Recent accidental shooting news

[struggle4progress]

Alabama

June 20, 2011
Woman ‘critical’ after shooting
By Jean Cole [e-mail]
... Lewis told investigators Nance had stabbed him in the past, so when she reached for her purse he became alarmed she was drawing a knife, so he pulled the handgun and accidentally fired it, McNatt said ...
http://enewscourier.com/local/x1625122334/Woman-critical-after-shooting

Arizona
Gilbert police: Man shoots own arm, marijuana found nearby
by John Genovese - Jun. 22, 2011 04:14 PM
The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team
... Officials said the man, identified as Christopher Cartem, shot his left arm while holding 9-millimeter handguns in each hand. As Cartem was adjusting the gun in his right hand, he accidentally squeezed the trigger, records state ...
http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/2011/06/22/20110622gilbert-arm-shot-abrk.html

California

VALLEY CENTER: Teen suspected of accidentally shooting at bus
By EDWARD SIFUENTES [e-mail] | Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 8:38 am
A 17-year-old boy is suspected of being the shooter who fired a gun and accidentally struck a school bus on Valley Center Road on Monday morning, according to the Sheriff's Department ...
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/ramona/article_cbfff30d-7648-56e7-9474-051aef9dd69d.html

Colorado

Longmont man sued -- again -- in accidental AK-47 shooting
Danny G. Long accused of negligence in Roosevelt National Forest shooting
By Erica Meltzer Camera Staff Writer
Posted: 06/21/2011 06:02:14 PM MDT
CORRECTION: This story should have stated that weapons charges against Danny Glenn Long were filed in Larimer County Court after being withdrawn from Larimer District Court. The case is scheduled to go to trial in September.
A Longmont man who police say accidentally shot two men with an AK-47 last year -- and then tried to blame his 10-year-old son for the incident -- is being sued for the second time by one of his alleged victims ...
http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_18324914

Connecticut

Man showing girlfriend his gun shoots self in groin, police say
She ends up accused of paraphernalia possession for crack pipe
By Scott Beaulieu
NBCConnecticut.com
updated 6/21/2011 8:34:48 PM ET
... Araujo was showing his girlfriend his gun, when it went off, police said ...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43482988/ns/us_news-weird_news/

Florida

Child recovering after accidental shooting
Posted: Today at 5:40 am EDT
MIAMI (WSVN) -- A 4-year-old is recovering at the hospital after he was accidentally shot inside his home, according to police ... According to police, two children were playing in the bedroom of a home with a gun, just after 1 p.m., Wednesday ...
http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21004647112026/

Hawaii

Man gets 20-year term in shooting of friend
By Nelson Daranciang
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jun 23, 2011
A state judge sentenced a Waipahu man to 20 years in prison Wednesday in a manslaughter case in which the defendant said he shot his friend in the head at close range by accident ...
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110623__Man_gets_20year_term_in_shooting_of_friend.html

Illinois

Juvenile accidental shooting in Walsh
Randolph County Herald Tribune
Posted Jun 21, 2011 @ 12:06 PM
Print Comment
Chester, Ill. — On June 12, 2011, the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call that reported an accidental shooting of a juvenile male on Zion Church Road, Walsh, Illinois. Sheriff’s Deputies responded and found that a twelve year old juvenile male had been accidentally shot with a .22 caliber long rifle with hollow point round in the upper right leg by another twelve year old juvenile male. Apparently the young juvenile males were in an outbuilding and discovered the rifle that was unsecured ...
http://www.randolphcountyheraldtribune.com/news/police_and_fire/x1260738756/Juvenile-accidental-shootingin-Walsh

Indiana

Police: Man accidentally shot self at Seymour store
Associated Press
June 21, 2011
SEYMOUR — Police say investigators now believe a man found wounded outside a Walmart store in southern Indiana accidentally shot himself with his own gun ...
http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2011/06/21/statenews.qp-6432128.sto

Morgan Township man pleads guilty to lesser charge in shooting death of son
By Bob Kasarda [e-mail], [phone] | Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 12:30 pm
... Blum admitted to shooting his 32-year-old-son, Aaron Blum, while the two were arguing in the father's pickup truck. The elder Blum told authorities his handgun accidentally discharged during a struggle, and his son was shot once in the chest before the elder Blum ultimately turned the gun on himself ...
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/article_874f89ce-6a6e-5878-9d03-f38e28f27ed1.html

Kansas

Wednesday, June 22, 2011
16-year-old boy charged in shooting death of Kansas teen
By Ashley Meenen, The Associated Press
Wichita — A 16-year-old boy has been charged in the weekend shooting death of another teenager in Wichita ... The Wichita Eagle reports that court records identify the victim of Saturday night's shooting as 16-year-old Nathaniel "Texas" Terrell. The records say he was accidentally shot in the lower chest with a .357 magnum revolver at a Wichita home.
http://www.ktka.com/news/2011/jun/22/16-year-old-boy-charged-shooting-death-kansas-teen/

Massachusetts

UPDATE: Victim in Accidental Shooting Had Minor Injuries
Woburn Police and Fire responded to an accidental shooting in a car Saturday afternoon.
By Danielle Masterson
June 20, 2010
A 38-year-old Hanson man was injured Saturday when he accidentally shot himself in the foot, according to Woburn Police ...
http://woburn.patch.com/articles/update-victim-in-accidental-shooting-had-minor-injuries

Michigan

Canton man faces charges in shooting
A Canton man who told police he allegedly only wanted to scare a 15-year-old boy by pointing a handgun at him was arraigned Tuesday afternoon on criminal charges, following allegations he seriously injured the victim by firing a single shot into his upper chest ...
http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20110623/NEWS03/106230528/Canton-man-faces-charges-shooting?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Royal%20Oak|s

New Jersey

Man shot in Trenton last week dies from injuries
Published: Tuesday, June 21, 2011, 12:43 PM
... Police arrested his brother Tyrell Mann, who may have accidentally shot his brother in the exchange of gunfire on Martin Luther King Boulevard ...
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2011/06/man_shot_in_trenton_last_week.html

North Carolina

Report: Salisbury man shoots self in leg
Bookmark and Share
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 12:00 AM | Printer friendly version Printer friendly version | ... Bill Craddock, 72, of 551 Maple Ridge Circle, told responding officers that he’d had the handgun in his pocket and it fell out, hitting the floor and putting a bullet in Craddock’s right calf ...
http://www.salisburypost.com/Crime/062111-WEB-ManShootsLeg-qcd

Oregon

Another Father's Day gets shot to heck
Posted: Monday, June 20, 2011 11:00 am
... Bobby Thurman accidentally shot himself in the hand and his girlfriend in the thigh with a .44 caliber revolver Friday evening during the course of a gift exchange ...
http://theworldlink.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_e0b34d96-d877-5e7d-9081-7f8a43eb71d8.html

Pennsylvania

Detective: Defendant in fatal shooting of Philly youth basketball coach admitted killing
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: June 23, 2011 - 7:07 am
Last Updated: June 23, 2011 - 7:08 am
PHILADELPHIA — An investigator says the man on trial in the death of a Philadelphia youth basketball coach admitted he opened fire during a trophy presentation after a neighborhood basketball game in September 2008 ... Investigators say Savage told officers he and a then-15-year-old accomplice were carrying out a hit on one of the players. Savage allegedly told police his accomplice killed 19-year-old Darren Hankins but his own gun went off accidentally as Mack tried to shield another player at the west Philadelphia playground.
http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/84b0a22b7bcd4c8ba54ee9d364f4f3f5/PA--Basketball-Shooting/

Manayunk man charged in wife's shooting
June 20, 2011
By Megan Pinto
Gregory Mitros of Manayunk was charged today with the murder of his wife, Lynda Karlin-Mitros. Philadelphia police say the crime happened after an argument in their home on the 100 block of Markle Street ... Lisa Fletcher has lived next to the married couple for the past 14 years. She says she's close friends with them and has vacationed with them many times over the years ... She said such an act of violence seemed too out of character for the husband and that she had another theory of how the shooting occurred. "She's been depressed, she hasn't been feeling well," Fletcher said. "I don't think it happened that way. I know Lynda has been going through a lot and I honestly think he tried to save her, to stop her, and it accidentally went off." ...
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/homepage-feature/item/21851-police-manayunk-woman-shot-in-head-by-husband-&Itemid=1

Canonsburg Police: Man Hospitalized After Shooting Himself in the Foot
An Allegheny General Hospital spokeswoman said Monday afternoon the man was in fair condition.
By Amanda Gillooly
June 20, 2011
A Canonsburg man was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital after borough police said he accidentally shot himself in the foot on Sunday. Police said Richard Nemeth, 55, of 207 Munnell St., was initially taken to Canonsburg Hospital’s emergency room after he told police he heard someone “jiggling” his front door ...
http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/canonsburg-police-man-hospitalized-after-shooting-himself-in-the-foot

South Dakota

3 Shot at South Dakota Cowboy Show
Updated: Monday, 20 Jun 2011, 9:43 AM CDT
Published : Monday, 20 Jun 2011, 8:02 AM CDT
HILL CITY, S.D. - ... The sheriff’s office says the actors fired in the direction of the crowd. The guns were supposed to be loaded with blanks, but three people were hit. ”It was the end of the show, and then the two behind me started, yelling that they were shot, and blood started spewing out everywhere,” said one of the cowboy show attendants ...
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/south-dakota-cowboy-show-shooting-june-19-2011

Texas

2 Young Children Shot by 13-Year-Old Cousin
Published : Monday, 20 Jun 2011, 3:34 PM CDT
Peter Daut
Adapted for Web by Tracy DeLatte | myFOXdfw.com
MANSFIELD, Texas - A young brother and sister were accidentally shot by their older cousin over the weekend in Mansfield. The children are now recovering from their injuries. The shooting happened Saturday at a family gathering. Investigators said the young teen found his dad’s .22 caliber rifle inside a storage shed and wanted to see if it was loaded so he pulled the trigger ...
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/062011-2-young-children-shot-by-13-year-old-cousin

Washington

Canby man accidentally shoots himself in groin
by Teresa Blackman, kgw.com Staff
NWCN.com
Posted on June 20, 2011 at 4:32 PM
Updated Tuesday, Jun 21 at 12:09 PM
CANBY – A man accidentally shot himself in the groin with a .40 caliber pistol while sitting in a parking lot in Newberg Monday, police said ...
http://www.nwcn.com/home/?fId=124219669&fPath=/news/local&fDomain=10202

West Virginia

06/21/2011
Print this story
Raleigh Murder Case Goes To Trial Again
... Jury selection began Tuesday morning in the case of Christopher Bowling. The 38-year-old Daniels resident claims he accidentally shot his wife Tresa while cleaning a gun at their home ...
http://www.wvmetronews.com/news.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=46197

Father still in custody
73-year-old being held after shooting
June 21, 2011
By Edward Marshall - Journal Staff Writer ([e-mail]) , journal-news.net
BERKELEY SPRINGS - Morgan County police hope Monday's autopsy will offer more clues regarding the circumstances of a 13-year-old's death at his home Saturday ... Police said Saturday the boy apparently was shot accidentally during backyard target practice ...
http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/563514/Father-still-in-custody.html?nav=5006

Wisconsin

Updated: 6:38 PM Jun 22, 2011
Attorney Questions Sanity of Local Man Accused of Planning Abortion Clinic Shooting
Erika Bierma, the attorney for a 63-year-old Ralph Lang of Marshfield is raising questions about the defendant's mental competency. He's accused of planning an abortion clinic shooting
Posted: 8:22 AM Jun 22, 2011
Reporter: Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The attorney for a Marshfield man accused of planning an abortion clinic shooting is raising questions about the defendant's mental competency ... Police investigated a report of a gunshot at a Madison motel May 25. Lang had rented a room at the motel and told investigators his gun accidentally discharged while he was loading it. A complaint says that when asked why he had a gun, Lang told police he planned to shoot abortionists ...
http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/His_Attorney_Questions_Sanity_of_Marshfield_Man__124346004.html

[GreenStormCloud]

1. I will save you the trouble.

According to the CDC there were 613 accidental firearm fatalities in 2007. Out of a nation of 310 million that isn't very many.

There were 29,846 deaths by accidental poisoning.

Even walking is more dangerous than guns. 1,138 deaths by accidents while walking. (Does not include struck by vehicle.)

3,443 died of drowning.

2,902 in residential fires.

3,375 from non-residential fires.

So you will understand if I don't get all panicked about such a small number of gun accidental deaths.

[gejohnston]

2. Shall we list swimming pool accidents, which would be

longer?
the last one is "how did he do that?"
Lang had rented a room at the motel and told investigators his gun accidentally discharged while he was loading it.

Every gun I ever owned or were issued to me, that would be a physical impossibility. The good news is, he was caught before he did any real damage.

The South Dakota one, they were blanks:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=118&topic_id=429139&mesg_id=429139

On the lighter side (to me at least)

(NEWSER) – Sarah Palin's sister-in-law has been arrested on suspicion of burglary, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Diana Palin—half-sister of Sarah Palin's husband Todd—is accused of breaking into the same house in Wasilla, Alaska twice in one week to steal money. She faces two counts of felony burglary and misdemeanor theft and trespass charges.
A Wasilla homeowner says he hid in a bathroom with a gun when an unfamiliar car pulled into his driveway. Diana Palin got out, entered his home, and made straight for the cabinet where he keeps his cash, said the homeowner, who detained her until police arrived. Palin may also face child endangerment charges for taking her 4-year-old daughter with her.
http://www.newser.com/story/55270/palins-sister-in-law-arrested-for-burglary.html She plead guilty since this article was written.

[jeepnstein]

5. Thanks. You just made my day.

Most of the OP's stories were just examples of people who shouldn't have had a gun doing things they shouldn't do. If we could cure stupid it would go a long way in this country.

[struggle4progress]

8. Authorities Suspect Bullets As Source of Mock Shootout Injuries

by Associated Press
June 21, 2011 10:55 AM
... Pennington County sheriff's Lt. Marty Graves says the wounds sustained by a Twin Cities grandmother were "consistent with a bullet-type injury." Sixty-five-year-old Carrol Knutson of Birchwood was among the three people hurt on Friday in Hill City, S.D., during a mock gun battle performed by the Dakota Wild Bunch re-enactor group ... Knutson says her doctor believes she was shot through the leg with a bullet ...
http://www.kdlt.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10103&Itemid=57

Wild West show officials puzzled by spectator injuries
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
By Lauren Rosenthal, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Wild West re-enactors say they were firing only blanks ... Police in South Dakota, however, have launched a full investigation of the incident. Lt. Marty Graves, commander of criminal investigations for the Pennington County, S.D., sheriff's office, said his office collected firearms and ammunition from the Dakota Territory Wild Bunch Reinactors after the three spectators -- including John Ellis of South Connellsville -- appeared to have been shot. "We can confirm that there were some projectiles that hit some people," he said ...
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11173/1155320-55.stm

[gejohnston]

9. Most likely the

wax that holds in the powder. If you would have read the thread, that was pointed out. There was also a frequent poster that was warned by his drill instructors (boot camp for Dutch army) not to fire blanks near anyone.

Had that been an actual live round, it result would most likely been much more tragic.

[struggle4progress]

11. "... After his surgery, Ellis said doctors told him his injury was consistent with a regular gunshot

wound, causing serious bone and nerve damage ..."
Hill City shootout victim: ‘Everyone was in a panic'
Nick Penzenstadler Journal staff
Posted: Monday, June 20, 2011 7:00 am
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/communities/article_30f5c188-9af4-11e0-8c9a-001cc4c03286.html

Three days after a mock Wild West shootout in Hill City, South Dakota ended with three tourists wounded, authorities were still trying on Monday to determine if some real bullets were fired by mistake.... a doctor who operated on the two most seriously wounded tourists -- 65-year-old Carrol Knutson of Birchwood, Minnesota with a leg wound and 48-year-old John Ellis of South Connellsville, Pennsylvania with a calf injury -- told investigators they looked like bullet wounds ...
Were three tourists gunned down at a Wild West show?
MINNEAPOLIS | Mon Jun 20, 2011 8:20pm EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/21/us-shootout-idUSTRE75K00320110621

[gejohnston]

13. consistent means kind of like, but

If there is a bullet there are two things wrong, forensics people should be looking for a bullet and there would be a criminal investigation. Each participant watches the other load the guns to ensure safety. A better idea would not to use guns that are capable of loading and firing live rounds.

[slackmaster]

3. Auto-unrec for drive-by "current events" post with nothing to link it to the forum topics

Cherry-picked anecdotes don't make a good starting point for a discussion.

:nuke:

[struggle4progress]

7. I didn't "cherry-pick" anything: it's all the US news datelined Sunday or later that I found

So it's a little snapshot of "accidental shootings" in the last few days

[slackmaster]

12. You indulged in cherry-picking at the topic level, not the story level

Accidental shootings are rare events. Posting a collection of stories about them doesn't provide a good starting point about gun laws or about the use of firearms for self-defense, which are the designated topics of this forum.

[struggle4progress]

14. Accidental shootings aren't that rare: there are something like 20K/yr in the US,

and about a quarter of them are self-shootings. Due to modern medicine, most fortunately aren't fatal

[slackmaster]

16. The rate of accidental shooting injuries pales in comparison to falling down, running into things...

Animal bites and stings, overexertion, cuts, motor vehicle crashes, poisonings, and a whole bunch of other things.

Accidental shootings aren't even in the top 10 for any age group.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars/nonfatal/quickpicks/quickpicks_2007/unintall.htm

[struggle4progress]

20. Heart disease is the leading killer, so why are we still wearing seatbelts? Cancer kills more

people than diabetes, so let's stop spending money on insulin!

[slackmaster]

22. Accidental shootings are far easier and cheaper to prevent than heart disease or diabetes

I support basic gun safety education in public schools.

[Katya Mullethov]

23. Head injuries are number one with a bullet in vehicular deaths

Why arent we all wearing helmets ....instead just select populations of motorcycle riders ?

Because they wont stand for it . Not yet at least .

[Hoyt]

18. Sure read about a lot of those "rare" events.

[gejohnston]

19. man bites dog, and you go out of your way to look for it.

[struggle4progress]

21. Today's accidental shooting news:

Brooksville man accidentally shot in landlord dispute

By Melvin Backman, Times Staff Writer
Posted: Jun 24, 2011 11:15 AM

BROOKSVILLE — Two Brooksville men were arrested Friday morning on charges of battery after a struggle over their eviction ended with one of them taking a shotgun blast to the leg ...

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/brooksville-man-accidentally-shot-in-landlord-dispute/1177112

Teenager Accidentally Shot In The Chest
In Serious Condition
POSTED: 9:41 am CDT June 24, 2011
UPDATED: 10:07 am CDT June 24, 2011

A 13-year-old from Howard County is in serious condition after being shot in the chest.

According to Sheriff Butch Morris, a 9-1-1 call was received a little after four o’clock Thursday afternoon concerning an accidental shooting in Dierks, Arkansas.

When deputies arrived on the scene, they say a 14-year-old told them he was handling a .32 caliber pistol when it accidentally discharged, striking his friend in the right side of his chest ...

http://www.ktbs.com/news/28345443/detail.html

Man shoots self accidently after hearing fireworks

Posted: Friday, June 24, 2011 8:54 am
Updated: 8:59 am, Fri Jun 24, 2011.
The Daily Herald
Posted on June 24, 2011
by Roger Bell

... “When officers arrived, the victim said he was shot walking down the back alley between Madison and Monroe Street by an unknown subject he hadn’t seen,” Jackson said.

Det. Corey Dixon was called to the scene to investigate, Jackson said, and after looking into the shooting, Dixon was able to get the victim, Wade Anthony Gray, 28, of Roanoke Rapids, to admit he’d inflicted the wound on himself.

“He heard some fireworks go off and hit the panic button,” Jackson said. “He shot himself in the leg going for his gun.” ...

http://www.rrdailyherald.com/news/man-shoots-self-accidently-after-hearing-fireworks/article_8249e030-9e61-11e0-b5c4-001cc4c03286.html

[Union Scribe]

28. Again, it isn't an accident if you're pointing a gun at someone

and you shoot them. That may be called "Shit I wish I hadn't done that," but it isn't called an accident except by defense attorneys.

[Union Scribe]

27. And it doesn't look like the poster READ some of these

One, for example, is only "accidental" if we accept someone's interpretation of a murder that is being currently tried in court.

[MicaelS]

4. Unrecc'd for no real content n/t

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[petronius]

10. I LOL'd at Arizona - nice to see gangsta-posing get such immediate

cosmic payback... :)

[ileus]

15. Wonder if any of these people learned anything from their mistakes?

Safety first, accidents later.

[gejohnston]

17. maybe, maybe not but

the last guy, if he was for real,was a good thing.

[Glassunion]

24. If I may ask. What would you suggest that we do about such accidents?

[rl6214]

25. Damn, I didn't know I had stumbled into the daily news section

Unrec for stupidity of post with no policy statement.

[Union Scribe]

26. Some notes on these

None of these, that I can tell, are "accidents."

Especially:

Indiana--In the 2nd story, the gun discharged during a fight. Not an accident, a crime followed by an attempted suicide

Michigan--Threatening someone with a gun is not an accident

New Jersey--Someone was "accidentally" shot during a literal gunfight? No

Pennsylvania--First story, carrying out a "hit" on someone is no accident; the second story is a flat-out murder

South Dakota--didn't even involve a firearm loaded with real ammunition

and lastly, Wisconsin--this guy was planning to "shoot abortionists"; he's a terrorist, we should be happy he had a premature discharge

[lawodevolution]

29. Did you also mention that firearms accidental death rate has been going d

over the last few decades?