Man hurt when gun blasts toilet...

[spin]

CENTERVILLE — A man was wounded by shrapnel from a toilet when his concealed weapon accidentally went off while he was using the bathroom, police said.

It happened Tuesday at the Carl's Jr. restaurant at 385 N. 800 West. Police said the 26-year-old man had gone into the bathroom to use the toilet, armed with a .40-caliber Kahr P40 handgun. The man, who has a valid concealed weapon permit and was lawfully in possession of the gun, had it in a holster inside his pants.

"While pulling his pants up the gun fell out of the holster, striking the tile floor," Centerville Police Lt. Paul Child said Wednesday. "When the gun hit the floor, it went off, and the bullet struck the toilet, shattering it and sending sharp pieces of porcelain flying."

*****snip****

"In this case it appears that the accident would have been prevented if the man had used a secure holster," Child said. "A good quality firearm also should not fire if it is dropped."
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705277512,00.html

[riverdale]

1. Was his name Plaxico?

[Faygo Kid]

2. Damn, beat me to it.

[riverdale]

7. Rock & Rye!

[spin]

5. Plaxico didn't use a holster...

If he would have, perhaps the Giants would be playing the Steers in the Super Bowl.

Message to Plaxico Burress: Buy a Holster


There are certain inevitable truths that humanity must come to embrace: 1) Gravity is a fact, not a theory. 2) The game is called "soccer", not "futbol." 3) Putting mayo on a hamburger is a crime against humanity. 4) NFL players players need to carry handguns for protection.

While efforts are being made to implement the first three of these truths into a worldwide understanding, the last on the list is something that NFL players need to come to grips with as much as the fans.

On Saturday, Nov. 29, Plaxico Burress shot himself in the thigh at a nightclub after the handgun that he had in the waistband of his pants slipped down the inside of his pants and discharged as he groped around for it.

********snip********

Not only do holsters look cool, especially tactical holsters that hang lower on the thigh for a quicker draw, but they are practical in the regards that you will never have to worry about your side arm falling down your waist band and shooting off your reason for living.

Mr. Burress, Plaxico... please, in the name of all football fans and NRA members, we understand how cool it looks to keep a handgun in your waistband, we have all seen the John Woo classic movies The Killer and Hardboiled, but please, at least during the regular season, strap on a holster.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/87675-message-to-plaxico-burress-buy-a-holster

[RC]

3. That could have been him...

Maybe even eliminated his from the gene pool, while still alive.

[RoccoR5955]

4. It gives new meaning to the phrase, "sh*t bullets!:" n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Gives a whole new meaning to the expression

"Shootin' the shit."

[gorfle]

18. LOL

good one.

[SteveM]

30. Didn't know there was an open season on blind eels. (nt)

[safeinOhio]

8. If you can't afford a Glock

don't rack it until you need to use it. Then learn to handle a firearm in a safe manner.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

11. There are plenty of guns that won't fire when dropped besides a Glock.

[safeinOhio]

14. Not a Kahr P40

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

15. My Springfield XD 40 won't fire when dropped.

I don't think I need to leave the chamber empty.

David

[Statistical]

17. Kahr does have striker block.

Unless trigger is depressed the striker is locked in place.

Works similar to Glock "striker safety" although mechanically it is different. There are two rotating cams; the first depresses the striker and the second allows the striker to move forward and allows firing pin to move.

Unless the cams rotate in proper order the weapon can no fire. Pulling the trigger rotates the cams in proper order.

There have been 50K, 60K P40 sold so if there was a defect it is unlikely this would be the first time it was noticed.

The flawed striker block on Ruger LCP was caught less than 6 months after launch.

My guess is that unless this was a damaged or modified weapon the shooter tried to grab the falling weapon and depressed the trigger.

Remember the "I am the only one professional enough to handle a gun" DEA agent who fired his Glock in classroom of kids.

Best safety is between your ears or as my drill sgt use to say "keep your booger hook off the bang switch".

[Redneck Socialist]

20. Ding, ding, ding, ding! We have a winnah!

I seriously doubt that the gun just went off when it was dropped. That is extremely unlikely (unlikely to the point of the chances of it happening are pretty much zero) unless the gun had some sort of serious malfunction. So, ruling out that, it leaves us with:

1) He did some home gunsmithing and screwed something up
2) He did drop it, tried to catch it and pulled the trigger
3) Was messing around with it and pulled the trigger

In all three cases he's extremely fortunate that all he shot was a toilet.

I have a Kahr K9 and after I read about this "accident" I put a snap cap in the K9, "dropped" the gun and tried to catch it. Kahr's triggers have a rather long pull, but they are not particularly heavy. Every time I "caught" the gun by the trigger it "fired."

Something stinks about this guy's story. :D

[tburnsten]

28. Yeah. Never try to grab a falling firearm

It just isn't worth it,let the gun take a scratch or two, it's much better than the possible alternative.

[spin]

19. Be careful of older Colt .45 autos...

The single biggest change to the 1911 design came about in 1983, when Colt introduced the "MK IV Series 80" pistols. These guns incorporated a new firing pin block safety system, where a series of internal levers and a plunger positively blocked the firing pin from moving until the trigger was pressed, thus eliminating the possibility of the gun discharging if dropped onto a hard surface or struck hard. In this instance however, ALL of Colt's 1911-pattern pistols incorporated the new design change so even the Commander and Officer's ACP pistols became known as Series 80 guns. underlining mine
http://home.comcast.net/~parslowb/2008/04/colt-1911-differences-basic-overview.html

I've heard stories of a older Colt 1911 being dropped and landing on the hammer, firing, landing on the hammer again and firing and continuing to fire until the magazine was empty. This story could be an urban myth.

[slackmaster]

23. I dimly remember a story about a Series 80 pistol firing after getting sucked into an MRI machine

It is possible to have weird things happen under extreme conditions.

[jeepnstein]

25. Partial urban myth.

The older Series 70's will go off once if dropped the wrong way. The dropping story and the hammer follow story sometimes get merged. I know a retired Deputy who shot himself in the butt while making a restroom break that way. It is an epic story.

They actually taught officer safety in public bathrooms at the police academy when I went through. You never think about things like that but it's a common way to have an accidental discharge, so to speak.

[jeepnstein]

9. Wanna bet he tried...

to catch it before it fell in the crapper? My best guess is that he grabbed at it as it fell and KABOOOM! It happens more often than you'd care to imagine, dropping your gun that is. Shooting the living daylights out of a public toilet is a rarity.

It's nearly impossible to get a properly functioning modern pistol to go off without pulling the trigger.

[spin]

10. My suspicion also...

However a police firearms instructor told me, after I described the incident, that he felt Kahr made a cheap unreliable weapon with poor quality control.

I owned a Kahr P40 for several years and finally sold it as it was rather finicky about ammunition and would occasionally jam. Not the type of weapon I want to carry for self defense. Fortunately, I never dropped it.

No recently manufactured weapon should fire if dropped.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

13. Yeah, like since 1911

nt.

[rfranklin]

12. Good thing that he was armed...that toilet was dangerous....

I had one that backed up on me and I wasn't armed!

[safeinOhio]

16. Just when you want to shoot the crap out of it.

[jmg257]

21. Hmm - P40 fails the drop test? I think this guy "plugged" the toilet.

With a DOA action & a passive firing pin/stiker block safety, dollars to donuts it didn't go off due to the short drop.

[slackmaster]

22. FWIW Kahr has not submitted that model for the strict California drop test

I doubt very much that a properly maintained Kahr handgun would fire after being dropped a short distance, even if a round was chambered and safety off.

I suspect this gentleman violated the "Never try to catch a dropped knife or gun" rule. ;-)

[jmg257]

24. Hmmm - I wonder why??? Maybe they know something... :)

[RamboLiberal]

26. True - reason I would never buy a Kahr is that Sun Myung Moon's

kid Justin Moon runs that company. I'd never support anything from that family.

Getting back to the ND, I'd bet the guy was using some cheap or very worn IWB holster and that he did indeed try to catch the falling gun. A good kydex or leather IWB like any good holster holds the gun fairly tight.

[slackmaster]

27. Uhoh, I feel a song coming on...

Catch a falling gun
And put it in

***BANG***

[spin]

29. Damn, that song has been running through my head all day. (n/t)