Picking up where
we left off last week (and I've added quite a few FAILs to that list since I originally posted last Saturday), I present this week's top GunFail moments.
Before I get started with this week's list (so far), one update from last week:
LONGMONT, CO, 1/23/13: A man who told police he lost his .380 semiautomatic pistol while riding his motorized scooter through a north Longmont neighborhood on Jan. 16 told police he found the gun between some couch cushions in his home on Wednesday.
- PARK HILLS, MO, 1/20/13: According to Park Hills Police, an altercation began inside a residence on Rivermines Street in Park Hills about 2 a.m. Once outside, Joseph Lee Gilliam, 22, of Park Hills, shot Billy Jo Edwards, 30, of rural Park Hills, before turning the gun on himself.
- BOSTON, MA, 1/20/13: “He was cleaning his gun, and he forgot there was a shell in the chamber, and he struck his girlfriend in the head,” he said. “They were madly in love with each other. This wasn’t domestic violence. It was an accident.”
- SALT LAKE CITY, UT, 1/20/13: Salt Lake City police on Thursday were investigating how an armed security guard managed to discharge his gun at the downtown branch of the public library. Sgt. Shawn Josephson said the CBI security guard’s weapon accidentally discharged about noon Sunday at the Main Library, 210 E. 400 South. Library spokeswoman Julianne Hancock said the gun went off in the library’s first-floor security office prior to opening. A security guard Sunday accidentally discharged his weapon inside the downtown Main Library. No one was injured. The bullet went through two walls and embedded in a third, Josephson said.
- MESA, AZ, 1/20/13: When officers arrived, they found Noyes dead inside. The victim's 59-year-old wife, Patricia Noyes, was the only other person there, and detective say there is no indication that anyone else is involved. Police say there is some indication that the victim's wife was handling the gun, when it accidentally discharged.
- SHARON, PA, 1/20/13: Barnes claimed he was holding the pistol by the grip and the victim was pulling on both his hand and the revolver. Barnes claimed the gun ‘went off’and (Le’Angelo) was struck in the chest. Barnes stated he dropped the gun on the floor and he and Spicer carried (Le’Angelo) to a car and drove him to the hospital.
- ORLANDO, FL, 1/21/13: Police said there was a large crowd on the court playing basketball when two people bumped into each other during the game. Investigators said one of the men had a gun in his waistband and pulled it out to check it when the gun accidentally fired, hitting Whitehead.
- BATON ROUGE, LA, 1/21/13: Authorities said a 2-year-old is dead after getting shot Monday evening by his teen brother who was playing with a gun.
- WARWICK, RI, 1/21/13: Based on information at the scene, investigators said William Liebrich made the call and then shot his wife while she was in bed before turning the gun on himself.
- FT. PIERCE, FL, 1/21/13: A police's officer's .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol accidentally discharged, grazing his leg in a parking lot near a Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration Monday at Lawnwood Park. Officer Kevin Macrito was part of a police patrol of the event when he was inserting the pistol in the holster and it fired.
- SPRING HILL, KS, 1/21/13: A woman was hit in the face but not seriously hurt. She told police she accidentally shot herself.
- NATICK, MA, 1/21/13: A Maine man trying to sell a gun to his friend on Sunday accidentally shot the man in the hand, authorities said.
- SAN DIEGO, CA, 1/22/13: Police say the 20-year-old man was in a park with some female friends just before 10 p.m., and was putting a semi auto 9mm handgun to his head and pulling the trigger as a joke. The gun did not have a round in the chamber at the time. The victim and friends walked to a house at the corner of Raven and Hilltop Dr. shortly after, and the victim repeated the joke in the front yard, but this time, the victim pulled the trigger and it went off.
- OPELOUSAS, LA, 1/22/13: “My grandson was up front and when the dog moved to see him, it bumped the gun and it went off.”
- NORTHBRIDGE, MA, 1/22/13: Police said the man accidentally discharged his firearm and the bullet struck him in the abdomen.
- ARLINGTON, TX, 1/22/13: Two men showing each other their guns accidentally shot when one goes off at Arlington home
- BOZEMAN, MT, 1/22/13: MSU Police Chief Robert Putzke said that a Montana State University student accidentally discharged a round from a rifle into the pavement of the North Hedges parking lot.
- NORTH HARRIS, TX, 1/22/13: That Lone Star College shooting? Check this out: KHOU-TV, citing a law enforcement source, reports that one man shot the other and then accidentally shot himself in the buttocks.
- AKRON, OH, 1/23/13: A medical examiner completed the autopsy Thursday morning and said Jamarcus Allen died from a single gunshot wound to the head. It's not clear if the boy picked up the gun and accidentally shot himself or if someone else shot him.
- FOUNTAIN, CO, 1/23/13: Police say that the 3 year-old child found a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun in the master bedroom and acshot himself in the foot.n the foot.
- HOWELL, NJ, 1/24/13: A special agent of the New Jersey Department of Treasury is being treated at a local hospital after accidentally shooting himself during training at the Monmouth County Police Academy Firearms Training Facility. Capt. Andy Kudrick of the Howell Police Department said the 41-year-old man was taking part in firearms familiarization training when his firearm discharged.
- ALBERTVILLE, AL, 1/24/13: Albertville man dies in apparent accidental shooting
- BOAZ, AL, 1/24/13: A man was shot during a game of quick draw at Extreme Concepts on Highway 431 in Boaz Thursday night, according to police. Boaz Police arrived on the scene and found 30-year-old Patrick Daniel Garrett with a gunshot wound to his torso. He was taken to Marshall Medical Center South where he was pronounced dead. Two or three other people were at the business when officers arrived. Witnesses said they were playing quick draw with their guns, but they thought all of the guns were unloaded.
- SWEETWATER, TN, 1/24/13: The Sweetwater community is morning the death of a 15-year-old Sweetwater High student after police say he accidentally shot himself Thursday afternoon while handling a family handgun.
- STOCKTON, CA, 1/24/13: The woman told police she was accidentally shot by someone riding in the back seat of her car near Arch Airport Road and South Airport Way.
One story not yet on the list merits some kind of special mention, though I can't decide if it's a true GunFail or not. In a 9-on-1 shootout between 10 cops (yes, cops on all sides, the bad guy here being an off-duty cop suspected of domestic violence), nobody was seriously hurt. That's a good thing, but a GunFail of a different sort. It's one you should think about next time someone tells you they're going to take out a shooter.
