Child shot inside gun shop

WBNS 10 TV Columbus Ohio ^ | Mar 9th 2004 | Roger McCoy

[Boundless]

> A. Either he is lying and accidentally pulled the trigger or...
> B. There is a malfunction in the handgun.

Having owned a PPK in .32 ACP once, let's give the employee
the benefit of the doubt on that score (only, the behavior
was still clearly unsafe).

The PPK I had would fire if pressed just right on the frame
(the Nambu scenario). I took it back to the shop, reported
the problem, and traded it.

I've also had different firearms slam-fire on bolt-close or
slide-release. A weapon always needs to be pointed in a
safe direction whenever a round is being chambered.

[foto]

Definitely a case of pulling the trigger. Too many people keep their finger on the trigger when holding a gun for some unknown reason. Walther PPK has been around for a long time. I'd think we would of heard about any problems a long time ago. If the guy is stupid enough to load a gun inside the store, my money says he was stupid enough to keep his hand on the trigger when he cycled the action and was unprepared for the cycling force when it went off.

[Dan from Michigan]

WTF was the employee thinking? I've never seen anything remotely like that in my life.

In the gun store I usually go to, if an employee did that, he'd likely be shot as well as fired.

[cajun-jack]

county prosecutor will decide if this "accident" will lead to any charges????????????

[RKV]

You are hanging in the wrong gun shops. I patronize two in the area here and they uniformly helpful and pleasant. Vote with your feet (if you can).

[RKV]

No doubt about it. It wasn't an accident. Live round in the chamber in a shop, yikes!

[Jack Black]

Cooper's Four Rules

Col. Jeff Cooper is often called the father of practical shooting. He started the Gunsite Academy for firearms training, among many other accomplishments. Below are his carefully designed rules (and commentary) for safe gun handling. Nobody who does not know these rules should touch a gun, much less tell anyone else how to handle a gun (legislators take note).
LEARN THESE RULES WELL!

RULE 1
ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
The only exception to this occurs when one has a weapon in his hands and he has personally unloaded it for checking. As soon as he puts it down, Rule 1 applies again.

RULE 2
NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO DESTROY
You may not wish to destroy it, but you must be clear in your mind that you are quite ready to if you let that muzzle cover the target. To allow a firearm to point at another human being is a deadly threat, and should always be treated as such.

RULE 3
KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER TIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
This we call the Golden Rule because its violation is responsible for about 80 percent of the firearms disasters we read about.

RULE 4
BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET
You never shoot at anything until you have positively identified it. You never fire at a shadow, or a sound, or a suspected presence. You shoot only when you know absolutely what you are shooting at and what is beyond it.

[BudgieRamone]

I hate to see this sort of stuff. I am a range employee and I try to be very conscious of my customers. That is not to say that AD's do not happen...we have had three in the time that I have worked there--about 4 1/2 years. And while I am not condoning what happened, when you work around firearms that much you may have the tendency to let familiarity lead to complacency. I think this is a good reminder that we should all be alert--especially employees in ranges--that the main safety is between the users ears, and it appears in this case that the "safety was off" and the finger on the trigger.

[Hat-Trick]

"my money says he was stupid enough to keep his hand on the trigger when he cycled the action and was unprepared for the cycling force when it went off."

Concur. I was nearly (1 second and 2 feet away) shot by a fellow boarding officer when I was in the USCG. He was standing in the Armory passageway trying to unload his Colt .45, and didn't drop the clip before ejecting the live round in the chamber. Round ejected, he lets the slide go forward, new one cycled in, finger on trigger and bang, time for a change of drawers and a new boarding officer.

This store clerk has no business selling guns for a living.

[Jack Black]

What is interesting is that none of these rules was obviously violated. The gun WAS loaded, and the employee knew it. He pointed it at the floor (it was a ricochet that hit the kid). According to him the slide slamming forward caused the round to fire (maybe, maybe not). And he didn't fire the weapon intentionally so #4 is not really the cause either. Interesting.

Obviously there is no good reason to load a handgun in a gun shop floor. Or if there is there are bright red plastic dummy rounds for just this purpose.

Comments?

[humblegunner]

Handgun expert ping.

[Jack Black]

The one AD I saw close up was at a range where I was giving instruction. The student picked up a loaded 38 revolver with his finger on the trigger and managed to discharge it within about 1" of the gun tray it had been sitting on. As the gun was pointed down range this would not have been all that serious exceept the surface was steel and had a nice little lip on it to prevent bullets rolling off the front. The ricochet came within inches of my head. Utterly horrifying.

I am much more careful ever since on the "keep your finger off the trigger ... " rule. I watch for it incessently when shooting with everyone.

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

I would be willing to bet $100 that this guy had his finger on the trigger when he loaded the semi-automatic handgun. Whenever I see people do this it bothers me a lot.

IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR TARGET SIGHTED IN WITH THE FIREARM, DON'T PUT YOUR FINGER ON THE TRIGGER!!

[Destructor]

I hate it when stuff like this happens. Aside from the fact that a 2 year old child was hurt-- idiots like this give the anti-gun panty waists more ammunition. The man responsible for this idiotic accident should be used for target practice!

[Destructor]

"Obviously there is no good reason to load a handgun in a gun shop floor. Or if there is there are bright red plastic dummy rounds for just this purpose. "

You're absolutely right! The problem is there are too many dummies that won't use dummy rounds as an added safety measure.

[Feiny]

Why the heck was he using REAL bullets for anyway? Every gun store I have ever been in uses dummy bullets.

[yarddog]

I hate it when one of these accidents involves a little child. I sure hope it recovers.

Of course the accident is the fault of the employee for even thinking about putting a live round in the gun. It certainly is possible tho for the gun to malfunction.

I can think of a couple of possibilities right off hand. I once had a pistol in which the firing pin jammed in the firing pin hole and protruded. I happened to notice it but if not, the gun would have fired as soon as a round was chambered. Another although at odds with what was said, would be if the decocker broke and let the hammer hit the firing pin.

[yarddog]

I noticed we both started off our posts with the same words.

[Lockbar]

This gun store employee is an idiot of the highest order. I have been going to gun shops for the past 30 years, and unfortunately I see folks of this "caliber" working behind the counters too often. Many Bevis and Butthead types.

[Eaker]

I have had a failure to fire with a Walther but never had one AD. I think Bubba's finger was on the trigger.

That is why I stress first and for-most that your finger NEVER goes into the trigger guard unless you have a target in your sites or are test firing a gun that you just reassembled after cleaning that has not left your sight. Even then one is to double check anyway and still not point at anything that you like, your TV for example, or your kid.

Take care bro'!!