Black Powder Friday: Xmas shopping starts with a bang at Walmart and Target (srsly): GunFAIL CLXIX
By David Waldman
Saturday Dec 19, 2015 11:38 PM EST
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More hunting casualties rolling in, with a total of 12 hunting-related accidents being reported. Though to be fair, one really just involves an accident while preparing to go on a hunting trip the next day. So I’m not sure it counts as a hunting accident, but I’m sure the family is burying their 15-year-old, regardless of how we categorize it. And that’s obviously the far more important fact.
Self-inflicted injuries remain the number one category, of course. Sixteen people accidentally shot themselves during the week of November 22, while nine people accidentally shot other family members or significant others. Among other recurring accident types, there were 15 kids accidentally shot, five cops involved in gun accidents, four guns discharged during reported cleanings (and another two that discharged while they were being cleared), four accidents during target practice sessions, two guns accidentally fired by carriers who were out shopping, and two people accidentally shot by carriers merely attempting to reholster their guns.
On another seasonal note besides the mounting hunting casualties, our title reminds us that it’s also shopping season, and more people in the stores also means more guns in the stores. And of course, more guns in stores also means more chances for gun accidents in stores. This week’s hosts: Target (no joke) and Walmart. And if you’ve ever wondered about how often armed citizens actually do accidentally discharge their weapons while they’re out and about, you can check out my Shooting While Shopping Pinterest board.
It’s relatively rare for GunFAIL lists to have really high-profile cases that have received national attention. Most of these accidents stay well below the national press radar. But this particular week had two such accidents. First, the police officer in Paradise, California, who accidentally shot a drunk driving suspect who was trying to climb out of his overturned vehicle. Many of you will have seen the dash cam video from the officer’s car, and perhaps the newly released body cam video from the other officers arriving on the scene. Incredibly, the officer involved insists throughout the encounter that he didn’t shoot the suspect, and only after several minutes of discussion even bothers mentioning that he had had an “A.D.,” or accidental discharge. But even then, he insists he wasn’t pointing his gun anywhere near the suspect. It’s really astonishing.UPDATE: The driver shot by the officer has died of his wound.
The second high-profile case is the unspeakably tragic killing of a seven-month-old child, the youngest victim of GunFAIL in 2015 (though not the youngest we’ve ever seen). Nathaniel Hitt was killed by the accidental discharge of a shotgun that his mother’s boyfriend was cleaning at the time. And I really do mean it when I say it’s unspeakably tragic. You can try to read Nathaniel’s mom’s deposition accompanying the criminal complaint if you’re an exceptionally steely type, but if you have any doubts about your ability to absorb this horror, I strongly recommend against it. Still, sometimes confronting the reality of these incidents is necessary, especially as we so often hear that cleaning a still-loaded gun is just another one of those things that “no one ever does.” Oh, but they do. And this terrible story will make you madder than ever the next time someone says something so ridiculous.
NEW HANOVER TOWNSHIP, PA, 11/22/15: Police are on the scene of an accidental shooting in New Hanover Township, Montgomery County, officials said. Calls for the incident at Windy Hill and Buchert roads came in just before 5:30 PM Sunday. It wasn't clear where the shooting occurred, but emergency dispatchers said the area is residential. Few details were immediately available, and dispatchers said the injuries were not critical. MORE: An off-duty township police officer was injured following an accidental shooting, according to police. Shortly after 5 PM Sunday, New Hanover police were called to a scene along the 400 block of Windy Hill Road after reports of a shooting, according to a press release issued by the New Hanover Police Department. Upon arrival, officers discovered that the shooting involved an off-duty police officer from a neighboring department and that officer was the only person injured. The press release did not identify the neighboring police department. The shooting was ruled to be accidental in nature and there was no danger to the community, according to the press release. Police from New Hanover, Douglass (Mont.) and Lower Pottsgrove assisted at the scene.
MIAMI BEACH, FL, 11/22/15: Update 11:30 AM: Romain's gunfire was reported as an "accidental discharge," according to an incident obtained by New Times. Officer Miguel Romain was just a few months into his new job as a full-fledged Miami Beach cop when the routine call came in Sunday at 8:53 AM: A burglar alarm was going off in a building near 51st Street and Alton Road. The former public service specialist hopped into a patrol car with the senior cop training him and headed to the scene. That's when the routine case quickly went south. Somehow Romain ended up firing his service weapon, quickly landing back on desk duty as internal affairs investigates what happened. MBPD has yet to release an incident report from the shooting, but a spokesperson confirmed the basic details. "At some point while they were checking for the burglar alarm, his firearm was discharged," Officer Ernesto Rodriguez says. "There were no injuries." What caused Romain to pull his gun and fire during a routine investigation where suspects were apparently nowhere to be found? According to a post at LEO Affairs, a message board frequented by local police officers, he was spooked by a dog on the scene. "You put yourself in a bad spot, you overreacted and almost killed your (superior officer)," the anonymous commenter writes. "If you have a fear of dogs that are not attacking you, please don't shoot." There's no way to verify those details until MBPD releases more information, but the other facts regarding the case posted by the message board user were accurate. As for Romain, he'll have to wait for the outcome of the investigation to see if he'll be allowed to rejoin street patrol. Romain has been a public safety specialist since at least 2007 before working his way up to officer earlier this year.
CANTON, OH, 11/22/15: A man cleaning his 9mm handgun inside a Canton apartment accidentally fired a shot and wounded his hand, a police report said. Police went to Village Squire apartments, near Ford and Lotz roads, about 3:30 PM Sunday after being notified by St. Joseph Mercy Hospital that the Canton man had been there for treatment. According to the report, the hospital told police the 60-year-old man had claimed he shot himself while cleaning his gun. Police went to the man's apartment, but no one answered the door. Police spoke with neighbors who said they didn't hear the shot.The investigation was continuing.
ENUMCLAW, WA, 11/22/15: Police responded the afternoon of Nov. 22 to a PorterStreet address, where they found someone had suffered an accidental gunshotwound to the arm. No crime had been committed.
MARATHON CO., WI 11/22/15: A man has been seriously injured in a hunting accident in Marathon County. Sheriff's deputies say a 26 year old male was shot in the upper body by a 14 year old member of their hunting party on the 4900 block of Highway 153 east of Stratford around 8 AM Sunday morning. The man has been transported to St. Joseph's hospital in Marshfield with serious injuries. Lieutenant Fred Goch says the case is under investigation by the DNR.
CALEDONIA, WI, 11/22/15: A man from Alaska was killed in a hunting accident Sunday morning in the town of Caledonia in Columbia County, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The DNR told News 3 a 35-year-old Wisconsin woman was in a tree stand when a 39-year-old man was handing a .308 caliber rifle up to her just before 9 a.m. Sunday. The woman had mittens on and grasped the gun around the trigger. The weapon discharged and the man took a bullet just below the armpit. The man was taken to Divine Savior Hospital in Portage and then flown to UW Hospital in Madison, where he was pronounced dead. The shooting is still under investigation. The warden says no other fatalities involving weapons has been reported to the DNR since the nine-day deer gun season began Saturday. The Green Lake County Sheriff's Department reported a hunter died of an apparent heart attack while dragging a deer to his vehicle Saturday.
MOUNT NORRIS, WI, 11/23/15: Sheriff Jeff Nett said the 56-year-old Wild Rose man was hunting on his property in the Town of Mount Morris north of Redgranite Monday afternoon when he was hit. The sheriff says the man, Gregory Welk, was able to call 911 and his wife after he was shot. WLUK-TV reported Welk was airlifted to Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah where he died Monday night. Nett says investigators believe the shooting was accidental and want to talk to anyone in the area Monday afternoon. He says Welk was wearing blaze orange at the time he was shot. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is assisting the sheriff's department in the investigation.
OCEANSIDE, CA, 11/23/15: Oceanside police are investigating a shooting early Monday that left a man with a gunshot wound to the chest that may have been accidental and self-inflicted. A neighbor saw the man exiting his house on Thomas Street near Thunder Drive with a chest injury around 6:41 AM Monday and called police, said Oceanside police Lt. Leonard Cosby. When officers arrived, the victim told them he was removing his gun from his shoulder holster when it accidentally discharged. The man was taken by ambulance to the Tri City Medical Center and then flown by helicopter to Scripps Hospital. His condition was not known, Cosby said. Cosby said he had no information on the man’s identity and did not believe he worked in law enforcement. The man’s neighbor told police had had only lived in the home a couple of months, Cosby said.
VOLUSIA CO., FL, 11/23/15: A Volusia County man trying to kill a nuisance opossum Monday morning ended up at the hospital when a bullet he fired at the animal bounced back and made a hole in his leg, sheriff's deputies said. Alexander Smith suffered a bullet wound to his right calf when he crawled under his mobile home to follow the escaping marsupial and fired two bullets, deputies said. “Alexander Smith reported he accidentally shot himself while attempting to dispatch a nuisance opossum on his property,” deputies wrote in their report. The deputies were called to the North Janice Lane home near Ormond Beach where the incident occurred early Monday. Deputies learned that the animal showed up at the home at 12:01 AM Monday and Smith’s wife alerted him to its presence. The night creature went under the mobile home, so Smith grabbed his Winchester .22 caliber rifle and crawled under the house “in an attempt to dispatch the animal,” deputies said. Smith fired one shot and missed the opossum. He then fired a second round at the animal and felt a sharp pain in his right calf. Smith looked at his calf and realized the bullet had ricocheted off of an unknown object, entered his calf and exited by the right part of his shin, investigators said. Smith’s wife then drove him to Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach to have his bullet wound treated, deputies said. All indications are that the opossum got away, according to the report.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA, 11/23/15: No one was injured when a firearm was accidentally discharged Monday afternoon in Council Bluffs. Around 4:20 PM., police were called to the area of Story and Bluff streets. A group of boys were at a residence in the 500 block of Bluff Street when they found a Ruger 9mm handgun belonging to Frank Jozwiak, one of the boys’ grandfather, according to the Council Bluffs Police Department. The youths had the gun outside. While a 12-year-old boy was holding the firearm, he “got spooked” and fired into the ground, Sgt. David Dawson said. The boys didn’t know the gun was loaded.
STORY, IN, 11/23/15: An Indianapolis man accidentally shot himself in the knee while hunting in southern Brown County this week. Daniel Ozment, 28, was hunting for deer south of Story on Nov. 23, according to a press release from Indiana DNR Law Enforcement District 6. He put his .357 magnum revolver handgun in his pocket with the hammer pulled back. When Ozment got himself into position to hunt for the day, the gun fired in his pocket and hit his right knee, the press release said. Ozment's friends were able to take him to the Story Inn to meet an ambulance. He was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital.
NEWARK, OH, 11/23/15: A man injured his foot Monday night after accidentally shooting himself with a shotgun. According to a Newark police report, officers were called to the 400 block of Eddy Street around 9 PM Monday on a report of a person with a gunshot injury. Sgt. Scott Snow said the man originally told police he had been shot near the intersection of Hoover and Buckingham streets. However, further investigation revealed the man had shot himself in the foot with a shotgun on the first block of North Street. Snow said officers were able to locate the shotgun, which had shotgun shells with it, discarded on Log Pond Run. He said it was lucky police found the firearm before any children did. "It was a recipe for disaster," he said. The man was taken to Licking Memorial Hospital and then transported to a Columbus area hospital for treatment of his injury. The man could face charges for providing false information to police. Detectives also are investigating whether the man legally was allowed to possess a firearm, Snow said. No other injuries were reported.
MARION, OH, 11/23/15: Within 20 minutes of Amanda Swartz's call that a family member had been robbed and shot, officers took her into custody as the alleged shooter. The Monday shooting is considered accidental, according to the Marion Police Department. "We were able to determine that she was in possession of a firearm, was trying to clear the firearm or make it safe, he was standing next to her ... the gun fired (and) shot him," Lt. Chris Adkins said. The victim, a 13-year-old boy, was wounded below the waist but is expected to fully recover and was alert at the scene, Adkins said. Swartz, a convicted felon with an additional out-of-state warrant, was arrested on five charges: weapons under disability and being a fugitive from justice, both felonies, and misdemeanor charges of negligent assault, tampering with evidence and falsification. Swartz is 29 and lives at 378 Nunin Court, according to police records, which state the incident was reported in that block. She initially told investigators that the victim was robbed in an alley on Windsor Street, behind her residence. Swartz said the victim was her nephew, but Adkins said he may be a cousin. Court records show Swartz was charged in Marion Municipal Court with weapons under disability and being a fugitive from justice, but the case has not been transferred to the Common Pleas Court yet. A call to her attorney, Todd Workman, was not returned.Marion County court records did not show prior felony cases locally, and past city court convictions were traffic- or animal-related.
DAYTON, OH, 11/24/15: A man who police said told them he had been robbed actually shot himself in the hand and was taken to a hospital. A Dayton sergeant said the injury is not life threatening. Police and a medic unit were dispatched to an address on Strand Avenue about 9:52 PM on a report of a possible shooting. The medic unit took the man to Miami Valley Hospital. The sergeant did not have information about the man’s age or what kind of weapon was used in the incident, which is being investigated as an accidental shooting.
BATON ROUGE, LA, 11/24/15: A teenager was arrested in a shooting Tuesday night in Baton Rouge that left a woman critically wounded outside a Waffle House restaurant. The 16-year-old boy was booked on counts of negligent injuring and juvenile in possession of a firearm, Baton Rouge Police spokesman Cpl. Don Coppola said. A 19-year-old woman was found shot in the back while sitting in the front passenger seat of a Toyota Camry at the restaurant at 2363 College Drive, Coppola said. Detectives believe the shooting happened in the 5000 block of Florida Street as the teenage boy, who was sitting in the rear seat of the Camry, accidently fired the handgun. The victim was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries but is now in stable condition, Coppola said. The juvenile was booked into the East Baton Rouge Juvenile Detention Center.
NATCHEZ, MS, 11/24/15: A Natchez teen charged in a 2014 murder case was reportedly shot by accident shortly after leaving the courtroom where he testified against his co-defendant. Natchez Police Detective Jerry Ford said Emmanuel C. Latham Jr. was shot in the left leg by a relative holding a handgun at Latham’s Hampton Court residence at approximately 3 PM Tuesday. “(Latham) was supposedly accidentally shot by the relative, but we are looking into it at this point, and it is still under investigation,” Ford said. The bullet appeared to have gone through Latham’s leg, Ford said. Latham was taken to Merit Health Natchez with non-life-threatening injuries. Latham testified against Eddie Minor III Tuesday in Minor’s trial on charges of murder and armed robbery for the shooting death of Jessie Taylor, 16. The trial ended with a mistrial after jurors could not agree on a verdict. Latham is a co-defendant in the case. He likely left the courtroom at approximately 2 PM.
LIMERICK, ME, 11/24/15: A woman who was preparing to shoot a coyote in her backyard on Tuesday accidentally fired her gun into the floor and the ricochet hit a friend. York County Sheriff’s deputies and rescue workers were called to a house on Elm Street in Limerick at 8:30 AM Tuesday for a report of a woman with a hand injury. Deputies learned that Debra Baptista had spotted a coyote in her back yard staring at her two small dogs on the porch – a Jack Russell Terrier and a puggle, a beagle-pug cross. Baptista hustled her pets inside and went for her .22 rifle to put down the coyote, which had been seen several times recently in the neighborhood, said Sheriff William King. As Baptista loaded the rifle it discharged accidentally, he said. The round hit the tile floor and though the slug disintegrated, fragments ricocheted and hit her friend Jessica Carroll, 42, in the hand, he said. Carroll suffered scrapes on her right pinky and thumb, he said. Limington rescue workers treated Carroll at the scene and she later went to a nearby hospital for treatment. Deputies do not plan on bringing any charges, King said. The coyote escaped.
YORK, ME, exact date unknown: York police are warning residents to lock their cars after several vehicles were burglarized Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Four automobiles were entered on Harvest Lane between 6 PM Wednesday and 6 AM Thursday. A loaded handgun was taken from one vehicle and an unloaded rifle and shotgun from another. York police Sgt. Brian Curtin said car burglaries usually increase this time of year as thieves search unlocked cars for Christmas gifts. Curtin said car burglary is a crime of opportunity and the most effective preventative measure residents can take is to lock their vehicles.
“It is really easy. Just lock your car,” said Curtin. He said the burglaries are under investigation.
LAUREL, IA, 11/25/15: Authorities are investigating what's been reported as an accidental shooting of a man in central Iowa. Deputies were notified about the shooting around 3:30 AM Wednesday in Laurel. The man was taken to a Marshalltown hospital and then flown to a trauma center in Des Moines. His name hasn't been released. Chief Deputy Steve Hoffman of the Marshall County Sheriff's Office says three people who were in the house when the man was shot are cooperating with investigators.
BIRMINGHAM, AL, 11/25/15: Birmingham police say they are investigating the shooting of a 12-year-old in the 4200 block of Messer Airport Highway. Officers say they were called around 3 PM on a call of a child shot. They found the child had been shot in the leg and was transported to Children's of Alabama with non life-threatening injuries. The preliminary investigation suggests the shooting may have been an accident. It happened at a playground behind Hayes K-8. Birmingham police are patrolling the area, driving up and down the streets in the community. They are also patrolling communities near an apartment complex off of Messer Airport Highway and in the neighborhood behind it. Police are interviewing witnesses right now.
CASS CO., NE, 11/25/15: The Cassgram reports that Murray Fire and Rescue along with Cass County sheriff's deputies responded to the report of a gunshot injury at a rural residence south of Beaver Lake about 5 PM Wednesday. A 19-year-old victim had been shot in the face. Cass County Sheriff Wm. C. Brueggemann said emergency medical personnel were tending to the victim when law enforcement arrived. According to the sheriff's report on the incident, "Deputies learned the victim had been accidently shot by his friend, age 17, of Murray, when the friend picked up the victim's AR15 rifle, mishandling the weapon, firing the weapon with the bullet striking the victim." The victim's mother called 911. The 19-year-old was transported to an Omaha trauma center by Murray Rescue. Advanced life support personnel from Plattsmouth EMS met Murray en route. The transport was not coded as life threatening. Authorities are continuing their investigation.
MACOMB TOWNSHIP, MI, 11/25/15: A Macomb Township man is dead after what his wife calls an accidental shooting. Detectives in Macomb County say a woman shot her husband in the chest on Wednesday and called 911 to report the emergency. EMS workers found her next to the man, trying to give CPR. George Chimilak, 75, was pronounced dead at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital later that afternoon. Deputies and detectives recovered a Smith & Wesson, 6 shot, .357 caliber revolver from a bedroom of the home. The woman made some initial statements to sheriff deputies and she was then brought in to the Macomb Sheriff’s Office for additional interviews. She has since been arrested and is being held in the Macomb County Jail.
PARADISE, CA, 11/25/15: District Attorney Mike Ramsey announced the name of the officer involved in a shooting that happened around midnight on Wednesday. Ramsey said the officer "accidentally discharged" his gun. According to Ramsey, Officer Patrick Feaster, a five year veteran of the Paradise Police Department, was the officer that shot Andrew Nicholas Thomas, 26, after he crashed the SUV he was driving. Ramsey stated the shooting was the result of an “accidental discharge” of Officer Feaster’s sidearm, and that the investigation has relied heavily on a forensic frame-by-frame analysis of the officer’s dash-cam video from his patrol vehicle. Ramsey explained the investigation and video so far has shown Officer Feaster was on patrol and parked off the Skyway near Foster Road in Paradise when he saw a SUV speed out of the parking lot of the nearby Canteena Bar, without headlights on, and speed down the Skyway. The officer began to follow the SUV, when he saw it speed through the red light at the intersection of the Skyway and Pearson Road and turn left onto Pearson Road. As the officer was trying to catch up with the speeding SUV, he saw it crash into the median and overturn just past Pearson Road’s intersection with Black Olive Drive, Ramsey said. The officer saw a woman, later identified as Darien Ehorn, 23, thrown out of the vehicle as it overturned and hit the roadway. The SUV skidded to a stop lying on the driver’s side just past Ehorn’s body, Ramsey stated. The officer stopped his patrol vehicle and got out to approach Ehorn as she lay on the road. As the officer got out, he saw Thomas begin to quickly pull himself out of the now-upward-facing passenger side window of the SUV. Officer Feaster then pulled his .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol to cover Thomas, as he felt Thomas was attempting an escape, Ramsey said. It was at this time the available evidence and video show that Officer Feaster’s weapon was discharged and Thomas was struck in the neck. Ramsey said the video and subsequent crime scene analysis showed the officer’s gun was discharged one time. Ramsey said the video also shows the officer was not prepared for and was surprised by the gun’s firing. Officer Feaster told responding officers that night he did not intentionally fire his weapon and that it was an accident. Ramsey said the officer has been cooperative during the investigation and is on administrative leave. The investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Ramsey also said charges of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated are pending against Thomas, who remains in the hospital in stable condition.UPDATE: Man ‘Accidentally’ Shot by Police Officer in Paradise Dies
COLCHESTER, CT, 11/25/15: A 14-year-old riding an ATV was shot in the foot in Colchester on Wednesday in what police are calling a hunting-related shooting. Colchester officers and state troopers responded to the area of Middletown Road and Bigalow Road on Wednesday afternoon. According to police, a 14-year-old boy was riding an ATV in a wooded area when he was shot in the foot. He was taken to a clinic in Marlborough with minor injuries, according to police. Officers from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also responded to the scene and are investigating the incident. Police did not say if they have located the person who fired the weapon.
TOLEDO, OH, 11/25/15: A 14-year-old Toledo girl, Madison Kirchner, and her mother, identified by Toledo Police as Denise Kirchner, were wounded on Wednesday, Nov. 25, after a .40 caliber handgun discharged. Madison Kirchner was reported in serious condition on Monday, Nov. 30, at Blank Childrens Hospital in Des Moines according to a hospital spokesperson. She was taken from her resident by Toledo ambulance to Central Iowa Healthcare, Marshalltown, and later transferred to Blank in Des Moines, police said. Toledo Police Chief Bob Kendall said Monday it has been reported to him Madison is expected to make a full recovery. Denise Kirchner was reported treated and released at the Marshalltown hospital, he said. The police report said the daughter was standing sideways to her brother, Dillon Kirchner, 18, who was attempting to disengage the handgun. It accidentally fired with the bullet passing completely through his sister and then striking the mother, who was in the kitchen, in the leg. The bullet then hit in the kitchen sink area and was recovered from the floor according to police.
BALTIC, OH, 11/26/15: A 5-year-old boy is expected to recover after shooting himself in the leg Thursday night with a handgun he found in an apartment he is living in with his mother and her boyfriend. The boyfriend, 27-year-old Adam D. Bays, of Baltic, was arrested Thursday night and is being held in the Tuscarawas County Jail on child endangering charges. Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Orvis Campbell said deputies received a call at 6:55 PM Thursday night of an accidental shooting at the apartment complex at 102 Baltic Haus Drive. He said the boy discovered a 9mm Ruger on a dresser, picked it up and unintentionally shot himself in his groin. The bullet passed through the boy’s leg and came to rest under a dresser in a bedroom. The boy was responsive with Sugarcreek EMS personnel and was flown to Akron Children’s Hospital, where he underwent surgery Thursday night. Campbell said the boy is in good condition and is expected to recover from his injuries that caused minor damage. Bays claimed the gun was locked up, but Campbell said there was no evidence of a lock to the gun cabinet and his story conflicts with how the boy said he was able to take possession of the gun. Deputies also seized multiple other guns from the apartment. Campbell said Bays has no known criminal record and has a conceal-carry permit issued out of Holmes County. The permit was confiscated and will be returned to the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff records show that in June while investigating an unrelated call, deputies discovered a loaded gun in the living room of the home and ordered Bays to lock it up. Children Services was notified of the situation, and other children living in the home were given temporary placement with a relative. The agency also was made aware of unsanitary conditions in the apartment. Bays likely will be held in jail until Monday, Campbell said, when a charge of third-degree felony child endangering is expected.
ELLISTON, VA, 11/26/15: Investigators say a child was accidentally shot Thursday afternoon. We are told this happened in the 5100 block of Duke Lane in Elliston. Dispatchers say the child was flown to a Roanoke hospital for treatment. A lieutenant with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office says the shooting happened a little after 3:00 Thursday afternoon. A 13-year-old boy had been shot by accident and was wounded in upper torso. Deputies say he was alert when they arrived at the scene. He was flown the Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. No names have been released and no charges have been filed.
EVANSVILLE, IN, 11/26/15: A woman is injured and sent to the hospital after her son accidentally fired a gun in a Target parking lot. Evansville Police got the call at 9:40 PM to the eastern Target for an accidental shooting. Police say Stacey Craven was hurt after her 15 year old son fired a handgun while both were in their van. Craven was struck by a bullet in the back. She was taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. In the investigation, police determined the shooting was accident. In a Facebook post detailing the incident, Evansville Police said the event is a reminder to be safe and secure with guns. No charges have been filed.
GREENWOOD, IN, 11/26/15: A man accidentally shot himself in the foot while shooting at a property just south of the county line. An Indianapolis man was taken to Community Hospital South at 9:30 AM Thursday, and police were called because the man had a gunshot wound. The man, whose name was not released, told police he and about 15 other people were at a property in the 10000 block of Shelbyville Road, east of Greenwood, shooting clay pigeons, according to a report from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. He had propped the barrel of the gun he was using, a 12-gauge shotgun, on his foot while he checked the weather on his phone. The man told police his hands were not near the trigger, but the gun suddenly went off and shot him in the foot, the report said.
WEST HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA, 11/26/15: Police and paramedics are being credited with saving the life of a 35-year-old Conestoga man who was accidentally wounded at a shooting range near Columbia on Thanksgiving Day. The victim, whose name was being withheld by police Friday, underwent emergency surgery and was recovering in the Neuro Intensive Care Unit at Lancaster General Hospital. The man was shot in the right leg shortly before noon on Thursday and was bleeding profusely. It could have been a life-threatening injury, said Josh Roberts, the operations manager for Susquehanna Valley EMS, whose medics responded to the call. “If a large blood vessel is struck, it could quickly lead to death if not contained,” Roberts said. “It it had been another 10 minutes, we could have been looking at a worse outcome.” West Hempfield Township police Chief Mark Pugliese credited first responders with saving the man’s life. The shooting occurred at the Columbia Fish & Game Range, at 4339 Fairview Road, and several people sprang into action, officials said. The victim’s friend immediately called 911, and West Hempfield Township police Officer James Gardill scrambled to the range and applied direct pressure to the gunshot wound on the man’s inner thigh, Roberts said. Susquehanna Valley EMS Paramedic Scott Briggs, Emergency Medical Technician Cierra Carr and Roberts got there five or six minutes after being dispatched, Roberts said. EMTs Nathan Cramer and Brendan Gardill (Officer Gardill’s son) also arrived in a Columbia Quick Response Service unit to help. Briggs applied a military-style tourniquet just below the groin and rapidly infused intravenous fluids to combat significant blood loss, Roberts said. Sam Weigard, president of the Columbia Fish & Game Association, said the shooting occurred [at the] club’s outdoors pistol range. Club members have access to the range and can take guests to it. Weigard said he does not know if the shooting victim is a club member. “To my knowledge, this is the first accident of that type,” said Weigard , a club member for 15 years. <a href="http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/man-showing-how-to-clea