Accidental shooting sends one to the hospital
KINGSFORD, MI (1-26-16) — One man was taken to the hospital Monday night after he accidentally shot himself.
Officers from Kingsford Public Safety were dispatched to a residence around 6:15 p.m. The man, who has not been identified, told police that he shot himself with a 22 caliber rifle.
The man suffered a gunshot wound to the left shoulder area. He was taken to the Dickinson County Memorial Hospital.
The man’s condition is unknown at this time and the investigation is on-going.
http://abc10up.com/accidental-shooting-sends-one-to-the-hospital/
Deputy accidentally fires gun inside Civil Courts building
ST. LOUIS (1-26-16) — The St. Louis Sheriff’s Department is investigating an accidental shooting inside the Civil Courts building in downtown St. Louis on Monday.
According to a spokesperson for the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri it happened between 6 and 6:30 Monday morning before the courthouse was open to the public in an office used by deputies. Thom Gross says the deputy was “holstering his weapon” when it discharged. The bullet passed through a wall and lodged in a judge’s desk in the judge’s chambers.
Gross says no one was injured and the judge was not in the chambers at the time.
Michael Guzy with the St. Louis Sheriff’s department says the deputy has been suspended without pay pending an investigation and that it is too soon to know what, if any, discipline the deputy could face.
“We take fire arm safety very, very seriously for all of the obvious reasons,” said Guzy.
He says it is too soon to know what, if any, discipline the deputy could face but criminal charges are a possibility. He says a drug test is standard after any fire arm is discharged by a deputy on the job and the department is awaiting those results. Guzy says at this time there is no reason to suspect the deputy was impaired but he can say the deputy was not involved in any kind of security situation at the time the gun went off.
The St. Louis Sheriff’s Department provides security for 31 divisional courtrooms, according to the department’s website.
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/2016/01/26/deputy-fires-gun-inside-civil-courts-building/79368260/
Man suffers minor injuries in accidental shooting
Kirksville, Mo. (1-26-16) A Kirksville man only suffered minor injuries after accidently shooting himself in the hand over the weekend.
Kirksville Police responded to a report of an accidental shooting in the 1500 block of E. George Street at 2:20 p.m. Sunday. According to the police, Ryan Rusk, 26, was handling the gun before it went off and shot him in the hand.
Rusk was taken to the Northeast Regional Medical Center, where he was treated and released. He received minor injuries from the incident, police said.
http://www.kirksvilledailyexpress.com/article/20160125/NEWS/160129338
Norman man accidentally shot in hunting incident
MARTHA, OK (1-26-16) -A Norman man was shot in the face Tuesday in a hunting accident in Jackson County.
Dillon Mauk and three other men were hunting geese on private property and had set up several goose decoys in a wheat field. The property owner saw the decoys from a distance, thought they were real and fired his .22 rifle at them several times hoping to scare them away. When the geese stayed put, he fired several more shots and ultimately hit Mauk in the mouth.
The bullet hit him near his mouth and got lodged near his jaw, but Jackson County Sheriff Roger Levick says the man was up and talking after the incident. He was taken to the OU Medical Center to have surgery to remove the bullet, but all signs point to him making a full recovery.
The four men were hunting in an irrigation ditch with their blinds set up and were completely camouflaged when Mauk was shot. They told the sheriff's department that they thought they had permission to hunt on the land.
"My understanding was a neighboring property owner told them it would be ok to hunt there, but the actual land owner had no knowledge," Sheriff Levick said.
Sheriff Levick says the property owner was a few hundred yards away when he began firing at the field.
"He was at such a distance, you couldn't see the kids that were hunting. All you could see was a large number of, like a flock of geese on your wheat. He followed the letter of the law where you've got the right as a property owner to protect your property from the damages that they do," Sheriff Levick explained.
Sheriff Levick says the situation is an unfortunate one that could have been prevented had the hunters gotten more than just verbal confirmation to hunt on the land.
"If I give someone permission to hunt on my property, with that I will write it out where if they are approached by a neighbor or by a game ranger then they can present that they do have permission to be on my property. Had the land owner known or given permission and knew they were out there, this wouldn't have happened," Sheriff Levick said.
Sheriff Levick says in all hunting related incidents, his department hands the reins over to the game warden who, in this case, decided not to press charges against any of the men.
The property owner also decided against pressing charges for trespassing.
http://www.kswo.com/story/31063013/norman-man-accidentally-shot-in-hunting-incident
Jackson County man accidentally shoots finger off with 9mm pistol
Maysville, GA (1-16-16) A 21-year-old Maysville man accidentally shot his finger off while trying to holster a pistol Saturday, according to a Jackson County Sheriff’s report.
Nicolas R. Page told officers he was in his car shortly after 8 p.m. trying to holster his Glock 9mm pistol, when it discharged and shot his left index finger off with a hollow point bullet.
Page, who has a permit to carry a firearm and wears it on his hip, was in a car with two others when the shooting occurred, deputies said. No one else was injured and the bullet put a hole in the driver’s side rear window.
Page was transported by ambulance to Northeast Georgia Hospital in Gainesville.
http://onlineathens.com/breaking-news/2016-01-26/jackson-county-man-accidentally-shoots-finger-9mm-pistol
Woman shot at firing range
Deputies: AK-47 went off accidentally
CORDOVA, NC (1-26-16) —A young woman was airlifted to a Chapel Hill hospital following an accidental shooting early Tuesday afternoon.
Investigators with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office say a group of five people were target practicing at a range down Old Time Way — a private road off Old Cheraw Highway — when the 23-year-old was shot.
The group was target practicing with an AK-47, investigators say. The victim had taken her turn firing and was handing the rifle to another person when the it accidentally discharged and a bullet struck her in the knee.
Deputies rushed to the scene, along with an ambulance from FirstHealth EMS and crews from Cordova Fire and Rescue. Firemen placed orange cones in a nearby hay field to set up a landing zone for the helicopter.
Around 2:30, the ambulance drove closer to the landing zone. The woman — whose name has not been released — could be heard screaming in pain from several hundred yards away.
The helicopter landed less than 10 minutes later. The victim was then transferred from the ambulance and flown to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill as a precaution.
Investigators say no charges will be filed.
According to statistics with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, based in Atlanta, Georgia, there were 215,422 unintentional, non-fatal firearms injuries reported from 2001 to 2013. Nearly 8 percent of those — 16,422 — were in 2013.
Statistics show that unintentional, non-fatal gunshot wounds are not even in the top 20 leading causes for non-fatal injury among any age group. However, unintentional injuries from a BB or pellet gun shot are the 20th-leading cause of injury for ages 10-14.
In 2014, records show there were 586 unintentional firearm-related deaths in the United States.
https://yourdailyjournal.com/top-stories/21316/woman-shot-at-firing-range
3-year-old shot in Algiers
Algiers, LA (1-26-16) Police say a child was accidentally shot while a man was cleaning his gun at a home on Huntley drive. The child was driven to a Winn Dixie a few blocks away where a deputy was working, which is when police and EMS were called to the scene. The child was taken to University Hospital in New Orleans. Police say the child was in surgery, condition unknown at this time. The man whose gun discharged is being questioned, no arrest has yet been made.
http://www.wdsu.com/news/local-news/new-orleans/3yearold-shot-in-algiers/37658034
Akron teen accidentally shoots girlfriend with dad's gun, police say
(shooting occurred the 1st, police discovered original story was a lie)
AKRON, Ohio (1-26-16)— An Akron teen accidentally shot his 13-year-old-girlfriend in the stomach with his father's gun, Akron police said.
The teen was arrested on charges of felonious assault. His case is in Summit County Juvenile Court.
The boy's father, Tony Cox, 43, is charged with possessing a weapon despite having a felony record. His case has been bound over to Summit County Common Pleas Court.
The teen and his girlfriend attended First Night Akron on New Year's Eve at Lock 3 park. They left about 10 p.m. and went back to the teen's house in the 800 block of East Crosier Street. He grabbed his father's gun and began shooting at a garbage can with a target painted on the side for practice, according to court records.
The teen accidentally shot his girlfriend in the stomach. He drove her to his grandmother's house. The grandmother drove the girl to Akron Children's Hospital, court records say.
The two teens initially told police that a fight broke out at Lock 3 near the parking deck. They said a group of men started fighting, someone fired gunshots and that they ran back to their car and discovered that the girl had been shot.
Detectives asked officers working security at the event about a shooting. No one called to report gunshots or fighting from the Lock 3 that night, police said.
Officers questioned the teens again. They both admitted they made up the story about the Lock 3 fight, police said. The boy then told police he used his father's gun for the shooting.
Akron officers found the revolver on top of the refrigerator in the home, according to court records.
Cox is not allowed to possess a gun because of a criminal history that includes two convictions for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity in crack cocaine trafficking cases.
He was sentenced to serve four years in prison in 2010 in one case and three years of probation in a similar case in 2000.
He also was sentenced to one year in prison in 2008 for two counts of domestic violence and one count of possessing a weapon as a felon.
http://www.cleveland.com/akron/index.ssf/2016/01/akron_teen_accidentally_shoots.html
Law & Order: Pawn shop employee shoots finger while cleaning handgun
St. Augustine, FL (1-27-16) A man was injured Tuesday morning after accidentally firing a pistol while cleaning it at a St. Augustine pawn shop.
St. Johns County Fire Rescue took Edward William Pomar III to Flagler Hospital after he shot himself in the ring finger of his left hand, according to an incident report from the St. Augustine Police Department.
An officer responded to USA Pawn Shop on the 2500 block of Ponce de Leon Boulevard around 10:30 a.m. after a report of an accidental shooting, police said.
The responding officer said he found Pomar, 62, sitting in the corner, alert and applying pressure to his left hand with a towel, according to the release.
Pomar, who was later identified as the store’s manager, told the officer he had been cleaning a Beretta semi-automatic handgun that he thought was unloaded when the gun fired and injured his hand, police said. Pomar told the officer he felt embarrassed but otherwise OK.
A witness who was in the shop when the gun went off confirmed Pomar’s version of events, according to the report.
The officer found nothing suspicious about the incident, police said.
http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2016-01-26/law-order-pawn-shop-employee-shoots-finger-while-cleaning-handgun#.VqiTSxyxWrg
Kennett loses long-time businessman
Kennett, MO (1-26-16) Long-time Kennett businessman Adolphus Riggs III, 72, died Monday. According to Captain Tim Trowbridge of the Kennett Police Department, officers were called to the 800 block of Emerson Street Monday morning. Investigators determined that the death appears to be an accidental shooting. Trowbridge reports that the preliminary investigation shows that Riggs returned home from a hunting trip sometime Sunday night. Apparently, while unloading his hunting shotgun, Riggs accidentally fired a single round, which struck him in the chest.
Riggs, owner of Riggs Supply, was actively involved in the community over the years. A 32nd Degree Mason, he served as local lodge president. He was a Shriner, was very active in the Boy Scouts as well as the local American Legion and VFW. Riggs was a member of the Eagles Club and Kennett Country Club and was past area chairman for Ducks Unlimited.
Riggs was the organizer of and for many years led Scouts in the distribution of American flags on Flag Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.
Trowbridge added that the KPD was thankful for the service Riggs rendered as a reserve police officer in 1974-1976. "Mr. Riggs continued to have personal contact with our officers and was always proud to boast about his serving in the past." Police Chief Johnny Dennis added that Riggs has willingly contributed to the department throughout the years in many ways and that his loss would be felt.
Riggs attended Central Methodist University and served his country in Vietnam from 1967-1969.
As of press time no memorial service had been announced.
(shooting date; 1-20-16)
Police identify child who found gun, accidentally shot self
FLINT, Mich. (1-25-16) — Police have released the name of a 3-year-old boy who died in Flint after apparently finding a loaded gun and accidentally shooting himself.
Flint police Chief James Tolbert tells The Flint Journal (http://bit.ly/1RIXXx3 ) that Karmelo Johnson was found dead after shooting himself in the head last Wednesday with a pistol at his great-grandparents' home.
Police say a preliminary investigation indicated that the child found the unsecured weapon and that the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.
Tolbert says the gun wasn't registered and investigators believe the adults present at the time weren't aware there was a handgun in the home. Tolbert has said his agency was seeking help from federal authorities to trace the gun and find out how it got into the home.
No arrests have been announced.
http://www.thealpenanews.com/page/content.detail/id/1028503/Police-identify-child-who-found-gun--accidentally-shot-self.html?isap=1&nav=5012
