim sustained a “pretty substantial” injury and was flown by helicopter to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where he has undergone several surgeries.

6 WINTER PARK, FL, 10/11/15: There’s a policy in place to check all bags and purse for guns at Winter Park Regal at the Village movie theater, but somehow a loaded gun ended up in the men’s bathroom Sunday night. “Why would a police officer have his gun sitting around?” asked Sammie Vittoria. That’s what a lot of moviegoers are asking after an off-duty Osceola sheriff’s deputy brought a gun to the theater, leaving the gun in a restroom stall. “It’s careless, obviously,” Shawn Hardy said. “I’m hoping he feels just as bad leaving the gun there, and I’m sure he’s embarrassed that he left it there.” It was a customer that found the gun and reported it to a theater employee. The police report filed Sunday night says the firearm was found in the men’s handicap stall with the hand grip up, resting on top if the tissue dispenser. When the employee checked it, he found five bullets inside. “It’s a little crazy. The officer shouldn’t bring a gun into a movie theater if he’s not on duty,” Theron Marcello said. “That’s kind of unsafe. They should definitely keep track of it better, but I mean, everybody loses something every once in a while,” Jennifer Sprinkle said. A sign posted outside the theater outlines the do’s and don’ts. At the bottom, a clear notice prohibiting any firearms or concealed weapons on theater property can be seen. News 6 reached out to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. “They are aware of the incident and are investigating to see if there were any violations made by the officer,” the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. People News 6 talked to said this isn’t going to change their minds about going to see a movie. “I’m going to go to the movies and not think somebody is going to have a gun,” Hardy said. “I’m not going to go with that mind set, because if that was the mind set going into it then no one would go to the movies.” “It’s a bonehead move for somebody smart, unfortunately,” Marcello said. “It doesn’t reflect on everybody.” The Sheriff’s Office said the deputy is undercover, so they’re not releasing his name. However, officials said it was his personal weapon, which is now back in his custody.

7 ROCK HILL, SC, 10/11/15: A grandmother was released from the hospital after a 2-year-old boy shot her in the back, according to the Rock Hill Police Department. Police originally told Channel 9 that the child was 4 years old and the woman was not the grandmother, but updated their information Monday afternoon. The 40-year-old grandmother and the child were in the woman’s sister’s car at 1:24 PM Sunday at Ogden Road and Heckle Boulevard in Rock Hill. The grandmother’s sister’s .357 revolver was in a pouch on the back of the front passenger seat in the car. The boy’s great aunt was driving the car. The great aunt of the woman who was shot told anchor Liz Foster said the woman is out of hospital and OK, but did not make any further comments. Police said the child was able to pull back the trigger, discharging the weapon. The woman was hit once in the back. She was taken to Carolinas Medical Center – Main in Charlotte.

8 MYRTLE BEACH, SC, 10/12/15: An accidental shooting at a Myrtle Beach hotel sent one woman to the hospital Monday morning, according to the Myrtle Beach police. Officers said the shooting happened early Monday at Hotel Blue. A female suffered a gun shot wound to her leg. Police believe the gun fell and went off on her inside a hotel room. The woman was taken to the hospital and was alert and believed to be alright.

9 SALINA, KS, 10/12/15: An Assaria man was treated at Salina Regional Health Center after he accidentally shot himself in the hand about 9:15 AM Monday while at work in Salina, a police department spokesman said. Cody Suhr, 21, shot himself through his left palm while cleaning a high-powered handgun and the bullet traveled through his wrist while he was at Weis Fire & Safety Equipment, 111 E. Pacific, said Capt. Mike Sweeney. Sweeney said Suhr was cited for unlawful discharge of a weapon.

10 MURRAY, ID, 10/12/15: On Monday October 12th at approximately 651 PM Shoshone County Deputies and Prichard/ Murray Volunteer Fire and Medical were dispatched to Prichard Creek Road in Murray to a report of a gunshot victim. The victim, Stephen Davis, 60, of Florida was at his second home in Murray, where a group of family and friends were done hunting for the day and were in the process of clearing their weapons. The victim was on the back steps to the residence taking his shoes off when the other’s heard a shot. They went out to find his revolver on the ground and him, shot in the chest. The victim had been wearing a .44 magnum revolver in a shoulder holster, prior to the shooting. The others in the group provided first aid on him until emergency services arrived. Northwest Medstar was called to the scene and at 747 PM Medstar told the deputy to notify the coroner that the victim had succumbed to his injuries.

11 LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ, 10/12/15: A North Dakota man who accidentally shot himself in the stomach while cleaning his gun has died, according to Lake Havasu City police. Officers responded to the 900 block of McCulloch Boulevard South at 10:57 AM. Tuesday in reference to an accidental shooting. Police say Rod Iverson, a 70-year-old part-time Havasu resident, was cleaning multiple guns in his garage when a .9-mm handgun discharged into his abdomen. Sgt. Troy Stirling said the shooting occurred while the victim’s wife was out of the house sometime between 9:15 and 11 AM. She returned and noticed her husband sitting in his chair “like he was taking a nap.” He told he was hurt. The victim’s wife reported the incident, and paramedics transported the victim to Havasu Regional Medical Center, where he later died in the operating room. According to Officer Joe Harrold, there is nothing to indicate that the incident was anything other than accidental. A crime scene technician documented the location and collected items from the scene following the shooting.

12 BATON ROUGE, LA, 10/13/15: A shooting claimed the life of a 15-year-old boy early Tuesday at Hooper Pointe Apartments on Hooper Road, according to a family member and the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office. The Coroner’s Office and the victim’s brother-in-law identified the victim as Brian “B.J.” Banks. The brother-in-law, Ron Banks, said the victim was accidentally shot by his 17-year-old best friend. Cpl. Don Coppola, a spokesman for the Baton Rouge Police Department, said police are investigating a fatal shooting at the apartment complex, which happened at 3:30 AM, but provided no further details. Ron Banks, among several family members standing out in front of their first-floor apartment, said he and his wife were asleep in another room when they heard the gunshot. Ron Banks said he did not witness the shooting but that Brian’s friend told him it was an accident, which Brian said as well before he died. He said the boy, who was the youngest of eight children, was shot under the chin. Ron Banks said he carried Brian outside to give him more air. “He kept saying that he was hot,” Ron Banks said. Ron Banks said Brian was bleeding heavily and that he told him to lean his head forward so he didn’t choke. Ryan Banks brought Brian outside on the steps, and then Brian asked to lie down. “And then he was just gone,” Ron Banks said. Ron Banks said the boy was living at the apartment with him and his wife, who is Brian’s sister, and their four children. He held out Brian’s school ID, which he was wearing around his neck, and said the boy was staying with the family while going to school nearby at Greenville Superintendent Academy. Ron Banks said Brian and his friend were inseparable. “They were hanging out all the time. Everyone who knows (Brian’s friend) knows he didn’t mean it,” Ron Banks said. “He stayed with him. He would’ve left, you know?” Ron Banks said Brian’s friend, 17, was taken into custody by police. He said neither he nor his wife knew anything about a gun in the house but that police told him it was .22 caliber handgun. The East Baton Rouge Coroner’s Office was scheduled to do an autopsy Tuesday afternoon.

13 MARIETTA, GA, 10/13/15: A Smyrna man is dead and a Marietta man is in jail after an accidental shooting which took place in a car in northeastern Cobb County on Tuesday morning, Cobb County police said. Jhavares Doster, 20 was killed at the intersection of Ember Street and Sherlock Drive in the Oak Creek Estates area just before 1 AM, according to police. Investigators say he was fatally shot while inside a car and was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect, 18-year-old Demarcus Flint of Marietta, allegedly shot Doster on accident while both were inside the car. Flint has been arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, police said. Flint is being held on a $20,000 bond at the Cobb County jail, records show.

14 SAVANNAH, GA, 10/13/15: Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department’s Violent Crimes detectives are working to determine how Alfonso Walker, 70, was injured after a gun discharged at a lounge on 36th Street and Waters Avenue at about 8:55 PM Tuesday. Metro responded to Candler Hospital where Walker, arrived in a privately owned vehicle seeking care of a non-life-threatening injury. The preliminary investigation shows a firearm carried by another guest at the lounge fell to the ground and discharged. The person in possession of the gun fled the area. Investigators are working to determine whether Walker was grazed by a bullet or shrapnel. Detectives believe this incident was unintentional.

15 KYLE, TX, 10/13/15: Police responded to an accidental shooting near Kyle Elementary School Tuesday, city and school officials said. About 2:30 PM officers received reports of a man who shot himself in the leg while he was in his car near Kyle Elementary School, a city spokeswoman said. There is no threat to the campus and all students and staff are safe, according to Hays Consolidated Independent School District officials. The man was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge, police said.

16 NORTH UNION TOWNSHIP, FAYETTE CO., PA, 10/13/15: State police at Frackville responded to an accidental shooting in North Union Township early Tuesday morning. Troopers said they investigated the shooting at Cove Village on Tuesday at 4:40 AM. The victim, who lives in the development, sustained a hand injury and was treated at a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

17 KASILOF, AK, 10/13/15: A Kasilof man died from an accidental gunshot wound in that community on Tuesday the trooper dispatch revealed. On Tuesday morning at 8:54 AM, troopers, the Alaska Bureau of Investigation and Central Emergency Services responded to Kasilof after troopers received an emergency call reporting a gunshot victim. When troopers, investigators and EMS arrived, EMS declared 46-year-old Royce Gardner deceased. The investigation on-scene determined that Gardner was working on his vehicle, when his revolver, which he had tucked in his waistband, fell out, struck the vehicle, and discharged. Next of kin were notified of the incident and Gardner’s death. Gardner’s remains were sent to the State medical Examiner’s office in Anchorage for autopsy.

18 FARGO, ND, 10/13/15: Fargo police are investigating the accidental discharge of a gun Tuesday night. Police Lt. Joel Vettel says a man was disassembling a pistol, forgot there was a bullet in the chamber, and when he fired the gun, it went off. The bullet lodged in a closet wall. No one was hurt. The man called police to report the accident around 7:30 PM. It happened in an apartment in the 5300 block of Amber Valley Parkway. The report will be forwarded to the city attorney to determine if the man will face charges.

19 CLARK CO., ID, 10/14/15: One man is in the hospital, after falling on a steep hillside and accidentally firing his rife while hunting in Clark County, Wednesday. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office says they received a 9-1-1 call from a 30-year-old hunter in the Pleasant Valley area. The man was hunting deer alone and tripped on a steep hillside. When he fell, his 30.06 rifle accidentally fired, hitting and injuring the man. The Sheriff’s Office says the man had a cell phone and was able to call for help. Air Idaho transported him to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. He was treated for a gunshot wound. The Sheriff’s Office says the man is expected to make a full recovery. Sheriff Bart May wants to remind all hunters it is extremely dangerous to hunt alone and with a round in the chamber.

20 SAN DIEGO, CA, 10/14/15: A bullet accidentally fired from inside a medical marijuana dispensary nearly hit two people in a hair salon overnight Wednesday in Mid-City. The incident occurred at around midnight in the 5200 block of El Cajon Boulevard. According to San Diego police, an employee at a marijuana dispensary was cleaning his gun when it went off. The bullet went through a thin wall and into a hair salon, whizzing past a hairdresser and her client and shattering a fluorescent ceiling light. “All I heard was glass shattering, so I actually thought somebody broke this window right here and something went through,” hairdresser Shavon Griffin said. “I looked at the window and noticed it wasn’t shattered, I was like, ‘why did the light break?’ We looked behind her and saw the bullet hole and saw the skid mark, light; the hole over there. So, it was a gunshot.” No one was hurt. Police did not immediately confirm if any charges would be filed.

21 BUNNELL, FL, 10/14/15: 4:13 AM 5900 block of Walnut Avenue, Bunnell. Shooting: A Bunnell man accidentally shot himself through the hand Oct. 14 when he heard a strange noise in the house in the early morning hours and reached for his revolver, fearing burglars. The man, a 53-year-old Walnut Avenue resident, had been sleeping at about 3 AM when he heard a noise at the front porch, according to a Sheriff’s Office incident report. Still “half asleep,” he told a Sheriff’s Office deputy who interviewed him at the hospital, the man reached for his .38 special snub-nose revolver on the nightstand. But as grabbed the gun, he pulled the hammer back and pulled the trigger, firing a bullet into his left hand between his thumb and pointer finger, he told the deputy. The man put the gun in a closet and ran his hand under cold water for several minutes, then went to Florida Hospital Flagler. A nurse told the deputy that the man had said he kept the gun under a pillow. The man told a deputy that he’d gone for the gun because the home had been burglarized in the past.

22 WESTON, MA, 10/14/15: A woman was reported bleeding after accidentally shooting herself in the arm at the Weston Shooters Club on Wednesday at 1 PM. According to the Weston Police Department, the female shooter suffered a non life-threatening gunshot wound to the left arm. She was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Weston Police responded to the scene along with the Weston Fire Department and Pro Ambulance (Advanced Life Support). The incident remains under investigation. Weston Shooters Club bills itself as New England’s first luxury private shooting club, where country club meets gun club. The year-old facility at 8 Sibley Road (off Rte. 20 near Rte. 128) houses a state-of-the-art eight-lane indoor shooting range, locker room with 400 lockers and a gun-cleaning area, boardroom and a clubhouse lounge. Prospective members must have a valid and current Massachusetts license to carry firearms and are screened by the club’s membership committee.

23 MACON, GA, 10/14/15: A 29-year-old Macon man told Bibb County sheriff’s deputies he was shot at a convenience store in the Bloomfield Road area around 10 AM Wednesday. According to an incident report, Ashley Flincher told police she and her boyfriend, Kenneth Slaughter, were in the parking lot of a gas station when she heard a gunshot. Flincher told police she saw Slaughter come out of the station with an apparent gunshot wound. While being treated, a deputy then noticed a burn mark around a bullet hole in Slaughter’s jeans at the scene. Slaughter, at first, told deputies he heard gunshots near some bushes near a convenience store on Chambers Road. However, when being questioned about the burn mark, Slaughter said the shooting was accidental. Slaughter told police he was with a friend known as “Red” at the Bridgeview hotel on Harrison Road. Slaughter said Red asked him if he could see the .22 gun he owned, Red got the gun and accidentally shot Slaughter in the thigh. Deputies discovered Slaughter had an warrant out for his arrest for marijuana possession, but due to his injuries, the report states, he wasn’t taken into custody. Deputies ruled the shooting accidental.

24 THOMASVILLE, NC, 10/14/15: A 16-year-old faces charges after accidentally shooting his sister with a stolen gun, Davidson County deputies said. William Michael Conrady was charged with larceny of a firearm and breaking and entering a motor vehicle following an incident reported Oct. 14. Conrady’s 18-year-old sister had arrived at Thomasville Medical Center with a gunshot wound, deputies said. Her injuries aren’t considered life-threatening. Deputies said they determined Conrady accidentally shot his sister Oct. 14 at a home on Kimberly Lane not far from Kennedy Road south of Thomasville. The larceny of a firearm charge is linked to the gun used in the shooting, deputies said. More charges are pending against Conrady on charges unrelated to the shooting, deputies said. No other information has been released. The investigation continues.

25 HILTON HEAD, SC, 10/14/15: A security guard for Palmetto Dunes was taken to the hospital Oct. 14 after he accidentally shot himself in the foot while demonstrating firearm safety for another security officer, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report. The incident is the second accidental gun discharge reported by a security guard in the Hilton Head Island gated community this year. Deputies responded at about 1:20 AM Oct. 14 on Queens Folly Road where they spoke with a security officer who said he was working at the south traffic gatehouse on Ocean Lane with the guard who shot himself, according to the report. The guard said he was scheduled to qualify at the shooting range the following week to become an armed officer and was getting tips on loading and unloading his .40-caliber Glock 22 pistol from the other guard. The guard had unloaded the gun and was about to reload it, with it pointed at the floor, when he “inadvertently discharged his weapon,” the report said. The bullet went through his right boot and foot. The guard later reached the main traffic gatehouse on Queens Folly Road and was transported to Hilton Head Hospital. On Feb. 20, another Palmetto Dunes security officer accidentally fired her Glock pistol while disassembling the weapon to clean it, according to a Sheriff’s Office report. The bullet struck a file cabinet and was found inside it. No one was injured. It was at the end of her 12-hour shift, she reported. She told deputies the slide would not come off after she had removed the magazine. “I then pulled the trigger thinking that the slide would slide off, and a round discharged from the weapon hitting the top portion of the filing cabinet,” according to the incident report. After the Feb. 20 incident, all of the security guards had to undergo firearms training, according to Palmetto Dunes Chief of Security Jim Griner. Griner said additional training will be required of all Palmetto Dunes security officers after the Oct. 14 incident, and other changes will be made. “We take this very seriously and want to try to prevent this from happening,” Griner said. Some of the changes that Griner said would be coming to the department include allowing only certified firearms instructors to demonstrate weapon safety and care. He said all firearms training would occur at an off-site facility instead of within the gated community. He also said security officers would no longer be allowed to unload firearms at the end of their shifts, to deter accidental discharges, and the department would look into different gun brands with better safety features. Griner said other changes could be made, pending an administrative review of the most recent incident. He said the injured security guard was healing well. Attempts to reach Palmetto Dunes administration for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful.

26 ANDERSON, SC, 10/15/15: A teen is dead after she was shot in an apparent hunting accident Thursday afternoon in Anderson County, officials said. Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore identified the victim as 17-year-old Amanda Daniele Foster. Shore said the teen was a student at Pendleton High School. Robert McCollough with the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said the teen’s foster father accidentally shot her in the chest with a high power rifle, McCullough said. Foster was transported to AnMed where authorities say she was pronounced dead. The shooting happened off Dalrymple Road on private land. Shore said Amanda had been living with her foster family for more than two years. An autopsy will be performed Friday, Shore said. DNR is still investigating the shooting. “We are in shock and saddened,” Anderson District Four Superintendent Dr. Joanne Avery said in an e-mailed statement. “Amanda touched many lives. She was working hard to fulfill her dreams of going to college. Her parents were a big part of her success.” Avery said counselors will be available to Pendleton High School students to help cope with the loss.

27 WOODLAND PARK, CO, 10/15/15: A man may have accidentally shot his son today while recreational shooting. Police responded to a call regarding a shooting at 1:30 PM Thursday. The shooting occurred approximately three miles north of Pikes Peak Road near Loi Creek Road and North Rampart Range Road. When a passerby told them shooting was not permitted in the area, they packed up their gear. Both the father, who is in his 60s, and son who is in his late 30s, were inside a vehicle. One round was still in the gun chamber, and a shot fired through a window and hit the son in the chest. The father rushed down the mountain to a paved area to get help. The son was conscious and alert. Flight for life landed and transported the son to a nearby hospital. The shooting appears to be accidental, according to police. The shooting appears to be accidental, according to police.

28 MIDLAND PARK, NJ, 10/16/15: Attorney Peter Jeffer, who operates an appointment-only gunshop that caters mostly to law enforcement, accidentally shot himself at home — though not seriously — just after midnight today, Oct. 16. Midland Park Ambulance took Jeffer, 69, to Hackensack University Medical Center from his Post Street home after he apparently shot himself in the abdomen, sources with direct knowledge of the incident told Daily Voice. He was conscious and alert at the time, witnesses reported. Midland Park Police Chief Michael Powderly said he couldn’t release the identity of the victim. However, he told Daily Voice that the man was expected to survive and that the weapon was legally owned. Wyckoff police joined their Midland Park colleagues at the scene. Jeffer, a retired Municipal Court judge and former Midland Park firefighter, owns Wortendyke Arms, known as the seller of “New Jersey’s Guns For the Good Guys.” Next month marks 44 years that he’s been an attorney.

29 CEDAR GROVE, WV, 10/16/15: A woman was accidentally shot in the leg Friday afternoon by a two-year-old boy in Cedar Grove. It happened in the 200 block of William Street when a man opened the family gun cabinet. The child got ahold of a pistol and fired the gun, hitting 53-year-old Pamela Gibson in the leg. The bullet entered her leg and exited through her hip. She was immediately transported to CAMC and underwent surgery. She was still receiving treatment Friday evening. Kanawha County Sheriff’s Deputies are still investigating the incident. The boy’s name will not be released due to privacy issues.

30 SALINA, KS, 10/16/15: A man was transported to Salina Regional Health Center on Friday night after he apparently accidentally shot himself in the leg midway through a movie at Central Mall. Salina Police Department watch commander Sean Furbeck said the incident remains under investigation, but the gunshot wound likely was self-inflicted. He said police were not seeking anyone else in connection with the incident, which occurred at about 8:30 PM in one of the small theaters behind the ticket sales area. Heather Myers, of Lindsborg, said she and her fiance had gotten a baby sitter for their three children and went to see “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” at the Central Mall cinema on a date night. About 45 minutes into the movie, she said, there was suddenly a loud boom about three rows in front of them. She said a man yelled, “Oh, my God! I just shot myself! I just got my concealed carry.” She said everybody jumped up, and somebody screamed, “Call 911!” She said someone used a belt to make a tourniquet on the man’s leg to stop the bleeding from a wound on the inside of the man’s thigh. “I feel really sorry that guy shot himself, but at least he didn’t shoot someone else,” Myers said. “That would have been 10 times worse.” Myers said theater employees offered moviegoers the choice of waiting until the theater was cleaned up so the movie could resume or receiving vouchers for a free movie another time. She said she was among the first people in line for the vouchers. “I was so freaked out,” she said. “My whole body was shaking. I felt like I couldn’t even walk, and I was about to cry.” Movies in other theaters continued to be shown, and tickets were being sold for later showings.
MORE: A 24-year-old Concordia man shot himself in the thigh while at the Starplex Cinemas inside the Central Mall, 2259 S. 9th, Friday evening at about 8:30 PM Salina Police Captain Chris Trocheck said Cody Deneault was with his wife watching a movie, when he adjusted a handgun in his pants pocket, and it went off. Deneault was taken to the Salina Regional Health Center for treatment of a non-life threatening wound. Captain Trocheck said the case is still under investigation and it has not been determined if Deneault will face any charges.

31 FRANKLIN, NH, 10/16/15: The head of the state Fish and Game Department has issued an emergency order for later this week, barring hunters from discharging firearms at pheasant stocking sites statewide, after one hunter shot and wounded another on Friday. The order is effective from 7 AM until noon on Thursday and Friday, the last two days that Fish and Game will be stocking ring-necked pheasants this year. Glenn Normandeau, executive director of the agency, said the hunting accident happened Friday morning in the Army Corps of Engineers Pemigewasset flood zone north of Franklin. He said a Fish and Game stocking crew was still in the area after releasing birds, and witnessed the shooting. The victim suffered a non-life-threatening injury when he was hit in the side of the head by “a (shotgun) pellet or two,” Normandeau said. The shooter apparently was aware of the accident but left the scene, he said. Normandeau said witnesses got a license plate number for the hunter’s vehicle and he expects charges will be filed. As soon as he heard about the incident on Friday, Normandeau said, he asked Fish and Game’s legal counsel for advice and then issued the emergency order. “I’ve had enough,” he said. “This is not an isolated incident.” In some cases, Fish and Game biologists have been in the process of releasing pheasants from their wooden crates, Normandeau said. “They’re still putting birds out and people are blasting away,” he said. “It just needs to come to an end.” Such incidents have happened in the past, he said, but this hunting season seems to be worse than usual. “It just seems like for some reason this year, people are out there just sort of waiting for the stocking truck to show up,” he said. “We appear to be having a bunch of people too anxious to be the first to get one.” “I’m concerned about the public generally, but I’m especially concerned about our own folks and somebody getting hurt.” Normandeau said the emergency order applies only to this week. But he said he plans to seek a permanent solution when Fish and Game undertakes its biennial rulemaking process in the spring. “I expect we’re going to have a serious discussion and probably permanently design something where on stocking days you can’t hunt,” he said. “There shouldn’t be any hunting going on when we’re out there.” Normandeau said this is not a new issue. He found a study dating back to 1949, “which illustrates that these same problems were going on back then.” “They go away for a while. Then they raise their ugly head again.” Pheasant hunting season continues through Dec. 31 in New Hampshire. A total of 12,200 ring-necked pheasants are being released this year at 70 sites in 46 towns, according to Fish and Game.

32 CHICAGO, IL, 10/16/15: A 19-year-old man accidentally shot himself in the leg Friday evening in South Shore. He showed up at the University of Chicago Medical Center just after 6 PM with the leg wound, according to Chicago Police. The man told investigators the shooting happened in the 2000 block of East 75th Street but wasn’t cooperative with other details, police said. His injury appeared to be self-inflicted, police said. It wasn’t considered life-threatening.

33 CHICAGO, IL, 10/17/15: At 12:20 AM, a 27-year-old man accidentally shot himself in East Garfield Park, Greer said. He was on a porch in the 3800 block of West Adams Street when he shot himself in the thigh by accident. He was taken to Mount Sinai, and his condition was stabilized.

34 CHICAGO, IL, 10/17/15: At 6:10 PM, a 19-year-old man was shot in South Shore, Alfaro said. He was shot in the right leg in the 2000 block of East 75th Street, and took himself to the University of Chicago Medical Center. The wound may have been self-inflicted, authorities said.

35 CHICAGO, IL, 10/17/15: The 3-year-old boy who was one of two people killed in city shootings since Saturday night was accidentally shot by his 6-year-old brother while the two were playing cops and robbers, according to police. The boy, whom authorities identified as Eian Santiago, was at a residence at about 9:05 PM in the 1000 block of North Francisco Avenue in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side when his 6-year-old brother got hold of a revolver and shot him in the head. According to Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, the two had been playing “cops and robbers” when the 6-year-old saw the handgun atop a refrigerator, took it and fired it in the direction of his brother. Guglielmi could not further describe the weapon other than saying it was a handgun. The boys’ father, 25-year-old Michael Santiago, was charged with felony child endangerment in connection with the shooting. He kept a loaded gun on top of a refrigerator, according to police. He is expected to appear in bond court Sunday. Guglielmi said that Michael Santiago told police he was a former member of the Spanish Cobras gang and that he had purchased the gun from another gang member for protection. Guglielmi said police are in the process of tracing the weapon. After the shooting, the boy’s family members took him to Norwegian American Hospital. He later was transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital, where family members gathered as word of the shooting spread. As word of the shooting spread, people walked up to the ambulance bay at Mount Sinai in groups of two or three. By 11:20 PM, about two dozen people were waiting in the cold, including a young woman who had been wailing almost nonstop for half an hour.

36 DALLAS, GA 10/17/15: The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting accident that killed a child and injured her mother. Officers say a gun fired unexpectedly around 5 PM Saturday at a home on Fairview Drive in Dallas, hitting them both. “It’s a tragic situation. We’ve got two folks that have been shot,” said Sgt. Ashley Henson. “Initially from what we understand the handgun was dropped and when it dropped it discharged, striking both victims.” According to the Sheriff’s Office, four kids were in the house at the time of the shooting. “We’ve spoken with the mother and a couple children who were in the home and everything they’re saying seems to fit with the evidence we’ve seen,” Henson said. Police say the mother was doing her 8-year-old daughter’s hair. The girl was sitting between her mother’s legs when the gun fell to the ground. The bullet went through the mother’s leg and struck the child in the head. The child died on the scene. The 45-year-old mother was transported to a local hospital and underwent surgery overnight. Detectives say she is recovering at Floyd Medical Center in Rome with her oldest son by her side. Police say although all signs point to a terrible accident, they are still investigating it as if it were a crime. They say they want to know why the gun was out in the first place and how it fell to the ground. But investigators say they’ll give the mother time to grieve and bury her child before pressing her with those questions. MORE: The neighbor of an eight-year-old girl killed in an accidental shooting at her Paulding County home is sharing his thoughts. Ahue Sims told Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes the girl, who police say was accidentally shot and killed by her mother, used to sit on his porch. “She would come every once in a while with another kid and have ice cream,” Sims said. Police say the shooting happened around 5 PM, and they’re confident it was an accident. According to investigators, the mother was doing her youngest daughter’s hair when a gun fell to the floor and fired one bullet. The bullet went through the mother’s leg and into the child’s head.

37 DANIELSVILLE, GA, 10/17/15: A Madison County man accidentally shot himself in the leg Saturday night shortly after returning home from watching the University of Georgia football game at a friend’s home, authorities said Monday. A deputy was dispatched at 11:58 PM to the home on Hudson River Church Road, where he found a large amount of blood in a Ford pickup and blood spills leading into the home, according to a Madison County Sheriff’s Office report. The man was sitting in a kitchen chair, where he had applied a makeshift tourniquet using his belt, deputies said. Leslie Oglesby Jr., 59, told the officer he removed his .40-caliber pistol from the glove compartment and was attempting to clear the weapon by racking the slide, when it discharged. Oglesby, who was calm and coherent, was transported to Athens Regional Medical Center, deputies said. Lt. Jimmy Patton said Monday the shooting was accidental and no foul play is expected.

38 PANDORA, OH, 10/17/15: A 17-year-old boy died Saturday night after an apparent accidental shooting, according to a press release from Putnam County Sheriff Michael C. Chandler. The teen was shooting guns with friends when he was wounded, according to the press release. The sheriff’s office received a call at 7:06 PM Saturday about the shooting at 13915 Road 3, Pandora. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene. Chandler declined to release names early Sunday because of the ages of the individuals at the scene of the shooting and also because all family members hadn’t been notified yet. The incident remains under investigation by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. The property at 13915 Road 3, Pandora, is owned by Daniel and Linda Myers, according to Putnam County Auditor’s website.

39 MERIDIAN, ID, 10/17/15: An 18-year-old Meridian man shot and killed a 15-year boy after pointing the gun at the boy’s head — thinking it was unloaded, Meridian Police say. Police first responded to a possible suicide on the 2300 block of east Franklin Road at 9:30 PM Saturday. When officers arrived, they found the 15-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. The boy, who has not been identified, died at a local hospital. Meridian PD says the first information they acquired led them to believe it was a suicide. Officers say there were several people in the bedroom when the shooting occurred, all of which were smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. After further investigation, however, police say the participants started playing with two handguns. Meridian PD says the alleged shooter, David Provencio of Meridian, pointed the handgun at the victim and pulled the trigger while thinking it was unloaded. Police say there were at least two other adults at home when the shooting happened, along with several young children. Provencio was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and is being held in the Ada County Jail. He faces up to 10 years in prison.

40 MEDFORD, OR, 10/17/15: Police arrested a 22-year-old Medford man who accidentally discharged a revolver into his hand at a 7-Eleven at Crater Lake Avenue and McAndrews Road on Saturday night while attempting to show it to a store clerk, who narrowly missed being struck by the bullet. Brodie McArthur Larson, of the 1300 block of Brentcrest Drive in Medford, was charged with carrying a concealed handgun without a permit and two counts of endangering. He was released from Jackson County Jail on his own recognizance. Police say Larson was carrying the revolver in the same pocket as his wallet when he approached the 7-Eleven counter around 9:00 PM Saturday. He had to pull out the gun in order to remove the wallet. According to police, the clerk commented on how nice a gun it was, so Larson attempted to unload it to let the clerk get a better look. While Larson unloaded the gun, it discharged into his hand, and the bullet whizzed by the clerk’s head, police say. Initially police suspected a botched robbery, but after some investigation police said they determined it was just a case of a person making very poor decisions with a loaded gun. Medford police Sgt. Jason Antley said someone who has a concealed carry permit could carry a firearm into a store unless the store has a policy against bringing a gun inside. Generally, notices are posted near the front door, he said. A representative at the 7-Eleven said he could provide no comments regarding the accidental shooting or whether the store has a policy prohibiting bringing firearms into the building.

41 LETCHER, SD, 10/17/15: A 13-year-old suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the hand while pheasant hunting Saturday about eight miles north of Letcher. According to South Dakota Conservation Officer Andy Petersen, who’s based in Mitchell, the teenager was transported to Avera Queen of Peace Hospital in Mitchell after the accident. The teenager is from Tennessee, Petersen said. Petersen said the investigation to the incident is not complete, so he declined to release additional details. Petersen said the opening weekend of the statewide pheasant opener was “steady” and he dealt with a broad range of violations. He said there were a few hunters without licenses in Aurora County. “Nothing in particular as far as violations sticks out,” Petersen said Monday.

42 PHOENIX, AZ, 10/17/15: Authorities say they have arrested three suspects in connection to a robbery in Phoenix that involved a woman being bound inside a vehicle. Police say a 26-year-old woman reported that she had been spending time with two men and another woman Saturday night when the three individuals tied her up and robbed her. The suspects allegedly forced the victim to withdraw money from a check cashing business. They then took the victim to a west Phoenix home, where officers later responded after receiving a report from a witness. The suspects fled the scene in a vehicle and then led officers on a foot chase. Police say one of the suspects accidentally shot himself during the incident. Officers found the victim tied up in the car. The suspects remain unidentified.

43 HANOVER, VA, 10/17/15: A man was shot in the hand by his own gun while he was getting assistance to clean it, according to the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators say the victim walked into the Green Top on October 17 around 1:50 PM to get assistance cleaning and clearing his gun. There were remaining rounds in the weapon that, as he was being assisted, discharged, causing injuries to the owner’s hand. The victim was taken to VCU Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators have not released any information on who was assisting the victim at this time.

44 RESERVE, LA, 10/17/15: A Reserve teenager who was shot in the foot reported he was a victim of a drive-by attack. He later recanted, telling St. John the Baptist Parish sheriff’s deputies that he accidentally shot himself, authorities said Monday (Oct. 19). Deputies found the 17-year-old boy, whose name was not released, Saturday about 8:25 PM while responding to reports of a shooting in the 8800 block of Houma Drive in Reserve, according to a Sheriff’s Office statement. He told deputies that someone passing in a car fired one shot that hit him in the foot. But he couldn’t describe the shooter or the car, according to the Sheriff’s Office. In a later interview, he admitted to accidentally shooting himself in the foot with a pistol. He was taken by ambulance to a New Orleans hospital for treatment. Authorities said they might file charges upon completing their investigation.

45 GALLIANO, LA, 10/17/15: The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office says that a disturbance call in Galliano led to the arrest of a Cut Off man for possession of stolen property and drugs after he shot himself in the leg. Deputies responded to the disturbance call shortly after 6 PM on Saturday. Deputies say that they were told that 33-year-old Kalob Burris was involved in a fight with another man, where he pulled a handgun and fired a single shot, striking himself in the leg. Burris was able to flee the scene before deputies arrived on the scene but was eventually tracked down to a home in Cut Off. Deputies arrested Burris who admitted to shooting himself in the leg. They also say that when he was arrested he was found to be in possession of drugs and stolen property. After Burris was treated for his injury, he was transported to the Lafourche Parish Detention Center, where he is currently being held in lieu of $93,000 bond. Burris faces a series of charges, including illegal use of a weapon, felon in possession of a firearm, drug possession and possession of stolen property.

46 ANTIOCH, CA, 10/17/15: Shooting — At 6:11 PM, a person called police to report that his friend had accidentally shot himself in the chest on the 100 block of Merrill Drive.

47 LAKE SAINT LOUIS, MO, 10/17/15 [NEW]: Police investigated an accidental discharge of a weapon in the 300 block of Spring Day Court at 10:13 PM No injuries were reported.

ORIGINALLY POSTED TO DAVID WALDMAN ON THU OCT 29, 2015 AT 08:49 PM PDT.
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