Let's make our safe word, 'check the chamber.' GunFAIL CLXVI
We’re into November, so we’re seeing the hunting-related accidents begin to mount. I say they’re “hunting-related” because often these accidents occur just before or just after the hunt itself, when the guns are in transition to or from storage and/or transportation, at which point the guns should, of course, be unloaded. But often aren’t. There were seven hunting-related gun mishaps during the week of November 1st, counting the guy who was shooting coyotes, which isn’t exactly hunting in the traditional sense, I guess. But no matter what you consider it, it doesn’t make much difference because he ended up accidentally shooting and killing himself, anyway. And surely that’s the bigger issue.
In other news, fourteen people accidentally shot themselves, eight people accidentally shot family members or significant others, seven people involved in gun accidents initially lied to police about what happened, four people accidentally shot into the homes or property of their neighbors, four managed to accidentally fire guns they were cleaning or working on, and two people accidentally fired weapons while they were out shopping or dining among the rest of the minding-their-own-business public.
That brings us to our top stories for the week, which includes the first one on our list: the Florida man who dropped his pistol while walking to the register to pay for his meal at Cracker Barrel, causing the gun to fire, and wounding a member of the very minding-their-own-business public we were just fretting over a moment ago. I’m sure someone comforted the unfortunate victim by explaining that modern weapons don’t do what the weapon in question had just done to him, though. So at least there’s that.
Ever been told that suicides shouldn’t really count in gun totals? Well, they should if you accidentally shoot and kill your spouse, and wound your son and your nurse in the process, as happened in Cypress, TX. And then there’s the Omaha, NE grandpa who thought he’d do everyone a favor by protecting the local kids by going armed to pick his grandkids up after school, but then accidentally fired his gun while waiting in the parking lot. Luckily for him, he’d loaded his gun with blanks. Though that does raise larger questions about why he brought the gun in the first place.
Our title for the post comes from a story many of you likely caught wind of earlier: the man in Tampa, FL who accidentally shot and killed a woman during what he described as “freaky sex.” Apparently it involved role playing during which a gun was held to his partner’s head—a gun which he believed to be unloaded, because he’d removed the magazine. But as we all know from reading about so many similar accidents (though this one certainly stands out), you must never forget to verify that the chamber of a semi-automatic weapon is empty, as well.
Before I send you over the fold for the latest list, I have to mention one of the more tragic incidents GunFAIL watchers have seen of late: the death of 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis, in Marksville, LA. Jeremy became the youngest victim of a fatal police shooting this year, killed by moonlighting, part-time city marshals, one of whom was rumored to have had a personal grudge against the driver of the car Jeremy died in, the boy’s father, Chris Few. Certainly one of the more sordid tales of unjustified and excessive police violence, this one resulting in the death of a first grader, at that.
SANFORD, FL, 11/01/15: A man's gun went off inside a Cracker Barrel restaurant near Sanford on Sunday morning, striking another man, according to Seminole County sheriff's investigators. Investigators said a customer was walking to the counter to pay for his meal when his gun fell from its holster and hit the floor. According to investigators, when the gun hit the floor it discharged and the bullet struck a patron in the leg. The man was carrying the firearm legally and no criminal charges are expected to be filed in the case, investigators said. The restaurant was closed following the shooting but reopened just before noon.
COLUMBUS, GA, 11/01/15: A woman has been arrested and her boyfriend was hospitalized after police say he was injured during an accidental shooting. Columbus police were called to Saint Francis Hospital around 7:30 PM on Sunday for a shooting victim. When they arrived, the victim told police he shot himself in the groin by mistake. The 25-year-old man told police the shooting happened on the 3900 block of Willis Road. The man eventually gave police a different version of that story; he said he was showing his girlfriend how to handle the weapon. When he put the gun in her hand, the gun went off. Shabriel Graddy, 21, has since been arrested and charged with reckless conduct. Graddy was issued a summons and has to appear in court.
TALLEDEGA, AL, 11/01/15: A man accidentally shot a family member in Talladega on Sunday evening, killing the victim, according to Capt. Leon Thomas. Shannon Eugene Gallahar, 41, was pronounced dead at Citizens Baptist Medical Center after being shot in the head, Thomas said. The incident was still under investigation this afternoon, but Thomas said it appeared that a family member was showing Gallahar a Derringer .22-caliber over/under pistol when the gun accidentally discharged. He was transported to the emergency room by North Star Ambulance, but had died by the time they got there. The incident took place around 5 PM on the deck of a house on Jackson Trace Road. The relative was detained and questioned by investigators, but had not been charged with a crime as of this afternoon.
AURORA, IL, 11/01/15: A Bolingbrook man is dead after police say he accidentally shot himself while driving, reports WBBM’s Nancy Harty. 25-year-old Chard Harrison was driving in a residential area of southeast Aurora just after midnight on Halloween when police say he showed off a .45 caliber handgun to his passengers, two Aurora men ages 24 and 25. Police say Harrison told the passengers it was unloaded and put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger and it went off. One of the other men was able to stop the car by putting it in park. Harrison was transported to an Aurora hospital where he was pronounced dead. His passengers were not injured.
DAYTON, OH, 11/01/15: Four juveniles showed up at Good Samaritan Hospital about 7:30 PM Sunday in a stolen vehicle, according to Dayton police report. The juveniles were dropping off a 15-year-old male from Columbus who claimed he’d been shot at DeSoto Bass public housing complex. Though police later determined the teen accidentally shot himself, according to the Dayton police report. Police ran the car the teens arrived in and determined it was a stolen Buick LaCrosse, owned by a 25-year-old woman from Huber Heights. A loaded handgun was found in the car, which had two bullet holes in it, according to police. A male juvenile driver of the vehicle was charged in juvenile court with receiving stolen property and improper handling of a firearm inside of a motor vehicle. One of the teens, a 16-year-old male from Columbus, was found to be a missing juvenile.
TOLEDO, OH, 11/01/15: One person is in the hospital after shots were fired at a house on Pitt Street. Police were originally called around 4 AM Sunday with reports of a robbery and shooting, but when they arrived on the scene, the story given to them changed. The new report stated that two friends were drunk and playing with a gun when one of them was accidentally shot. A call was made to the police hours after the incident happened. Police are investigating the situation. The victim is in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
BAY VIEW, WA, 11/01/15: A 65-year-old man accidentally shot himself in the hand Sunday while cleaning a gun inside his residence near Bay View, according to the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office. No one else was injured in the incident.
WAUNETA, NE, 11/01/15: The Chase County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a hunting incident that occurred south of Wauneta Sunday morning. According to Sheriff Kevin Mueller, Danny Jeffries, 68, of Wauneta suffered a minor wound when he was accidentally hit with a shotgun pellet while hunting Sunday afternoon. Mueller said Jeffries was hit with a stray shotgun pellet that lodged under the skin of his face near his jaw. Jeffries and his son were hunting a tree row and apparently there were hunters on the other side of the row, Mueller said. Neither were aware of the other parties on the other side of the tree row. Jeffries was hit when hunters on the other side shot at some pheasants. The Jeffrieses reported to the deputy investigating that the other hunters ran off and that they only saw a pickup driving off. Jeffries, who said Tuesday that the incident was purely accidental, drove himself to the Chase County Community Hospital where he was treated. Mueller said it appears the incident was accidental but they are continuing to investigate.
LEXINGTON, KY, 11/02/15: A man was shot early Monday on Augusta Drive and taken to the hospital with injuries that weren't life threatening. Police were called to the area at about 5 AM for an assault with a weapon and found the man with a single gunshot wound in his leg, Lt. Kevin Metcalf said. The man was uncooperative with police initially, Metcalf said. Just before being taken to the hospital, he admitted that he had accidentally shot himself in the leg.
CLARKSVILLE, TN, 11/02/15: Clarksville Police on Wednesday afternoon released the name of a woman who died from a single gunshot Monday evening. Angelica Rodriguez, 21, was shot in the head and taken to Gateway Medical Center, where she was declared dead. Clarksville Police were called to a Georgetown Road home at 5:28 PM Monday. CPD's Crime Scene Unit and Homicide Detectives responded to the scene, according to a news release from CPD spokeswoman Natalie Hall. "At this time, no suspects are being sought," she wrote in the release. "Once the investigation is complete and evidence results are receive, it will be turned over to the District Attorney’s Office for consideration of charges." Multiple sources have told The Leaf-Chronicle the woman was shot accidentally.
CUMBERLAND, MD, 11/02/15: The Maryland Natural Resources Police say a man blasted his nephew with a 12-gauge shotgun in an apparent hunting accident in western Maryland. Spokeswoman Candy Thomson says 65-year-old Tracy Duvall Sr. of Rising Sun told police he thought he was firing at a turkey when he shot 39-year-old Jason Duvall shortly before 8 AM Monday. Thomson says the victim's injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. He's being treated at the Western Maryland Regional Medical Center in Cumberland. Thomson says the men were about 41 yards apart when the shot was fired. She says officers are still investigating the incident.
CASA GRANDE, AZ, 11/02/15: A 15-year-old girl was accidentally shot in the foot after an altercation at a Casa Grande apartment complex Monday night, police said. Police responded to a call at 8:59 PM of shots fired at the Palm View Apartments, 851 E. Palm Park, where they discovered the girl with a gunshot wound to her left foot. The girl was transported to Banner Casa Grande Medical Center where she was treated and later released to family. It was determined the bullet went completely through the girl’s inner left foot. Based on the investigation, detectives determined 22-year-old Timothy Zazueta was involved in an altercation in the parking lot of the apartment complex. During the altercation Zazueta fired two shots into the air and fled into one of the apartments, according to a Casa Grande Police Department press release. While in the apartment, Zazueta was attempting to hide the firearm when he accidentally discharged another shot, which struck the girl, the release stated. The firearm has been recovered and is described as a 9mm handgun. There were several other people in the apartment, including four other juveniles, but police said no one else was injured. Zazueta was booked into the Pinal County Adult Detention Center under suspicion of one count of aggravated assault with a weapon, three counts of unlawful discharge of a weapon and five counts of endangerment.
OAKLAND, OR, 11/02/15: A Douglas county man is recovering from injuries suffered during an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound. At about 3:30 PM on Monday, November 2nd, Douglas County Communications received a report of an accidental shooting at a residence in the 11-thousand block of Driver Valley Road in Oakland. According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Gary Becker, 65, was carrying his Ruger .243 Caliber Rifle inside the house to put it away after hunting, when it slipped out of his hand. They say the butt of the rifle hit the ground and the rifle went off, causing substantial damage to Becker’s left hand. Becker was transported to Mercy Medical Center for treatment.
GLENDALE, OR, 11/03/15: A man accidentally shot himself in the leg as he attempted to break up two dogs fighting, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. Emergency crews responded to the 100 block of Hobbs Lane in Glendale at 9:27 AM Tuesday. They located 51-year-old Mathew Wilkinson suffering from a gunshot wound to his leg. Investigators said Wilkinson was trying to stop the dogs from fighting when he shot himself. He was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg for treatment.
CONNELLSVILLE TOWNSHIP, PA, 11/03/15: A 48-year-old man was flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital after he accidentally shot himself Tuesday morning in Connellsville Township, a Fayette County Emergency Medical Services supervisor said. The man was target shooting in a wooded area off River Avenue at about 9:10 AM when he tripped and his gun discharged, according to the EMS supervisor. Connellsville Township Volunteer Fire Department assisted with an all-terrain vehicle to get the man out of the woods. The EMS supervisor characterized the man's condition as critical.
ATHOL, MA, 11/03/15: 10:28 AM - Caller reports hearing banging noise and now has a bullet hole in her wall, Riverbend Street. Found neighbor accidentally discharged firearm while cleaning it. Firearms seized.
LAFAYETTE, IN, 11/03/15: An employee of a Lafayette gun shop is recovering Wednesday after accidentally shooting himself in the hand. According to Lafayette police, the man was working on a handgun when it discharged around 3:45 PM Tuesday, striking him in the hand. He was taken to an area hospital for treatment. No one else was injured. Lafayette police say all indications point to this being an accident.
DICKINSON, ND, 11/03/15: A 24-year-old Dickinson man was charged with discharging a firearm within city limits around noon Tuesday at Lincoln Meadows apartment complex on the 3000 block of Fourth Avenue East. The man reported it as an accidental discharge, but was charged with a Class B misdemeanor.
NORTH AUGUSTA, SC, 11/03/15: A shooting reported on West Five Notch Road where a victim turned up at the Walmart on Edgefield Road Tuesday has been ruled accidental, according to the Edgefield County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office has said the victim is a male and is not cooperating with the investigation. The shooting victim found at Walmart on Edgefield Road was shot at 893 West Five Notch Road, according to the Edgefield County Sheriff's Office. North Augusta officers have arrested one person accused of unlawful carrying of a weapon. Edgefield County officers also have one person in custody related to the shooting.
MARKSVILLE, LA, 11/04/15: A 6-year-old boy was shot and killed Tuesday night in an officer-involved shooting Tuesday night in Marksville, Louisiana State Police said. Officials said the incident began before 9:30 PM on Martin Luther King Drive when LSP was notified that city marshals from the Ward 2 office had been involved in a shooting. Investigators found that the city marshals were pursuing a vehicle when it reached a dead end. Moments later, the vehicle backed into the marshals, who opened fire. The driver being pursued was taken to a hospital in critical condition. His passenger, a 6-year-old boy, was found dead. Officials identified the boy as Jeremy Mardis, a first-grader at a nearby elementary school. The Avoyelles Parish Coroner's Office said the boy was accidentally shot by the marshals. His father, the driver of the vehicle, was identified as Chris Few. LSP will handle the investigation into the officer-involved shooting at the request of the Marksville Police Department. Additional information is expected Wednesday. MORE: Police investigating the fatal shooting of a six-year-old autistic boy by two Louisiana state marshals are looking into whether one of the cops had a grudge with the child's father. Jeremy Mardis was shot five times in the head and chest as he sat in the passenger seat of his father Chris Few's car last week by officers Derrick Stafford, 32, and Norris Greenhouse. Investigators are exploring the possibility that Greenhouse, 23, had a personal issue with Few, after Few's fiancée Megan Dixon said the marshal had been messaging her on Facebook and coming round to their home. Ms Dixon has previously said she 'was the reason this all started', adding that she knew what happened in the moments leading up to the shooting.
ST. JOSEPH, MO, 11/04/15: St. Joseph police said a man was hospitalized after he accidentally shot himself in the leg early Wednesday morning. Officers were called to the 200 block of Illinois around 6:45 AM. When officers arrived, police found a 31-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the leg. His injuries are not life-threatening. Police said the man told officers he was involved in an altercation with an unknown man a couple blocks away from his home and was shot. He said the suspect appeared to be intoxicated. The man was taken to the hospital where officers continued to question him about the incident and later learned that he accidentally shot himself. "Just a random act where the victim has no clue who the suspect is is actually the exception to the norm," said St. Joseph Police Department Sgt. James Langston. "Most people have some sort of knowledge who the people are. They might not know them by name but they are familiar a lot of time with their attacker." The man's name has not been released.
ROCK HILL, SC, 11/04/15: A Rock Hill man was charged with discharging a firearm in city limits after shooting himself in the leg at a shopping center early Wednesday, according to Rock Hill Police. Johnny Valdez, 21, was placed in the Rock Hill city jail, where he remained Wednesday under $500 bond, according to jail records. Officers received a call about a gunshot victim near the Walmart on Old York Road just after 1:30 AM, according to a police report. They found Valdez with a gunshot wound to the leg. Valdez told officers he and a few men were in the parking lot shooting their guns into the air, and that one of the other men accidentally shot him in the leg, police said. He said he fired three shots into the air before putting the gun in his pocket. An officer couldn’t find the gun in Valdez’s pocket when he searched him, the report states. Valdez was “highly uncooperative” and not helpful in describing or identifying the suspects, the report states. A medic told officers the gunshot wound on Valdez’s leg and the hole in his pocket were consistent with him shooting himself with his own gun, police say. Officers took Valdez to get medical treatment for the gunshot wound on his leg before taking him to jail. Valdez could not say whether it was his gun that injured him, investigators say. A 20-year-old man who was with Valdez was charged with possession of beer or wine by a person under 21.
MOYOCK, NC, 11/04/15: A Virginia Beach police officer was accidentally shot in the arm Wednesday at the Academi training center near Moyock. Academi was originally formed in the 1990s as Blackwater, a company that trained and sent hundreds of contractors to Iraq in the early 2000s to protect dignitaries among other duties. An officer was cleaning his weapon about 6 PM when it went off and struck a nearby officer in the arm, said Camden County Sheriff Tony Perry in a news release. He was treated and released from Chesapeake General Hospital and is recovering at home. Capt. Michael Ronan was holding the gun that went off and struck Lt. Johnny Gandy, according to another release from Perry's office. Virginia Beach police said in a statement they're conducting an internal investigation. Academi offers police and military tactical training on a site of about 7,000 acres largely located in Camden County with parts in Currituck County. The site is accessed through Puddin Ridge Road in Moyock. The site offers firing ranges and facilities for urban warfare and crime fighting, and other things. Police units from Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina often go there for training.
MARKSVILLE, LA, 11/04/15: A Marksville man has barricaded himself inside a house following an incident in which his mother was reportedly accidentally shot in the left arm. The suspect, identified as Will Ray Lachney, is alleged to have taken a shotgun from a hunter about 8:30 AM today, and then went to mother’s house. His mother and others left the house, but the mother was allowed back to talk to him. Apparently a struggle for the shotgun began, and a police officer reportedly fired and hit the mother in the left arm.
CYPRESS, TX, 11/04/15: An elderly man shot and killed his wife and accidentally wounded his son and a nurse when he killed himself Wednesday afternoon in Cypress. The wife said she wasn't feeling well and the husband went and got his gun, according to Lt. Thomas Gilliland with the Harris County Sheriff's Office. He came back and shot her to death. The son was trying to stop his father from killing himself when the bullet ricocheted off the dad and hit the son in the arm. The same fragment then hit the nurse behind her ear, Gilliland said. Only two shots were fired at the home in the 20300 block of Silverwood Trail in northwest Harris County. The husband and wife were pronounced dead at the scene. "If it was the man who shot his wife and committed suicide, he probably thought it was compassionate because they were both very ill," said Tracy Weiss, a neighbor. Neighbors said the man recently learned he had terminal cancer. "We've been told they both suffered from multiple health issues," said Gilliland. The nurse, who was caring for the man and his wife, was taken by Life Flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital. She is in stable condition and her injury is not believed to be life-threatening, Gilliland said. The son, believed to be in his 30s, was taken by ambulance to Cy Fair Hospital where he is reportedly in good condition. The elderly couple's daughter was also in the home when the shootings happened. She wasn't hurt, but she witnessed the shootings.
PHILADELPHIA, PA, 11/04/15: Police are investigating a reported accidental shooting that left a man injured in West Philadelphia. The shooting happened just after 10 PM in the 5500 block of Master Street. Police said a man was shot in the right shoulder. He was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in stable condition. The assailant, reportedly a female friend of a family member, told police the shooting was an accident.
HURRICANE, UT, 11/04/15: A teenager shot a neighbor's house after pulling the trigger of a shotgun he thought was unloaded. According a Hurricane City Police Department news release, two 14-year-old boys were looking at a shotgun in the area of 200 South 140 West in Hurricane. One of the teens picked the shotgun up and pulled the trigger discharging a round, which traveled through an exterior wall of the residence and into the next door neighbor's house, the release indicated. Officers responded at approximately 4:28 PM and an investigation determined the bullet traveled through multiple walls of the neighbor's residence as well as through an area where the homeowner was present, Hurricane Police Sgt. Brandon Buell said in the news release. No one was injured. The teen was charged with discharging a firearm within city limits and reckless endangerment, according to the release. "This is a good example of how dangerous firearms are and the importance of ensuring weapons are unloaded and kept in a safe manner," Buell said. "We are very lucky that no one was hurt in this incident."
IMPERIAL, NE, 11/04/15: Authorities say a 65-year-old man in southwest Nebraska died Wednesday after shooting himself in the chest when his rifle discharged accidentally. Dave Ridlen Sr of Enders was found next to his pickup about 20 miles southwest of Imperial. Chase County Sheriff Kevin Mueller told the Imperial Republican that Ridlen was checking on cattle for his employer when he spotted and shot a coyote. The sheriff believes Ridlen did not put the safety back after he fired it and as he was putting the weapon away in his vehicle, something caused it to discharge. A single bullet struck Ridlen in his chest and he died instantly.
OMAHA, NE, 11/04/15: A man fired gunshots inside a parking lot at Central Middle School Wednesday as he was waiting for school to be dismissed, according to Principal Beth Fink. In two emails sent to parents, Fink explained how a grandfather was waiting to pick up a student when he accidentally discharged a handgun loaded with blanks inside his car. “The man meant no ill will, and at no time were students in any danger,” she said in the statement. “However, this is still something we take very seriously.” Parents who heard the shots notified staff, but the school could not enforce a lockdown since students were let out by then, school officials say. But not every parent received the memo, like Mary Baughman who regularly picks up her grandchild. "I'm very shocked and surprised and I was wondering where I was at," Baughman said. You do not mess with a gun in the car and you're not cleaning it sitting down either, Baughman said. As for why some parents were not informed, a spokesperson says some parents might have their emails set up to block the school's emails or send them to spam. The school plans to increase its security, Fink said.
DEER PARK, WA, 11/04/15: "It's kind of like a sancutuary sometimes," said Mabel Elsom about the field behind her Deer Park home. "There could be 40 deer out there at a time," added her husband, Jonah. But, the preferred peace on this Deer Park property was punctured when a hunter's bullet bulldozed into their home. Jonah walked us through the bullet's path: it came in through the wall near their outdoor porch, tore through their curtains, hit a wall and a desk leg, then traveled through their Keurig coffee maker, and that's where they found a small piece of the bullet. "You're in here minding your own business and all of the sudden something could happen and you're dead," said Jonah. He and his wife don't want hunters to stop shooting, they just want them to be safer, and smart. I feel a little paranoid knowing something could come through the wall," said Jonah. "It's scary to know somebody is not smart enough to not aim at a house."
NEWPORT NEWS, VA, 11/05/15: Police are investigating an accidental shooting that happened Thursday night. Initial police investigation revealed that just before 9 PM, an adult male shot an adult female in the 400 block of Logan Place. Police say the man, 35-year-old Myreo Brown, had been cleaning his gun when it accidentally discharged, hitting a 27-year-old woman in the leg. Police say she had been in the kitchen cooking at the time of the shooting, while Brown had been cleaning the gun in the living room. Her injury is not considered life-threatening. Brown was arrested and charged with reckless handling of a firearm. Investigators say one of the officers who was responding to the shooting scene was involved in a car crash.
HOUSTON, TX, 11/05/15: Houston police are investigating a shooting that sent three people to the hospital in stable condition overnight. The shots were fired shortly before 10 PM Thursday at a home on Amasa near Stokes, not far from I-45 and the North Loop. Police said a woman got into a fight with her husband, so she went to stay with her sister. Later in the night, the woman got into a fight with her sister and brother-in-law, so they took her back home to her husband. As the family was unloading the woman's items from her sister's car, the husband came outside and got into a fight with the brother-in-law, and they both started firing gunshots. Both men were shot, and one of the wives was accidentally shot as well, police said. Police believe alcohol played a factor in the disturbance.
TROY, MI, 11/06/15: A 4-year-old boy was injured Friday after accidentally shooting himself in a vehicle, police said. The incident happened around 1:30 p.m. in the parking lot of a Kroger at Crooks and South Boulevard, said Sgt. Meghan Lehman of the Troy Police Department. Troy Police Capt. Robert Redmond said a mother and four children had been shopping inside the supermarket and returned to their vehicle with groceries. While three of the children and their mother were busy putting items in the car, the 4-year-old crawled into the front seat, found a loaded handgun that was stored in the console and somehow shot himself in the leg. It is believed only one round was shot from the firearm. The child was transported to Beaumont Hospital-Royal Oak with non-life threatening injuries. The mother has a concealed permit license to carry, Redmond said. The vehicle was seized by police, who are investigating what, if any, charges may result from the incident.
ANNAPOLIS, MD, 11/06/15: Shortly before 9 PM on Friday officers were in the area of Pleasant Street when they heard a gun shot and saw a man fleeing from a vehicle. Officers chased the man, later identified as Marlon Green, 27, of Annapolis, and caught him as he was trying to scale a fence, police said. Green had dropped a handgun on the other side of the fence and it was retrieved by officers, police said. Green was arrested and transported to the Annapolis police station, where officers spotted an apparent graze wound to his thigh, police said. He was treated by paramedics at the station. Investigators believe Green accidentally discharged the handgun when he fled from the vehicle, police said. A spent bullet was found near the vehicle and the recovered handgun had an empty shell casing in the chamber, police said. Codeine and Oxycodone pills were found in the vehicle, police said, and Green had more than $1,700 in cash in his pockets. Green is a convicted felon, prohibited from carrying a firearm, and was charged with five counts related to the gun and drug possession, police said. He was being held without bond Monday morning at Jennifer Road Detention Center.
STAFFORD CO., KS, 11/06/15: On Friday, Nov. 6, the Stafford County sheriff’s office was notified of an accidental shooting that occurred in Stafford County. The victim had already been transported by private vehicle to Great Bend Regional Hospital. The victim was identified as Clay McClure, Gladston NM. Gladstone told sheriff’s Deputy Thomas Fischer that he had been hunting in northeast Stafford County. He stated that as he was putting equipment away he moved a rifle from inside the vehicle. As he leaned the rifle against the vehicle the rifle discharged striking him in the left hand.
FLAGSTAFF, AZ, 11/06/15: A Flagstaff family got a big scare this month when a stray bullet shot through their apartment. According to the police report, a teenage resident who was home alone in her apartment in the 200 block of West Oakmont Avenue was standing in the hallway when she heard a loud bang and felt something rush past her right leg sometime between 8:30 and 9 PM Nov. 6. At first, she said, she thought she had been shot. When she realized she was uninjured, she immediately called her mother and hid in the bathroom for the next 20 minutes. The teen and her mother had never heard a gunshot before, so they did not know what had happened until this past Monday, when the mother discovered a spent 9 millimeter bullet on the floor underneath a dresser. The bullet appeared to have pierced through an interior wall, leaving a tiny hole, and continued through the first layer of side paneling on the dresser before it was stopped by the side of the bottom drawer and fell to the ground. Officers spoke to the residents of a neighboring apartment. One of the men told police that on Nov. 6, he was showing his roommate the new handgun he had just purchased when he accidentally shot through a door jam and into the wall he shared with the victims' apartment. The suspect told police he thought there was a cinder block wall between the two apartments that would stop the bullet before it could hurt anyone. He became apologetic when he learned that was not the case. The suspect faces possible charges of disorderly conduct with a weapon. The investigation is ongoing.
HOLLOWAY, MN, 11/07/15: A Detroit Lakes man was accidentally shot Saturday afternoon while deer hunting in Swift County, according to the Swift County Sheriff’s Office. According to the sheriff’s office, 36-year-old Robert Schlieman was hunting when a deer ran between other hunters in his party. One of the hunters reportedly thought the deer was far enough away and began shooting. One of the slugs fired struck Schlieman in the left abdomen, the sheriff’s office said. Schlieman was transported via Appleton Ambulance to the Appleton Area Health Services hospital where he was then airlifted to St. Cloud Hospital. He is currently in stable condition. "When hunting with others in a group, safety is the number one priority," Sheriff John Holtz said. In addition to the sheriff’s office and the Appleton Ambulance, the Holloway First responders and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources responded to the scene.
DE PERE, WI, 11/07/15: A De Pere man fatally shot his friend in the head after a night of bar hopping and engaging in "horseplay" early Saturday morning, authorities said Monday. James C. Vandenack, 21, was arrested on the assumption he shot Tyler J. Waldron, 21, of De Pere, who was still alive when police arrived at a townhouse at 1107 Chicago St. shortly before 3 AM. He was rushed to a Green Bay hospital, where he died, De Pere Capt. Dale Haagen of the Police Department said during a Monday afternoon press conference at De Pere City Hall. Haagen said the two were long-time friends. Witnesses said the men had been wrestling and goofing around when Vandenack shot Waldron. Witnesses said the men were not arguing, and Vandenack apparently did not know there was a bullet in the chamber of the .45 caliber handgun.
"There were a lot of bad choices made that night that ended in tragedy," Haagen said. "When you look at the behavior, you don't point a firearm at another person." De Pere police will recommend Brown County prosecutors charge Vandenack withfirst-degree reckless homicide, possession of a firearm by a felon and bail jumping. Police were called to the residence by the homeowner who reported hearing a possible gunshot in the basement. Vandenack cooperated with police and was upset that Waldron had been shot, Haagen said. Authorities believe the men were drinking, but Haagen said he could not confirm the role of alcohol or drugs in Waldron's death. An autopsy was conducted Monday and toxicology reports will be available in a few weeks, he said. Police will continue to investigate, Haagen said. Vandenack was arrested soon after the shooting. He is being held in the Brown County Jail. In another matter, Vandenack's brother, Jesse, is scheduled to enter a plea Dec. 3 in Brown County Circuit Court to being party to first-degree reckless homicide for his involvement in a heroin overdose.
EAST LOS ANGELES, CA, 11/07/15: Detectives are investigating a possible accidental shooting that left a teen dead on Saturday in East Los Angeles, officials said. At approximately 6:10 PM, LA County Sheriff's Homicide detectives responded to the 3500 block of Cesar Chavez Avenue to investigate the shooting of a 14-year-old boy. Witnesses told detectives the victim, a documented member of a local street gang, was handling a loaded handgun when he unintentionally shot himself in the head, LASD said. The victim was pronounced dead at the hospital. It was not clear how the victim gained possession of the handgun.
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC, 11/07/15: Accidental gunshot wound was reported on the 500 block of Old U.S. 70.
WOODWARD, OK, 11/07/15: A 14-year-old Woodward girl remains in critical condition, after catching the brunt of a shotgun blast Saturday night. According to her mother, Kinzie Eisenbise was with a handful of friends at a friend’s house, when the shotgun went off. Kinzie was struck in the right collarbone, and it caused critical injuries. Kinzie is being treated at The Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City. Her mother Christy said she got an encouraging sign from her daughter early Tuesday morning. “I actually went to check on her. And I didn’t expect her to have her eyes open and look at me and squeeze my hand, and worded to me she loved me too,” she said.
COLBERT, GA, 11/07/15: A Colbert man was arrested Saturday after authorities said he accidentally shot his brother in the abdomen. Arsenio L. Benn was charged with reckless conduct, making a false statement and tampering with evidence, Madison County sheriff’s Lt. Jimmy Patton said Tuesday. The shooting occurred at Benn’s home on Hardman Morris Road, where Dontavious Carruth was shot in the stomach and taken to Athens Regional Medical Center with a non-life threatening injury, deputies said. “Benn kept telling me it was an accident and that a bullet went off in a fire in a burn barrel in the back yard,” the deputy reported. However, as deputies investigated Benn’s version, they determined it could not have happened in that manner. However, when an investigator arrived on scene, Benn changed his story and said he accidentally discharged the gun. Benn showed deputies where he hid the pistol under a log in the woods near the home.
Deputies determined that Benn was handling the gun when it accidentally discharged, Patton said. “Why he lied about it, we don’t know,” Patton said.
TAMPA, FL, 11/07/15: A man has been arrested after accidentally shooting a woman in the head while they were engaged in sexual activity. Just before 2 AM on November 7, Tampa Police responded to a 911 call from Tyrone Fields who said he shot Christina Meagher in the head at the Regency Inn and Suites on Church Avenue. When police arrived they were met by Fields and saw Meagher on the bed with a gunshot wound to her head. She was transported to St. Joseph's Hospital where she later died from her injuries. Fields admitted to shooting the victim but said it had been during "freaky sex" with Meagher and that he had only know her for two days. He says they were involved in a role-play scenario in which he put a gun to her head. Fields said he removed the magazine from his handgun but forgot to remove the bullet from the chamber so when he intentionally pulled the trigger as part of the role-play, he fired a single round into the her head. Motel surveillance video shows Fields and Meagher both entering the motel room consensually. Also, sexual battery examination results appear to be negative for any injury consistent with sexual battery.