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Gun safety teacher shot in accident
Syracuse Post-Standard ^ | July 10, 2003 | Pedro Ramirez III and John O'Brien

Posted on 07/10/2003 4:04:58 AM PDT by jalisco555

A student in a gun safety class accidentally shot his instructor in the leg Wednesday while unloading a Glock handgun at the instructor's home in Salina, Onondaga County sheriff's deputies said.

Patrick Sacco, 48, a former Liverpool police officer, suffered the wound to his right leg about 10:45 a.m. in the basement of his home at 110 Tempo Circle, where he was instructing three students on firearms safety.

Gary Kassel, 56, of Syracuse, was unloading the .40-caliber Glock and didn't realize there was still a round in the chamber when he pointed the gun at the cement floor and pulled the trigger "to render the gun safe," deputies said. A bullet ricocheted off the floor and struck Sacco.

Sacco, owner of Verdad Investigations and Protection Institute, refused treatment from medics and was planning to get medical help on his own, deputies said. No charges were filed. The investigation will continue, deputies said.

The students were licensed handgun owners taking a class that would certify them to be armed security guards, Sgt. John D'Eredita said.

At least two Onondaga County law enforcement agencies have had a history of accidental shootings with Glocks since 1992. The county probation department had three in the past eight years, and the sheriff's department had three in the past 11 years.

In the most recent case, a probation officer was unloading her Glock at home last year when it accidentally fired into the floor of her apartment and struck a downstairs neighbor.

The description of the shooting in Sacco's basement typifies Glock accidents, said Joseph Cominolli, a firearms expert and former Syracuse police officer.

Glocks are safe weapons if the handler knows what he or she is doing, Cominolli said. But a common problem is unloading the gun in the wrong order, resulting in a round of ammunition being left in the chamber without the user realizing it, he said.

"He screwed the procedure

up," said Cominolli, who designed and patented a manual safety device that can be added to Glocks. He based his opinion about Sacco's shooting on the description given by deputies. "It's a typical screw-up with the gun."

The correct unloading sequence is to take the magazine out, then pull the slide back to eject a round that might be in the chamber, then look in the chamber to make sure it's empty, Cominolli said. The trigger shouldn't be pulled at all when unloading, he said.

Cominolli questioned why Sacco was using live ammunition if he was teaching the students how to load and unload the gun.

Sacco hung up on a reporter seeking his comment. Kassel could not be reached for comment.

"If you're doing a malfunction drill or teaching someone how to load and unload, with a student you don't use live ammo," Cominolli said. "You don't even do that with cops."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Philosophy; US: New York
KEYWORDS: bang; banglist; firearms; gunsafety; secondammendment
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Gary Kassel, 56, of Syracuse, was unloading the .40-caliber Glock and didn't realize there was still a round in the chamber when he pointed the gun at the cement floor and pulled the trigger "to render the gun safe," deputies said. A bullet ricocheted off the floor and struck Sacco.

Um, I must have have been daydreaming during that part of my firearm safety course. I sure don't remember being taught that!

1 posted on 07/10/2003 4:04:59 AM PDT by jalisco555
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To: All
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2 posted on 07/10/2003 4:06:45 AM PDT by Support Free Republic (Your support keeps Free Republic going strong!)
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To: jalisco555
Gary Kassel, 56, of Syracuse was where he needed to be. In a class for dumbazzes.
3 posted on 07/10/2003 4:17:03 AM PDT by Conspiracy Guy (If I can support FR with two kids in college, you can too. Freedom aint free but you can charge it.)
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To: jalisco555
I thought everyone passed those safety classes. Guess I was wrong.
4 posted on 07/10/2003 4:19:03 AM PDT by Pearls Before Swine (South-south-west, south, south-east, east....)
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To: jalisco555
I can not help but think , that maybe, that if the gun safety teacher had been a better teacher, that would not of happened.

When I took my Gun Safety Class and went to the firing range to fire the pistol , for the shooting test, I was suprised to see that the board across the range that you rest your gun on had bullet holes in it, were guns accidentally went off.

The Gun teacher was negligent, in having a bullet in that gun or any gun in that room, he should of had all of his guns empty before, any new student walked into that class.

5 posted on 07/10/2003 4:24:20 AM PDT by AmericanMade1776
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To: jalisco555
But of course it is a quick method of removing whatever is up the spout and following the procedure you have an empty, and therefor safem, firearm.

It is the transitional events that are problematic.

6 posted on 07/10/2003 4:35:22 AM PDT by Clive
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To: jalisco555
Gary Kassel, 56, of Syracuse, was unloading the .40-caliber Glock and didn't realize there was still a round in the chamber when he pointed the gun at the cement floor and pulled the trigger "to render the gun safe," deputies said.

The correct unloading sequence is to take the magazine out, then pull the slide back to eject a round that might be in the chamber, then look in the chamber to make sure it's empty, Cominolli said. The trigger shouldn't be pulled at all when unloading, he said.

Thatsssss riiiiight.....at least he had the weapon pointed in the right direction...unfortunately the right direction was made of cement.......

7 posted on 07/10/2003 5:12:33 AM PDT by joesnuffy (Moderate Islam Is For Dilettantes)
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To: *bang_list

8 posted on 07/10/2003 5:14:34 AM PDT by Joe Brower ("Oh, bother", said Pooh, as he chambered another round.)
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To: AmericanMade1776
I can not help but think , that maybe, that if the gun safety teacher had been a better teacher, that would not of happened.

I think firearm safety has been a chronic problem with Onondaga County law enforcement. They've been trying to blame Glock for years for their own negligent behavior.

9 posted on 07/10/2003 5:27:55 AM PDT by jalisco555 (Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.)
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To: jalisco555
The glock struck one.....

Hickory Dickory Dock
10 posted on 07/10/2003 5:28:13 AM PDT by 8mmMauser (Left is opposite of right)
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To: jalisco555
I keep telling non-believers; A Glock will fire EVERY time you pull the trigger ;)
11 posted on 07/10/2003 5:32:16 AM PDT by SJSAMPLE
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To: Pearls Before Swine
I thought everyone passed those safety classes. Guess I was wrong.

They didn't say he flunked. He just shot the teacher. As to the correct sequence of unloading, I thought this was the sequence for every semi-auto (drop the clip, clear the chamber, check for a round). Pretty obvious that you can't clear the chamber with a loaded clip in the weapon.

12 posted on 07/10/2003 5:34:18 AM PDT by Richard Kimball
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To: jalisco555
there was still a round in the chamber

NRA rules are VERY specific and emphatic regarding the prohibition of live ammunition in the training area. This guy was IN HIS HOUSE, not at the range, teaching what was probably basic operating principles.

Substituting live ammo for snap cap/dummy training ammo in a classroom environment is exceptionally foolish.

13 posted on 07/10/2003 5:36:52 AM PDT by xsrdx (Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas)
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To: AmericanMade1776
I can not help but think , that maybe, that if the gun safety teacher had been a better teacher, that would not of happened.

Sometimes all the safety precautions and instruction in the world cannot prevent a dumbass from doing dumbass things. Had a guy next to me in a CCW class do almost the same thing, luckily no one was hurt. He was quickly yanked out of the firing line. He was an old man and when we finished and were leaving the instructor was "instructing" him one on one.

14 posted on 07/10/2003 5:38:27 AM PDT by ladtx ("...the very obsession of your public service must be Duty, Honor, Country." D. MacArthur)
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To: joesnuffy
The trigger shouldn't be pulled at all when unloading

Sorry, bud - natch. The only way to "decock" a Glock is to pull the trigger.

And the gun isn't truly considered "unloaded" until the striker is released.

15 posted on 07/10/2003 5:41:43 AM PDT by xsrdx (Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas)
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To: joesnuffy
bud = Cominolli, not joesnuffy :^O
16 posted on 07/10/2003 5:44:00 AM PDT by xsrdx (Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas)
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To: jalisco555
Ruger has had a de-cocking mechanism that blocks the firing pin before releasing the hammer. Just use the darned thing and this type of incident will never happen to you.
17 posted on 07/10/2003 5:57:35 AM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Even if the government took all your earnings, you wouldn’t be, in its eyes, a slave.)
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To: xsrdx
And the gun isn't truly considered "unloaded" until the striker is released.

Yep. This was the procedure we followed in Bosnia. Drop the mag, charge the weapon three times, inspect chamber, point in a safe direction (into clearing barrel for example) and pull trigger.

What's funny is- people still screwed that up every once in a while. How? Don't ask me, but there's always some dim bulb that will dick up the safest "safing" procedure.

18 posted on 07/10/2003 6:14:09 AM PDT by Prodigal Son
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To: AmericanMade1776
When signing up for a concealed carry class, writtten notification was given that

  1. A pistol and ammunition were to be brought to the course location;
  2. Students would line up and present their UNLOADED weapons either in a holster or in a box for inspection before entering the classroom;
  3. Ammunition was to remain in vehicles;
  4. If any weapon or ammunition was discovered during inspection or in the classroom, automatic expulsion sans refund would result;

My initial reaction to the fact that the instructor donned a vest before starting the inspections was amusement until I thought about the number of accidental discharges that occur each year, and that the instructors had no way of knowing whether any given student was a yahoo or not.

19 posted on 07/10/2003 6:32:10 AM PDT by George Smiley (Is the RKBA still a right if you have to get the government's permission before you can exercise it?)
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To: jalisco555
Internal hammer + no decocking lever + dumbass = BOOM!
20 posted on 07/10/2003 6:36:09 AM PDT by Manic_Episode (My mind is aglow whirling with transient nodes of thought careening thru a cosmic vapor of invention)
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