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Wrong lesson: Gun safety class ends with couple wounded (VA)
The Roanoke Times ^ | April 23, 2012 | Duncan Adams

Posted on 04/23/2012 9:16:12 PM PDT by Perseverando

A firearms safety course went awry in Bedford County (VA) Saturday when a man shot himself in the hand with a .45-caliber handgun and the bullet passed through his hand and struck his wife, seated nearby, in the leg.

Shot were Michael L. Deel, 54, and Michelle K. Deel, 49, both of Roanoke. Emergency dispatchers in Bedford County received a call at 12:25 p.m. reporting a shooting on Chapel Woods Drive. The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office said county rescue units and deputies responded.

The Deels were attending a firearms safety class being taught and hosted by Thomas F. Starke, 57, according to the department.

The sheriff’s office said Starke told deputies that he had left the room, heard a shot and returned to find the Deels had been shot.

The couple was taken by ambulance to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

The shooting remains under investigation.


TOPICS: Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: banglist; firearms; gunsafety; handguns; oops; roanoke
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"I think the bullets go in here, and come out here when you squeeze this thing here called the trigger." /sarc
1 posted on 04/23/2012 9:16:14 PM PDT by Perseverando
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To: Perseverando

You know the adage “You’re not a real biker, until you crash once?”

Well...


2 posted on 04/23/2012 9:22:12 PM PDT by tickedoffnow (No more...)
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To: tickedoffnow

Barneys Gun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLsg0EvZozI


3 posted on 04/23/2012 9:31:27 PM PDT by sheikdetailfeather ("We Need To Teach The Establishment a Lesson" - Newt Gingrich)
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To: All

Man Mistakes his Girlfriend for a Hog, Accidentally Shoots Her

http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/04/man-mistakes-his-girlfriend-for-a-hog-accidentally-shoots-her


4 posted on 04/23/2012 9:34:22 PM PDT by sheikdetailfeather ("We Need To Teach The Establishment a Lesson" - Newt Gingrich)
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To: Perseverando

It may be your right, but you are the wrong kind to own the gun, son.


5 posted on 04/23/2012 9:42:17 PM PDT by sagar
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To: Perseverando

“Oops! Sorry dear.” If I were him and didn’t have a nice comfortable couch - I’d go out and buy one ... ;-)”


6 posted on 04/23/2012 9:44:09 PM PDT by Tunehead54 (Nothing funny here ;-)
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To: Perseverando
Being a man who's been married more than once, I can tell you that this is a really half-assed way to commit a domestic murder/suicide. Like my late daddy said: if you're gonna get thrown in a cell, don't do it for lunch money. Think big and go for Fort Knox.

"As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their hearts desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

--H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920


7 posted on 04/23/2012 9:48:36 PM PDT by Viking2002 ( "I didn't just write 'Wango Tango'...........I MEANT it." - Ted Nugent)
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To: sheikdetailfeather

I cannot be discounted that he only thought the hog was his girlfriend.


8 posted on 04/23/2012 9:51:47 PM PDT by higgmeister ( In the Shadow of The Big Chicken!)
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To: Perseverando
There is absolutely no need to have real ammo during a class in which there will be no firing. There wasn't any in the class I took. There were dummy rounds to learn how a cartridge works and how to load and unload the firearm.

Only when the classroom training was complete, and the students were properly trained in safety and firearm handling, did the participants move to a firing range.

The people running this class don't know what they are doing.

9 posted on 04/23/2012 10:29:33 PM PDT by William Tell
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To: Perseverando

Glock racing stripes...


10 posted on 04/23/2012 10:34:36 PM PDT by donmeaker (Blunderbuss: A short weapon, ... now superceded in civilized countries by more advanced weaponry.)
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To: Perseverando
shot himself in the hand with a .45-caliber handgun and the bullet passed through his hand and struck his wife

That there's whatcha call a two-fer.

11 posted on 04/23/2012 10:37:13 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (You mean we have a choice between M.R. and B.O.?)
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To: Perseverando

Think Mr. Thomas F. Starke should review his teaching lessons, I mean really, really review them, particularly the part about loaded pistols in class with people who need a gun safety class.


12 posted on 04/23/2012 10:57:47 PM PDT by The Cajun (Palin, Free Republic, Mark Levin, Newt......Nuff said.)
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To: Perseverando

I never chamber a round unless I am preparing to shoot. Every LE type has an inadvertant discharge tale to tell. Too much can go wrong.


13 posted on 04/23/2012 11:27:06 PM PDT by The_Media_never_lie
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To: Perseverando

He violated the very first rule of gun safety -

Always treat a gun as if it is loaded even if you think it isn’t.


14 posted on 04/23/2012 11:32:00 PM PDT by Jack Hydrazine (It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine!)
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To: Perseverando
Note to class: Do NOT demonstrate the M1911 disconnector safety with a loaded pistol. If the disconnector is faulty, you will shoot a hole in your hand.

[Note to those not acquainted with the M1911: this pistol has four safety devices: (1) Thumb Safety — locks trigger, hammer, and slide when applied; (2) Grip Safety — prevents firing if the pistol is not firmly gripped by the hand; (3) Half Cock Safety — prevents firing if the hammer slips while being lowered on a live round; (4) Disconnector Safety — prevents firing if the slide is not fully forward and locked. Item (3) is not a safe carry safety and item (4) is a mechanical check done during maintenance, but does not affect carry of the pistol.]

15 posted on 04/23/2012 11:51:40 PM PDT by MasterGunner01 (11)
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To: William Tell

Nice sentiment, but if this happened, someone wasn’t paying attention to the part about pointing in a safe direction, and treating every gun like it is loaded. I get nervous anytime i see people swinging barrels around, and will excuse myself from such gatherings.


16 posted on 04/24/2012 12:33:19 AM PDT by Aqua225 (Realist)
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To: Perseverando

Firearms instructor Starke went stark raving mad when da shooting started.


17 posted on 04/24/2012 1:53:35 AM PDT by Sea Parrot (Nations are only truly great when it's people are struggling against all odds, growing and expanding)
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To: The_Media_never_lie

True, in 1967 I was in the ER of a rural hospital for shooting myself in the leg. The county sheriff took the report and was berating me about safety training, when his deputy walked in with a finger blown off while handling a derringer.


18 posted on 04/24/2012 1:59:54 AM PDT by Sea Parrot (Nations are only truly great when it's people are struggling against all odds, growing and expanding)
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To: Perseverando

I believe they ‘failed’ that class with flying colors(and Tissue).

Must have been sleeping or texting/playing Angry Birds during that critical part of the class where they speak of not touching that damn trigger until READY TO FIRE.


19 posted on 04/24/2012 2:17:35 AM PDT by KoRn (Department of Homeland Security, Certified - "Right Wing Extremist")
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To: The Cajun

First thing established at any class I teach:

“If you are carrying, or have any ammunition, please remove it from the classroom now”


20 posted on 04/24/2012 2:44:28 AM PDT by NY.SS-Bar9
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