Six of the 62 guns discovered by TSA agents at airports across the country last week.
We're going to "press" with a relatively short list this week, having made the executive decision to insert late-breaking GunFAIL reports into previously published compilations if they happened during the week covered by those compilations. I believe we published with 38 stories last week, and found a few more this week that actually happened last week. Rather than carry them over into this week's entry, I went back and put them where they "belonged," just for ease of bookkeeping. That leaves us with 28 entries as of "press time" in this go-round, though late-breaking reports of GunFAILs that took place between July 26 and August 1 will find their way into this entry in the future, no doubt boosting the numbers, eventually.
Among the original 28, fully 14 incidents involve accidental, self-inflicted injuries, including our first gun show shooting in some time. They've been doing much better with those lately! Eleven incidents involved victims who were minors, ranging in age from 3 to 17 years old, and with four fatalities among them.
Of particular note this week is, of course, the now-viral "Karmadillo" story out of Marietta, Texas, (and no, nobody tipped a hat to me for having kept track of armadillo shooting accidents).
One other story only got about half as much notice, but it involved the death of a teenage girl in North Carolina, and the taking of what I'm sure was a very, very cool-looking photo of a guy posing with a gun he was thinking of buying. We're not really sure exactly what happened, but however the picture was being set up, it ended with a bullet in the chest of the girl with the camera. There aren't a whole lot of sensible scenarios that could have gotten us there.
The last standout story got absolutely no national press at all. This was the Hartford, Kentucky convenience store clerk who, admiring a customer's gun (and perhaps discussing how safe such a weapon could make the store), accidentally fired a bullet, "through several items of merchandise and shelving before entering the right ankle of a customer at the checkout counter."
Otherwise, it was a fairly routine week, during which, by the way, I spotted this year's 500th report of someone accidentally Second Amendmenting themselves. We're also under a week away from our projected 300th accidental child shooting. Just thought you might like to know.
This week's full compilation, below the fold.
- NEWTON, NC, 7/26/15: A 16-year-old from Maiden was killed in an accidental shooting Sunday night, officials said. At about 5 PM Sunday, Selena Lewis, 16, of Maiden, died after being shot in the chest, according to Catawba County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Joel Fish. Lewis was with a mutual friend Christopher Lynch, 21, and a man that she had just met, Clayton Webb Jr., 21, at the time of the shooting, Fish said. Together, the trio drove to 2818 Rock Ford Road in Newton on Sunday to look at a rifle that Webb hoped to purchase, according to Fish. The rifle seller left the rifle in the back of a pick-up truck at the residence, as the rifle seller was not able to be home when Webb wanted to check out the rifle, Fish said. Lewis attempted to take a picture of Webb with the green and black Ruger .22 caliber rifle, Fish said. Webb told officers that he didn’t realize that there was a magazine in the rifle, according to Fish. Webb then shot Lewis in the chest while she was taking the picture of him with the rifle, Fish said. Fish said it was unclear whether Lewis died while traveling to Catawba Valley Medical Center or at Catawba Valley Medical Center. No charges have been filed against Webb or Lynch as of 11 AM Monday, Fish said. The Catawba County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.
- FAYETTEVILLE, NC, 7/26/15: A Wilson man was taken to the hospital after accidentally being shot at a gun show in Cumberland County. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the Crown Complex at 1960 Colesium Drive on Sunday for a shooting. When deputies arrived, they found 55-year-old Anthony McKee with a gunshot wound to his left leg. An investigation revealed that McKee has a concealed carry permit and was sitting in his car in the coliseum parking lot trying to clear his weapon. During that time, deputies said McKee’s gun accidentally discharged. McKee drove to the front door of the Expo Center for help and alerted an off duty deputy. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said McKee was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center for treatment.
- GUYTON, GA, 7/26/15: A 20-year-old resident of the Guyton area accidentally shot himself in the foot with a rifle before going duck hunting. He said he thought the safety was on when he picked up the gun, but it wasn’t.
- HILLSIDE, IL, 7/26/15: A woman was killed in what was likely an accidental shooting at a hotel Sunday morning in west suburban Hillside, police said. Officers responded to the Best Western Hillside Hotel, at 4400 Frontage Road, to assist a woman with a gunshot wound. The woman, identified as 51-year-old Carrie Waller, of the 2500 block of Hansford Place in Cincinnati, Ohio, was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:15 AM, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday. The shooting appeared to be an accidental discharge and was not being investigated as a homicide. The woman had been a guest at the hotel.
- ST. LOUIS, MO, 7/27/15: A woman who first told police she and a 3-year-old girl were shot on the front porch of a St. Louis home later admitted to police they had actually been shot by a man "playing with a firearm" inside the home, authorities say. The victims were in bed with a 21-year-old man when a gun he was holding went off and they were hit, according to police. The shooting occurred about 3:40 AM in the 3700 block of Wisconsin Avenue in the Marine Villa neighborhood. The woman was hit in the arm. The girl was hit in the armpit. Both were taken to a hospitals, where they were in serious condition. The woman first told police she had been sitting on the front porch with the girl when someone fired at them. Police were told the shooter fled in a black, two-door Pontiac Grand Prix, police said. Authorities determined that wasn't true and confronted the woman, who changed her story and said she'd been shot by accident inside the home. The man was taken into custody, according to police, but has not been charged.
- ODESSA, TX, 7/27/15: Authorities are investigating after a late night shooting in Ector County on Monday night. The Ector County Sheriff’s Office tells NewsWest 9, they were called out to a home in the 6700 block of Kermit Avenue regarding a gunshot victim. When deputies arrived on the scene, they found Marion Delcore, 26, on the floor in the kitchen with injuries to the right side of her neck, right hand and right side of her chest. According to the release, three females were inside the home at the time of the shooting with two females in the living room and another female in a back bedroom. Police say that’s when two white males wearing masks and carrying long guns kicked in the front door and demanded money. That’s when the female in the back bedroom heard the disturbance, grabbed her shotgun and fired one round at the men as they turned towards her. Both men then left the home and an investigation revealed that the women who shot at the intruders accidentally shot her friend. Delcore was taken to Medical Center Hospital and is currently listed in critical condition. Officials say no arrests have been made and the two men are still being sought.
- WHITE BEAR LAKE, MN, 7/28/15: A local teen sustained minor injuries when a friend reportedly accidentally shot him with a stolen gun last week. First responders were called to shooting in a garage on Oakhurst Avenue in Vadnais Heights the afternoon of July 28. According to the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office incident report, a 15-year-old boy who lives at that address was shot in the hand by a 15-year-old friend. The bullet also grazed his neck. The boy was treated by paramedics and later taken to a hospital by a relative. The boys gave conflicting accounts but investigators believe the handgun unintentionally discharged during a scuffle, a sheriff's office spokesman said. The White Bear Lake boy who reportedly fired the shot ran away with the gun before responders arrived. He was located later at his residence and was arrested for second-degree assault. The victim reportedly told investigators that he, the shooter and another friend stole the gun from a vehicle in White Bear Lake a few days prior. The suspect reportedly told deputies he had thrown the gun into a pond after he fled. The White Bear Lake boy said the other friend had brought the gun to the Vadnais Heights home where the shooting occurred. The friend — a 16-year-old White Bear Lake boy — and his parents refused to speak with authorities. The incident was still under investigation and no charges had been filed as of press time.
- BOSTIC, NC, 7/28/15: Deputies with the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office say an 18-year-old male accidentally shot himself in the head outside his residence Tuesday afternoon. According to the investigation report, deputies were dispatched to 336 Ivan Trail in Bostic around 3 PM Tuesday and found Auston Vance Hoppes with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Sgt. Marc Duncan said it appears Hoppes thought he had emptied all the rounds from a .22-caliber rifle, but evidently one was caught inside. "It chambered that round and the gun went off, and the bullet skimmed along his skull but did not penetrate it," Duncan said. Rutherford County EMS transported Hoppes to Carolinas Healthcare System in Shelby. He was transferred to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte for overnight observation Tuesday before being released Wednesday, Duncan said. There were several witnesses at the scene during the incident, including Cristal Sams who called 911. "Luckily for [Hoppes] it ended how it did because if the bullet had been a couple more inches over, it very well could have been a fatality," Duncan said.
- DUNCAN, SC, 7/29/15: A 17 year old was shot in the face Wednesday afternoon after a gun accidentally went off inside a Duncan home. According to Duncan Police Chief Carl Long, two teens were playing with a .22 caliber revolver at a home on Sunny Ray Drive when one of them pulled the trigger. The victim was reportedly shot in the face, but was alive and talking before he left the scene. He said the shooting was accidental. Long tells us the teen who fired the gun, Roque Ricardo Deleon Jr., ran away, but was found by officers and taken to the police station. No gun has been recovered at this time. Police are still investigating this shooting.
- WILLIMANTIC, CT, 7/29/15: Police say a Connecticut man lost two fingers when the barrel of his ceremonial musket exploded in his hands. It happened Wednesday night in the driveway of the 39-year-old man's home in Willimantic. Police say he put too much gunpowder into the weapon, causing the barrel to explode from the wooden stock when it was fired. The explosion caused him to lose two fingers on his left hand. Family members took him to Windham Hospital. His identity has not been released. Police say they are investigating, but no charges have been filed. The weapon was taken to the police department headquarters.
- WASHINGTON, DC, 7/29/15: A 3-year-old girl died Wednesday night in what a relative calls an accidental shooting in the District. Dalis Cox was shot at about 8 PM in Southeast, along 46th Place near Benning Road, the police say. A member of the girl’s family says that another child got a hold of a gun and it went off. Police say Cox was unresponsive when taken to a hospital and later died. They were looking for someone in connection with the shooting, but are not now searching for anyone. They are still investigating. The relative says that the child who shot Cox is very young and is still not fully aware of what happened. She describes Cox as “happy, loving, caring [and] awesome,” and the shooting as “an accident; it’s something you’ll never get over and you’ll never forget.”
- MARIETTA, TX, 7/30/15: Cass County Sheriff's officials are investigating an early morning shooting in the Marietta area. According to officials with the sheriff's department, they are investigating a possible accidental shooting that happened just before 3 AM, Thursday in the 27,000 block of Highway 77. The man involved told deputies he was shooting at an armadillo and the bullet ricocheted and hit him in the head. The investigation is ongoing at this time.
- HOUSTON, TX, 7/30/15: Police say an eight-year-old child has died following an accidental shooting in southeast Houston. Police say adults left four children alone at a home in the 8400 block of Tavenor Lane to go get some food. Two 12-year-old girls were downstairs, while an 11- and eight-year-old were upstairs. Authorities say the boys got their hands on a an unlocked semi-automatic gun loaded with bullets, but no magazine. The children started tossing it back and forth and the gun accidentally discharged, fatally shooting the eight-year-old in the head. The children called 911 and their parents. All of them are now at the police station. We don't yet know what charges, if any, will be filed.
- SEARCY, AR, 7/30/15: Deputies in White County are investigating an accidental shooting involving a teen. At 11:25 Thursday (July 30) morning, deputies were sent to N. Vinity Road where a 14-year-old boy suffered from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the face. The boy was transported to the Unity Health Medical Center in Searcy for treatment and stabilization. Deputies say this incident is an ongoing investigation at this time.
- BIRMINGHAM, AL, 7/30/15: A 13-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital Thursday afternoon after being shot in the neck, police said. Shortly after 4 PM, police and medical personnel were called to 5020 Avenue N Ensley. When they arrived, they found the teenager with a gunshot wound to the neck. The shooting was accidental, police confirmed. The victim was rushed to UAB Hospital, where he is currently in surgery. Four people are being questioned in relation to the shooting, police said. At least two juveniles were seen in the back of two separate patrol cars at the scene, and Sgt. Jerry Williams said they were taken in as witnesses. No arrests have been made. Williams said an adult was present in the house at the time of the shooting.
- COOPER CITY, FL, 7/30/15: The handgun used in the fatal shooting of a teenage boy in Cooper City belonged to the father of the accused shooter, officials said on Friday. Fourteen-year-old Eric Palacios faces a manslaughter charge after his friend, also 14, died while they were playing with a handgun Thursday, the Broward Sheriff's Office said. Palacios is scheduled for a 1:30 PM court hearing Friday where a juvenile judge will decide if he should be held in custody or allowed to go home, under certain restrictions, with his parents. Homicide detectives spent hours talking with the victim's 16-year-old brother, who was also at the home, and Palacios before arresting Palacios on one count of manslaughter with a firearm, agency spokeswoman Dani Moschella said. The gun used in the shooting belonged to Palacios' father, Rolando Toulon, a local chiropractor, who had warned Palacios about touching the firearm, according to a Sheriff's arrest report. The deceased boy has been identified as Charlie Martin, 14. The shooting happened just before 3 PM at Palacios' home in the 10000 block of Northwest 41st Street, the Sheriff's Office said. Authorities said Martin was shot in the head after the teens found the handgun in its carrying case inside a cardboard box in the home's detached garage. They each tinkered with it, repeatedly pulling the gun's trigger. It was in Palacios' hands when the shot rang out, the report said. Palacios had taken the gun from Martin and pulled the trigger when the gun went off, authorities said. After Martin was shot, Palacios told investigators he dropped the gun, panicked and ran from the house without calling police or rendering aid. According to the report, Palacios said he removed an unloaded magazine from the gun and noted that there were no rounds in the chamber. However, investigators found that the gun was loaded with 14 rounds, including one in the chamber. "It's with a real heavy heart that we have this tragedy that a youngster lost his life," Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said at the scene. When deputies arrived at the home, they found the boy's body in the garage and a handgun nearby. The agency's SWAT team cleared the house, and SWAT medics confirmed the teen's death.
- LOUISVILLE, KY, 7/30/15: Desean Mitchell was killed after being shot Thursday night on Hudson Lane near Fairground Road in Fern Creek. A friend of Mitchell -- who is unidentified because he is underage -- says another friend of Mitchell's is the one who pulled the trigger. “He shot my friend in the head and it was an accident, it was definitely an accident. It was never on purpose,” he said. Louisville Metro Police have since charged the 17-year-old friend with murder. “He thought that I took the clip out and didn't have the clip in the gun, but he cocked it back a couple minutes later, he pointed it at Desean joking around, he pulled the trigger and it fired,” he said. What's unsettling to a neighbor, who lives across the street, is what a group of teenagers was doing with a gun. “We found it down there, over there. We just thought it was cool at first and it took somebody's life,” he said. This is the same block in the same neighborhood where 24-year-old Garfield Webb lived. Webb was killed Wednesday night on Camp Street in Shelby Park. LMPD says the two cases are not related, however with two murders in two days, at least one neighbor is thinking about moving. The friend says the victim and suspect in Thursday's shooting were good friends and says seeing posts on social media about how the murder was planned is upsetting. “No, it was not that. It's just a mistake, it’s just one of those weird coincidences that just happen and it’s like man how did that happen?” he said. The 17-year-old charged with murder is being held at the Louisville Metro Youth Detention Center.
- ALTON, IL, 7/30/15: A Godfrey man’s gun went off Thursday when he was slipping it under the driver’s seat of his car outside a hospital, wounding his knee. An Alton police report says Tony Fennell, 32, of the 2900 block of West Delmar Avenue, had gone to Saint Anthony’s Hospital, 1 Saint Anthony’s Way, for a medical test. Fennell had been wearing a Springfield Armory XD9 9mm semi-automatic handgun in a hip holster. The report says the man removed the gun from the holster and attempted to put the firearm under the driver’s seat of his Chevrolet Camaro at 6:30 AM, when it discharged a bullet. The projectile struck the inner, back of Fennell’s left knee. He got outside the car, locked it and sought medical care in the hospital’s Emergency Department, the report says. Staff notified police of the gunshot wound; an officer who responded to the call got permission from Fennell to search the car and seized the gun for ballistic tests. Police did not charge Fennell with an offense, as he had valid Illinois Firearm Owners Identification and Concealed Carry cards, the report says.
- HARTFORD, KY, 7/31/15: Ohio County sheriff’s deputies are investigating after they say a customer was accidentally shot at a convenience store. We’re told it happened after 8 PM Friday at Charley's Family Market in Hartford. Deputies say a patron and a store worker were looking at a handgun that the patron brought in. According to the sheriff’s office, the store worker then accidentally discharged the firearm. We’re told the bullet traveled through several items of merchandise and shelving before entering the right ankle of a customer at the checkout counter. Deputies say the victim was transported to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, where the bullet was removed. The person has been released from the hospital. Deputies say the investigation is still ongoing.
- PITTSBURGH, PA, 7/31/15: A suspect in several home burglaries in the Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar area accidentally shot himself in the foot while being chased by an officer Friday evening, according to Pittsburgh police. The suspect, an 18-year-old man, was in stable condition at UPMC Presbyterian. Police say he ran from an officer after being spotted along Westmoreland Avenue shortly after 6 PM He was found on the ground with a handgun at the intersection of Westmoreland and Joshua Street. The shooting occurred out of the sight of the officer, police said.
- FORT WAYNE, IN, 7/31/15: Fort Wayne Police responded at 2:41 PM Friday to an accidental shooting in the 1500 block of Northbrook Boulevard, where a man had been shot in the hand while cleaning his gun.
- FORT WAYNE, IN, 8/01/15: Fort Wayne Police responded at 12:56 PM Saturday to an accidental shooting at New Tech Auto Tire, 3904 Raymond St., where police found two men shot. One man didn't know he was shot, but police found a wound to his lower middle back near his spine; the man said he was not in pain. The other victim had two wounds: one to the right side of his neck and one to his right lower arm. The men were taken to the hospital in good to serious conditions. One of the men had a gun, for which he had a valid permit, in the front waistband of his pants. The two men were standing next to each other when the gun discharged.
- NASHVILLE, TN, 8/01/15: A 10-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the chest early Saturday morning in north Nashville. Police told News 2 three boys were playing with a cap gun and an actual gun in a room at the Regency Inn and Suites on Hampton Street around Midnight. The victim was shot by one of the other boys. After the shooting, the boys reportedly panicked and threw the gun into some bushes, where it was later recovered by police. A police captain on scene told News 2 that prior to the shooting, one boy tried to warn the others that the actual gun was not a toy. The gun was described as a small-caliber weapon. The 10-year-old was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he has been upgraded from critical to stable condition. No other information was immediately released.
- WEST PALM BEACH, FL, 8/01/15: A juvenile was grazed in the head by a bullet in what appears to be an accidental shooting, West Palm Beach police said. The juvenile and at least one friend was playing with a gun along the 4600 block of Congress Avenue when the firearm accidentally discharged, according to a preliminary investigation. The victim was transported to West Palm Hospital around 4 PM by a family member and was conscious and breathing upon arrival, said Det. Lori Colombino.
- BATTLE CREEK, MI, 8/01/15: An 18-year-old man was treated at Bronson Battle Creek at 10:09 PM Saturday for what Battle Creek police determined was a self-inflicted accidental gunshot wound that occurred in the 100 block of Graves Street.
- COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, 8/01/15: A man shot himself in the leg while trying to clear his gun Saturday evening, according to police. Police said it happened around 7 PM to clear his weapon to clean it when it fired, shooting him in the leg. The man was hospitalized, and is expected to survive.
- BLUFFTON, SC, 8/01/15: A Bluffton man who grabbed a pistol when he thought he heard a would-be intruder outside his home accidentally shot himself in the foot Saturday, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office report. The 25-year-old was treated and released Saturday at Hilton Head Hospital. He told police he saw people he did not know near his residence on Joe Hamilton Lane and went to his mother's bedroom to get her handgun. When he placed the gun on a table and stood up, he bumped the table. That caused the gun to fall to the floor and fire. The victim's mother later told police her son did not have permission to enter her bedroom or take the gun. The Sheriff's Office assisted the Bluffton Police Department in the investigation. Bluffton Police Maj. Joseph Manning said the victim is recovering and could face charges if a criminal history is uncovered.
- PECAN GROVE, TX, 8/01/15: A man is dead after deputies said he accidentally shot himself Saturday at a home in Pecan Grove, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office. The 20-year-old man was taken to a hospital where he later died. The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office said to "Always handle guns as loaded" on its Twitter account in response to the man's death.
- HOUSTON, TX, 8/01/15: A man is dead after police say he accidentally shot himself in northeast Houston Saturday night. Houston police responded to a shooting call in the 1400 block of Sheffield Street around 11 PM. When police arrived they found the man shot in the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. According to police, he was intoxicated and holding the gun when it accidentally went off, shooting him in the face.