By David Waldman
Saturday Jan 14, 2017 · 10:20 PM EST
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So, maybe 2017 is a good time to try this again. It’s been a while since I was last able to publish a GunFAIL list. We’ve gone on hiatus before, but as with the last time, I never stopped keeping the raw lists. And neither did the TSA, which reports a 28 percent increase in the number of guns people “forgot” they were carrying through airports in 2016, smashing the record previously set in 2015. Last year, of course, smashed the previous record (with a 19 percent increase), set in 2014. And 2014 had seen a 22 percent increase over 2013, which had seen a 16.5 percent increase over 2012, which had seen a 17.9 percent increase over 2011, which … well, you get the picture.
The new year presents us a new opportunity to pick it up again, since the FAIL never stops. Besides, New Year’s Eve is one of the two annual big nights for one of the cardinal sins of GunFAIL: celebratory gunfire.
This week’s list, covering the first seven days of the year, identifies 20 separate incidents of celebratory gunfire-related GunFAIL, including two fatalities and another 10 injuries. In fact, we saw our first child under 15 years of age accidentally shot to death just six minutes into the new year. Eighteen people accidentally fired their weapons into the homes or property of neighbors. Sixteen people accidentally shot themselves. Six people accidentally fired weapons they were cleaning, and five people accidentally shot family members. In other words, a pretty typical week, with the added bonus of hundreds of people across the country still not getting the message that firing their guns in the air is a spectacularly bad idea.
Unsurprisingly, Texans were among the top offenders in the celebratory gunfire category, and as if to put an exclamation point on the need to dial it back, this time they accidentally shot a sitting state legislator. Will the NRA will allow legislators to send a sternly worded letter to reckless gun owners? Will the NRA allow legislators to say there even is such a thing?
Sadly, we also saw that other annual event: someone being accidentally shot with a brand-new Christmas gun. This time, an 11-year-old North Carolina boy showing off his brand-new shotgun cost us the life of his 6-year-old cousin.
Below, you can review the GunFAIL findings for the first week of 2017.
ATHENS, AL, 1/01/17: The community is in shock after a New Year’s Eve party turned deadly for a small child in Limestone County. A five-year-old girl was fatally shot Sunday morning at a party on Buckskin Drive in Athens. Fidel Rodriguez Canchola, 34, of Buckskin Drive in Athens was arrested in connection to the shooting, which the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office said was accidental. Canchola, known as Rodriguez, was booked into the Limestone County Jail on a charge of criminally negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor. He is being held on a $5,000 bond. Deputy Stephen Young, public information officer for LSCO, said Sheriff Mike Blakely and Investigator Lance Royals located Rodriguez at his home at 7:20 AM Sunday. “At 12:06 this morning, deputies responded to a residence on Buckskin Drive, where the victim had been shot once in the chest,” Young said. “She was pronounced dead at Athens-Limestone Hospital.” Young said about 30 people were at the residence for a New Year’s Eve party. Initially nobody in the group said they had seen or heard anything except gunshots coming from down the street, Young said. Investigators recovered several .22 caliber shell casings at the scene. After interviewing those on the scene, investigators were able to determine that Rodriguez had allegedly fired several rounds in the yard toward the ground when the girl walked out into the line of fire, Young said. Rodriguez had left the scene, apparently on foot, before deputies arrived, according to Young. “When he realized what happened, he got scared and ran,” Young said. The .22 caliber revolver was recovered on the other side of a fence at the location. Rodriguez was arrested at his home Sunday morning without incident. “While every accidental death is tragic,” Sheriff Blakely said. “It’s especially difficult when you lose a young child. The sad thing is that incidents like this are 100 percent preventable with a little common sense.” The LCSO is reminding the community that while we all like to celebrate during the holidays, common sense should prevail. “Firearms are not fireworks. They should never be used when alcohol is consumed and all proper safety precautions must be taken.”
BIRMINGHAM, AL, 1/01/17: An Ensley woman has a bullet hole in her ceiling and she says celebratory gunfire could be to blame. Rosie Harris and her husband who were home at the time. She says it happened just as people were ringing in the new year. She's been living in her Ensley home for about 15 years and nothing like this has happened before. She says the bullet came through the roof and into her home, piercing the sheetrock and then landing on the floor of her house. She said the sound was loud and it really scared her. She immediately called the police. The scariest part for her: she was headed to her bedroom passing her hallway, narrowly missing the room where the bullet landed. "Like a big bam, like someone shook it. It was a big bang noise and the sheet rock from the top of the ceiling had fell to the floor and I kept saying, ‘What was that?’ And I looked down on the floor and there was the bullet," Harris said. Harris said she plans to have someone come out to see if there's any more damage to her home. She says, at the point, she is against any celebratory gunfire on holidays as things can go terribly wrong.
ATLANTA, GA, 1/01/17: Police say a 12-year-old child was accidentally shot in Atlanta on New Year's Day. A spokesperson with Atlanta police said units responded to the incident around 12:30 AM after the child's 38-year-old uncle unintentionally discharged a .357 handgun. Police say the uncle was shot in the hand, while the child was shot in the chest, although not through the chest cavity, according to authorities. Police say both victims were in stable condition before they were taken to the hospital.
RIVERDALE, GA, 1/01/16: Police say celebratory gunfire is to blame for stray bullets that went through a woman’s home. Bullets went through a home on Fledspar Way in south Fulton County around 2:00 AM Sunday. Homeowner Pamela Shirley said she heard four sets of gunshots. “I was so scared. Everybody was so scared. We wouldn’t turn the light on, and I’m like, ‘Boy these people are crazy,’” she said. Fulton County police were out Sunday collecting shell casings. Channel 2’s Matt Johnson went to Shirley’s home and she showed him where the bullets hit the wall and pierced her china cabinet. Shirley said none of the four people home at the time were hurt by the gunfire. “Anybody could get killed and I consider myself lucky,” she said. Shirley said she wants people to think twice before recklessly firing their guns. “Be careful. You never know. Innocent people will get caught in the craziness,” she said. Fulton County police said the search for whoever pulled the trigger is ongoing. Police warn celebratory gunfire can be a misdemeanor offense and carry a $1,000 fine.
HEPHZIBAH, GA, 1/01/17: A Georgia family is thankful to be alive after a stray bullet went through their roof and into their kitchen seconds after the start of 2017. The Turner family lives on Cougar Court in Hephzibah, Georgia. They sent WAVY sister station WJBF pictures of the hole in their roof. Family members say they heard celebratory gunfire in the area during New Year’s Eve. Just after midnight, they heard a loud bang in their kitchen. That’s when they noticed the hole in their roof and the bullet on their kitchen floor. Two members of the family had just left the kitchen minutes earlier while they were getting a snack. Investigators took the bullet as evidence and are trying to figure out who shot it. Deputies say if you shoot a gun into the air, you could be charged with a misdemeanor and face a fine of $1,000, or worse if someone is injured or killed.
COLQUITT CO., GA, 1/01/17: Officials say a Colquitt County man is dead after he was struck by a stray bullet during celebratory New Year’s Day gunfire. The incident happened at 12:15 AM in the 100 block of Yates Lane. Officials with the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office said Alonzo Cortez and his friends were talking and drinking in the front yard when he suddenly fell to the ground. Cortez died after being airlifted to a Tallahassee hospital. No arrests have been made.
WIMAUMA, FL, 1/01/17: Two men were injured over the weekend when they were shot by celebratory gunfire, the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office said. The first incident happened about 9:10 PM, Saturday (Dec. 31). Terry Wayne Snyder, 55, was riding a bicycle on Deerfield Street when he felt a sharp pain in his leg at the same time he heard fireworks in the area. Snyder was taken to Tampa General Hospital where, deputies said, he was treated and later released. The other incident happened about 12:09 AM Sunday (Jan. 1). Jesus Garcia-Renteria, 22, was standing in the front yard of 6010 First St. in Wimauma watching fireworks when a bullet struck him in the arm. Witnesses at the scene said they had no idea where the shot came from nor did anyone see any weapons. Renteria was taken to Tampa General where he was treated and later released, deputies said. Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offering a reward of up to $3,000 for information that leads to the identification and arrest of the unknown suspects involved in these two cases. Anyone with any information regarding the identity of the suspects and who wants to be eligible for a cash reward is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477), report anonymously online at crimestopperstb.com or send a mobile tip using the P3 Tips Mobile application. Crime Stoppers must be contacted first in order to be eligible for a cash reward.
DELTONA, FL, 1/01/17: Not long after leaving the scene of the fire-starting, Chitwood and his driver hurried to a home where a woman had accidentally shot herself in the hand while cleaning a gun. A domestic disturbance had occurred, deputies were told, and the woman’s husband had left the house. On the scene, multiple patrol cars and other first responders, including the Deltona Fire Department and an EVAC ambulance, created a scene for neighbors as flashing blue and red lights lit up the night. The woman’s husband was subsequently located as he walked in the darkness along North Normandy Boulevard near Epic Theatres of West Volusia. After Chitwood questioned him, the man was allowed to go; Chitwood said the man was not facing any charges at that time.
AURORA, CO, 1/01/17: Police believe a stray bullet may have struck a man in the head. Aurora Police Chief Nick Mets says at midnight, a driver stopped at a red light near I-225 and Alameda. That's when a bullet came down through his sunroof striking him in the head. The chief wants to use it as a reminder for people to not shoot guns in the air on New Year's. Chief Metz also says the person who was shot is expected to survive.
BOULDER, CO, 1/01/17: A Boulder man was accidentally shot in the chest after the gun his friend was playing with went off after the two had returned from a night of partying this weekend. Boulder police were called to Boulder Community Health's Foothills Hospital on New Year's Day after a 23-year-old male came in with a gunshot wound to his chest. Police said that the man and a friend had been out clubbing overnight and came back to a house in Boulder and started playing with a gun. The gun then accidentally went off, hitting one of the men. Boulder police spokeswoman Shannon Cordingly said he is expected to survive the gunshot. Cordingly said the incident is still under investigation and police have not yet determined if any charges are warranted in the case.
BROOKLYN, NY, 1/01/17: At least five men were shot in separate incidents early New Year’s Day, including a victim who told cops a stray bullet struck him inside his Brooklyn home, police sources said. The 46-year-old man said he was sitting in his 12th-floor Sutter Avenue apartment when heard gunshots just after midnight, and then felt a pain in his arm. He then realized he had been shot in the arm, he told cops.
LAS VEGAS, NV, 1/01/17: The Clark County coroner’s office has identified the woman police say was killed in an accidental shooting in the central valley early New Year’s Day. She was 22-year-old Maryann Nabil Rosail, of Anaheim, California, the coroner’s office said Tuesday. Metropolitan Police Department homicide investigators determined Rosail was in a parked car in the 3700 block of Cambridge Street, near South Maryland Parkway and East Twain Avenue, with three other people about 4:30 AM Sunday when a gun was accidentally fired inside the vehicle. She later died at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, police said. The cause of Rosail’s death was a gunshot wound to the side. The coroner’s office ruled her death a homicide. Metro spokesman Danny Cordero said Tuesday that no arrests have been made and that after an investigation the Clark County district attorney’s office will determine whether criminal charges will be filed.
RICHMOND, VA, 1/01/17: A mother driving home from a late-night church service with her two children was struck by a stray bullet early New Year’s Day. LaShawnda Pratt's finger was shattered by a bullet 15 minutes into 2017. After undergoing surgery Sunday morning, Pratt now has pins in her pinky finger. "I had just left church, me and the kids,” Pratt said. “And the bullet just hit the car out of nowhere – the front windshield." Pratt said she had just taken a left off Dabbs House Road onto Nine Mile Road and was headed towards the interstate when she heard gunfire. The young mother said she threw up her hand and basically caught the bullet when her windshield shattered. "I tried to keep as calm as possible, because I’ve got young kids and I didn’t want to scare them,” Pratt said. “So I kept as calm as possible and drove to [VCU Medical Center].” Pratt believes the random gunfire came from Creighton Court where officers were spotted later in the day Sunday. Pratt said she hoped police can find the gunman. "Just stop shooting on New Year’s," Pratt said. “I got a registered gun and I don’t go out and shoot just because I can." Pratt said after the initial shock of what happened to her wore off, she thought of young Brendon Mackey's story. Capt. Frank Carpenter tweeted Sunday evening warning folks about the dangers of celebratory gunfire. One Richmond police officer on patrol tweeted a photo showing the number of calls coming in for random gunfire just after midnight on New Year’s. The seven-year-old boy was killed after he was struck by celebratory gunfire on the Fourth of July in Chesterfield County in 2013. Pratt, who is out of work and trying to heal, said she never imagined something like this would affect her family.
DALLAS, TX, 1/01/17: After days of warnings about celebratory gunfire for the new year, people are finding bullets and bullet holes in some pretty scary places. The bullet hole through the window of Adam Murnan’s Uptown home is clear in daylight, but around four in the morning, he didn’t know what had happened. “I kind of blacked out. It was pretty terrifying, but we called 911, and they came pretty quickly,” Murnan said. He was asleep when he woke to a pain in his lower right leg. “A friend of mine actually eventually saw the little copper or brass coloring of the bullet. The other friend saw the hole through the window and the curtain,” Murnan said. His x-ray shows his shattered bone. Dallas Police would only say the case remains under investigation, but Murnan is convinced the bullet came from someone firing a gun into the air to celebrate the new year.
DALLAS, TX, 1/01/17: After days of warnings about celebratory gunfire for the new year, people are finding bullets and bullet holes in some pretty scary places. In Oak Cliff, Milani Arguelles said the same thing caused a bullet to come through the ceiling of her bathroom. “I saw the hole, and I was like Holy Cow that is a bullet hole through my house. Happy New Year. There’s a bullet hole through my house,” Arguelles said.
FORT WORTH, TX, 1/01/17: [I]n Jerry Serrano’s northwest Fort Worth yard, he said a bullet out of nowhere bounced off his shoulder just after midnight. “One of my friends, he says, hey you got a hole in your shirt,” Serrano said. His doctor told him he was lucky, but Serrano wonders what would have happened if he had been standing a little to the left. “He told me too, you know what, you’re just a couple of inches from your head. Now you’re head’s a different story. It hits your head, your brain could be sensitive, and it could do something to it,” Serrano said.
HOUSTON, TX, 01/01/17: Two people were injured by celebratory gunfire overnight, police said. One man, Jorge Leal, said he and his wife were hosting a neighborhood party last night when his friend Pedro was hit. He and his friend were standing near the street when the clock hit midnight - and Pedro was hit by a bullet. "[He] said, 'Hey, I feel something', and I said, 'What happened'," Leal said. "He took off his shirt and he was hit... I saw the bullet right there, there was a hole right here." Pedro was bleeding badly and they called 911, Leal said. "I was nervous because my kids were outside, everybody was outside," Leal said. The bullet narrowly missed his friend's heart, Leal said. Pedro was released from the hospital this morning. It's not the only injury from celebratory gunfire. A state representative from Hidalgo County was injured overnight. He is doing okay, officials said.
HIDALGO CO., TX, 1/01/17: A Texas lawmaker is lucky to be alive after an apparently stray bullet hit his head during a New Year's celebration early Sunday, authorities said. State Rep. Armando "Mando" Martinez, D-Weslaco, said his wife had just given him a kiss shortly after ringing in the new year with family and friends, and the next thing he knew, "it felt like a sledgehammer hit me over the head." A bullet fragment had just punctured the top of the south Texas legislator's head. Martinez said he had just stepped outside a home in a rural neighborhood north of Weslaco when he was hit. Martinez, 40, was transferred to the neurosurgical unit at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, where surgeons removed the bullet fragment. The fragment had penetrated his skull and lodged itself into the dura mater, the top layer of the brain, doctors told Martinez. The fragment appears to be from a .223 caliber round, said Martinez, who spoke to CNN by phone on Sunday while recovering at the hospital. "Had it gone any further, I don't think we would be having this conversation," Martinez said. Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra said Martinez's survival was nothing short of a miracle. The sheriff's office is investigating the shooting, and investigators "have reason to believe that (Martinez) was hit by a stray bullet," county sheriff's office spokesman JP Rodriguez said. "There is no evidence to indicate he was targeted," Rodriguez said. "It was a miracle last night. I was given another chance at life and I'm grateful for it," Martinez said. Martinez was elected to a seventh term in November and scheduled to take the oath of office January 10.
AUSTIN, TX, 1/01/17: Police are investigating after a woman was hit by a bullet while party goers were ringing in the new year on Sixth Street Saturday night. Victoria Rocha, 35, was transported to University Medical Center Brackenridge with a gunshot wound to her leg. Rocha tells KXAN she and her fiance had just parked minutes before and walked down to 6th and Brazos. She sat down on a bench across from the Driskill Hotel to rest her feet, and called her son at 12:03 AM to wish him a Happy New Year. “As soon as I hung up the phone we heard a loud bang out of nowhere,” said Rocha. “At the time I didn’t realize I was hit.” When she tried to get up she could tell something was wrong. “It was kind of numb and I could feel it burning like a hotness to my leg,” said Rocha. Austin Travis County EMS rushed her to the hospital where Rocha says doctors removed a 45 caliber bullet that had traveled from the front of her left thigh to the back. Austin police said they believe it was a falling bullet that came from someone firing a gun into the air nearby “I’m just left with why, I don’t understand,” said Rocha wiping tears from her eyes. There are currently no suspects in the case and detectives are expected to be reviewing video footage to see if they can spot the person who pulled the trigger. A HALO camera is on the corner recording around the clock and and providing a live feed to Austin police. The Driskill Hotel also has surveillance cameras. The head of security tells KXAN APD looked at their footage, but didn’t see much. Officers stationed at the hotel, along with employees at nearby bars say they didn’t see or hear anything either other than a loud crowd in the packed street. “Not a way to start the year, but thank God it wasn’t worse,” said Rocha. “I really hope that they find the owner of the gun or that somebody comes forward.” In the meantime, the mother of four will be home recovering and is unable to go back to work until her leg heals. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with medical expenses.
KANSAS CITY, MO, 1/01/17: As the metro celebrated the new year, some families in Kansas City were hiding from gunfire. As the clock struck midnight, celebratory shots were fired and homes were hit by stray bullets. “We were just sitting on the couch watching a movie and we heard this bang.” When Stephanie Swanson’s husband went to look, he found a bullet hole in their sliding door. The two began to panic as their three young children were sleeping soundly upstairs. “There was a moment there of 15 minutes, where we weren't exactly sure how to keep them safe,” Swanson said. Police believe someone sent a celebratory shot into the air 5 blocks away from their Hyde Park home. “I'm so thankful that it went through this window and not the bedroom window on the second floor. It easily could've been in my sons bed.”
KANSAS CITY, MO, 1/01/17: Across Kansas City, another metro mom knows the feeling. Jamie Moore came home to find a bullet hole in her ceiling and a bullet fallen right next to her 4-year-old daughter’s favorite spot to play. “Makes you think twice about where you live, if you're safe in your own home,” Moore said. On an evening that is supposed to be all about celebrations with loved ones and finding a fresh start, two metro moms are ridden with what-if’s and unsettling anxiousness that they can’t shake. “When you fire a gun into the air, sure it's fun for the moment. Until you are the one who is responsible for a bullet going through someone's bedroom window,” Swanson said. “We get to go to Home Depot and buy a new door and we're fine. So many parents, that's not their reality. A few minutes of fun on New Year’s Eve is not worth that ever.” If you’re caught shooting gun within city limits, you’ll be charged with a misdemeanor.
KANSAS CITY, MO, 1/01/17: People who live on the ninth floor of a building at Ninth Street and Baltimore Avenue in downtown Kansas City were just about home a few minutes after midnight Sunday when they heard fire crackers or gunshots. Entering their loft, they found three windows shot out and a bullet lodged in the drywall of their bedroom. There were three more bullet hits in the brick exterior of the building. Theirs was just one of 156 reports to Kansas City police of shots fired just after midnight Jan. 1, the result of people who felt the need to shoot a firearm to celebrate the new year. Theirs was the fourth police report taken in Kansas City in 2017. Police are getting really tired of this. “For 10 to 15 minutes after midnight (on New Year’s), it sounds like a war zone,” said Sgt. Mike Foster of the property crimes division at the Kansas City Police Central Patrol, adding that it puts officers on edge. There were eight reports of property damage believed to be caused by celebratory gunfire on New Year’s night in the Central Patrol alone. Many, if not most, celebratory shooters fire up into the sky, but those bullets still have to come down somewhere. Eleven-year-old Blair Shanahan Lane was killed by such a bullet on the Fourth of July in 2011, in east Kansas City. The man convicted in her death, Aaron Sullivan, served 18 months in prison. In the case of the loft shooting, however, the bullets came from a high-powered rifle at a more or less straight angle, leading police to believe they originated from another high rise about 400 yards away. Foster said police are still investigating, but they have witnesses and have identified a person of interest. “It could have been ugly,” Foster said. “They might have been having fun, but what they did was really dumb. It was dangerous. We’re really investigating this. We’re taking this case seriously. We’re going to bring somebody in and find out why they did this.” Foster suggests that next New Year’s, people pop a bottle of bubbly instead of popping off a gun. “Don’t do it,” he said. “It’s not worth it.”
FERGUSON, MO, 1/01/17: A Ferguson woman said her neighborhood's New Year's Eve celebration nearly killed - her and she has a bullet hole in her bed frame to prove it. It happened just after midnight New Year's Day when neighbors apparently fired several celebratory gun shots. The first day of the new year almost became the last day of Jammie Fuller's life. "I started hearing 'bang bang bang bang', and all of a sudden I felt something I thought hit my headboard," said Jammie Fuller, Ferguson homeowner. Fuller found a bullet had torn through her bedroom wall and lodged in the bed frame. "If it had been higher, it would've struck me in my bed sleeping," said Fuller.Fuller said just after midnight, shots of celebration rang out across the street. "There were just guns being shot, and it sounded like a war zone. Neighbors are shooting up other neighbors homes and allowing that kind of celebration," said Fuller. Fuller said this is not even the first time her home has been shot up during a big holiday. There are other bullet holes in her home - including one from a New Year's Eve a few years ago, which shot through her patio window."Every New Year's, every Fourth of July, you might be shot in your own home," said Fuller. In the middle of speaking with her, Fuller pointed out the sound of gunshots in the neighborhood. A sound becoming all too familiar, and the main reason she plans to move. "I want to live in a neighborhood take care of neighbors. I can't deal with it anymore," said Fuller. Fuller says the police have pinpointed the home the shots came from, but no charges or citations have been issued at this point.
LOUISVILLE, KY, 1/01/17: Metro police released a statement Sunday regarding New Year's celebratory gunfire. The statement came after two people were injured by celebratory gunfire. LMPD’s statement read: “Firing a gun into the air is not only dangerous but illegal since what goes up must come down. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the majority of injuries related to guns fired in the air are to the feet, shoulders and head, which can result in death. The LMPD is thankful that no one was seriously injured during last night's celebrations and we encourage the community to refrain from or report gunfire as well as any other illegal activities.” [...] A man, who was attempting to fire his gun when it backfired, has injuries that police believe are not life-threatening.
ADELANTO, CA, 1/01/17: An Adelanto woman was rushed to a hospital after she was shot while sitting in her home just minutes after the New Year celebration at midnight. On Sunday, January 1, 2016, at 12:08 AM deputies responded to a residence in the 17800 block of Bellflower Street following the reports of shots fired/shooting at a dwelling. “A female adult was struck by a bullet while sitting in her home,” said San Bernardino County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Jodi Miller. The woman was transported by ground ambulance to a local area hospital for treatment. The call history indicates three suspects were detained however, it is unclear if they were arrested, stated Miller. At this time, it’s unknown if the round was a stray bullet fired into the air during the celebratory News Years countdown. Or a bullet intended for the victim.
OAK HILL, OH, 1/01/17: An Oak Hill man started his New Year off in the hospital after his firearm accidentally discharged and left him with a gunshot wound to his head. On Sunday January 1, at approximately 1:30 AM, the Oak Hill Police Department (OHPD) received a call regarding a male with a gunshot wound to the head. Officers responded to 128 Bingham Street in Oak Hill. According to Oak Hill Police Chief Donald R. Arbogast, officers arrived at the scene and found 24-year-old Michael Hickman of Oak Hill inside of the residence with a gunshot wound to his head. Reportedly, he was conscious and alert and was transported by Jackson County EMS to a local hospital and was later flown to a Columbus hospital. As of Tuesday Hickman was listed in stable condition Arbogast stated. "At this time, it is believed that Mr. Hickman’s injuries were the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound from an accidental discharge of the firearm he was handling," explained Arbogast. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Madison-Jefferson Fire Department also responded and assisted at the scene.
FRANKLIN, IN, 1/01/17: A Franklin man accidentally shot himself in the leg early on New Year’s Day when he dropped his gun with a bullet still in the chamber, he told police. The bullet struck Kyle Berry, a resident of the 4000 block of Jason Avenue, in the leg, according to a police report. Police were called just after midnight on Jan. 1 when he went to the Johnson Memorial Health emergency room. Police searched the home to make sure the bullet hadn’t left the property. Berry told police he was carrying his 9mm handgun and dropped it accidentally. He had already removed the magazine, and didn’t know that a bullet was in the chamber, he told police. The gun went off when it hit the ground, the report said.
COLUMBUS, OH, 1/02/17: Columbus Police say a 12-year-old boy is in stable condition after an accidental shooting on the city’s west side. It happened around 6pm on the 680-block of Racine Avenue. Officers say they found the 12-year-old suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg. The boy told Columbus Police that he found a handgun in his grandfather’s bedroom and accidentally shot himself in the leg while he was holding the gun. The boy was transported to an area hospital and is in stable condition.
CHICAGO, IL, 1/02/17: A man was accidentally shot in the hand Monday morning in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side. The 20-year-old man was accidentally shot in the right hand by someone he knew in the 300 block of South Homan at 9:32 AM, according to Chicago Police. He took himself to Mount Sinai Hospital, where his condition stabilized, police said. The person who shot him was not in custody as of Monday morning, police said.
LAKEWOOD, NJ, 1/02/17: An employee of the Garden State Pistol Range in Lakewood accidentally shot himself in the hand while pulling a gun from a storage cabinet on Monday, police said. Police say the bullet entered and exited the employee’s left hand, and he was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The employee, who was not named, is expected to make a full recovery, police said. The accident occurred around 4:30 PM at the range on Swarthmore Avenue, police said. The gun was a rental, police said. Several customers, including two young boys, and at least one employee were in the area at the time of the shooting, according to police.
HUTCHINSON, KS, 1/02/17: Law enforcement authorities in Reno County are investigating what an apparent accidental shooting. Just after 8 PM, Monday deputies from the Reno County Sheriff’s Office and EMS were dispatched to 2203 Nickerson Blvd. on the west side of Hutchinson for a 15-year-old that had been shot in the chest with a shotgun, according to a social media report. It appears that two teens, including one who lived there and a friend that was visiting, had been out shooting shotguns earlier in the day. They were on the backside of a barn and there was an accidental discharge, striking the friend in the left upper chest and left arm. The young man was talking to officers and EMS at the scene and was been transported to Wichita by ground ambulance in serious but stable condition, according to the sheriff’s department. Names are not being released at this time.
FORT WAYNE, IN, 1/02/17: A man was seriously hurt in an overnight shooting at a Fort Wayne motel. The incident happened around 11:30 PM Monday at Regency Inn in the 1000 block of W. Coliseum Blvd. Police at the scene told NewsChannel 15 someone apparently accidentally pulled the trigger of a gun as it was being passed around a party at the motel. A man in the room was shot in the head, but the injury was not life-threatening. According to a Fort Wayne Police report, an officer nearby heard the shot ring out and saw people scatter into the motel’s parking lot. A woman then came to the officer’s squad car and told him someone had been shot, the report said. As the officer approached the motel, he saw a man holding a black “Ak-47 style rifle” and walking northbound near two rooms with open doors, the report said. The officer ordered the man o drop the gun, and he did, the report said. The man – identified as Christian D. Myers – was placed into custody. Inside Room 123, officers found a man identified as Tyler Eddington laying near a bed bleeding from his head, the report said. Police found another gun inside the room, along with apparent marijuana, the report said. Officers also found a bullet hole in the west wall of the room and holes on the outside of the wall and the inside and outside of the stairway wall, according to the report. Investigators identified at least two witnesses, and one woman went with detectives to police headquarters to make an official statement, the report said. Court records show Myers was charged Tuesday with criminal recklessness.
LAMESA, TX, 1/02/17: A woman has been arrested and an arrest warrant has been issued for a man in connection to the investigation into a drive-by shooting that was reported here on Jan. 2. However, those charges against the pair actually are in regard to a separate, alleged accidental shooting that took place about seven hours earlier inside the same residence, injuring a six-year-old boy. The boy’s mother, Jennifer Ruiz, 29, of Lamesa, has been arrested and charged with “endangering a child,” Lamesa Chief of Police Dale E. Alwan Sr. said on Thursday. He said the charges against Ruiz are a result of “her refusal to seek medical attention for the child.” An arrest warrant also has been issued for Benny Vela, 28, of Lamesa, charging him with “injury to a child” in connection to that same shooting incident. “Vela remains at large and is evading law enforcement,” Chief Alwan said on Thursday. Officers with the Lamesa Police Department first discovered that the boy had been struck by a shotgun blast more than 13 hours earlier, according to information from the police department, while they were investigating the drive-by shooting that had been reported about 6:40 p.m. in the 1600 block of North 8th Street. About 12:50 AM Tuesday, Jan. 3, officers requested an ambulance be dispatched to 1615 North 8th Street in regard to the boy’s injuries. The boy was taken by Medical Arts Hospital EMS to the local emergency room, Chief Alwan said, but later was transported to a Lubbock hospital where he was admitted.
AURORA, IL, 1/03/17: A 21-year-old Aurora man was seriously injured in what police said appears to be an accidental shooting last week. At about 11 PM Jan. 3, the man and two friends, a 21-year-old Aurora man and an 18-year-old Oswego woman, were apparently passing around a shotgun inside a home on the 900 block of Almond Drive when it went off, injuring the man in the abdomen, police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said in an email. The man's friends, joined by a 20-year-old Aurora man, took him to an Aurora hospital where he received treatment, Ferrelli said. No one else was injured, Ferrelli said. Alcohol apparently was a factor in the incident, for which there have been no charges, Ferrelli said.
PERRYSBURG, OH, 1/03/17: Charges have been filed after a man accidentally discharged a firearm in the locker room of the Planet Fitness location in the city on Tuesday. Brent Monday, 26, Maumee, has been charged with dischar