Accident?

"I want my baby out of jail. He's just a young boy. He didn't do anything wrong. It was a freak accident." These are the words of Marsha McMillan, a grandmother whose boys fired a 30-30 rifle into the air on New Year's night.

Neighbors complained. According to the news report, Roberto Bracey "removed the clip but didn't realize a bullet was still left in the chamber." At some point afterwards, Roberto Bracey had the gun in his hands, pointed it in the direction of his friend, Marquies "Hugga" Thomas, and pulled the trigger.

Thomas, who was shot in the chest, was pronounced dead at the University of Mississippi Medical Center approximately two hours later. Oddly, other reports state the gunshot wound was to the victim's leg. Bracey has been arrested and charged with murder.

It's a tragedy when a friend kills a friend due to negligence ignorance or stupidity. What many people may not understand, or refuse to accept, is that this tragedy was not a "freak accident" as Ms. McMillan claims. People who fire guns into the air in celebration are inherently negligent. They do not have any concern for gravity or perhaps they believe the lead projectiles will safely orbit the Earth for eternity. Celebratory shots fired into the air kill people almost every year. So, by the very nature of his prior actions of firing a gun into the air, Roberto Bracey was either woefully ignorant or he did not give a damn about the lives of others.

Reportedly Roberto Bracey removed the magazine from the rifle. I have to wonder if it was a lever action rifle with a tubular magazine. If the media cannot agree on the location of the fatal wound, then how can we expect them to get firearms esoterica correct? Lever action rifles are by far the most common 30-30 rifles. The 30-30 cartridge is a rimmed cartridge that does not feed well from a box magazine. A quick scan of any gun shop or pawn shop rifle rack is all that is necessary to determine that the 30-30 cartridge is far and away more common in a lever action rifle, whether Winchester, Marlin or other manufacturers. However, the Winchester 54, the Savage 840 and the Remington 788 do exist. All are bolt action, magazine fed rifles available in 30-30 WCF.

Lets suppose that Roberto Bracey did have a 30-30 rifle with a box magazine, and that he did remove the magazine but failed to check the chamber afterwards. These actions demonstrate a complete ignorance of basic gun handling. His ignorance does not absolve him of responsibility. If he were to don scrubs and a surgical mask, and attempt to perform cardiac surgery, would his ignorance of medicine excuse him from his actions?

No. There is the expectation that reasonably intelligent people will try to prevent the killing of others, and will abstain from handling items that may kill others if they are ignorant of their use. Roberto Bracey demonstrated ignorance, and he demonstrated that he did not give a damn. At least he did not give a damn until he suddenly realized the life was escaping from him friend. I feel sadness for Roberto Bracey. His grief must be a heavy burden. However, he is responsible for his actions, no matter how much he may regret them afterwards. He killed Marquies Thomas, and Marquies Thomas is in the cold January ground, never to breathe or walk again. Roberto Bracey and his family may try to shift blame to the slow response of an ambulance service, to the short staffing of an Emergency Department, or anywhere else they may dream up. The fact is, Marquies Thomas would be alive if Roberto Bracey had not behaved recklessly, negligently, and foolishly with a gun.

I do not think first degree murder charges are applicable, but there is definitely a case for negligent homicide. Roberto Bracey is where he belongs. If he ever handles a loaded gun again, hopefully it will be after he learns to use it safely.

Clear that Chamber!

Be advised, this is not Xavier's hand...... Warm regards for recovery should be directed to the actual shooter in question.

"I decided to share my accident from a couple months ago. Glock 19.

I was "sure" I had cleared it. Clip was removed and empty on the table. I reached across the table aiming at the wall to drop the hammer so I could complete disassembly and was resting my left hand on top of the slide, slightly forward such that (apparently) the edge of my palm was down in front of the muzzle.

The huge loss of skin must have been from the muzzle blast. Well, the pictures speak for themselves. The wound is now closed and looks pretty good, but the nerves have not completed healing and the hand surgeon says it will be another two months before my hand and little finger feel normal again.

I share, hoping that my experience will help others realize that no matter how old you are and how many years of experience you have, it just takes a momentary lapse of concentration to do stuff like this ... or worse.

Like I told my understanding wife ... nothing anyone can say will teach me anything more than I learned the hard way. But fire away if you must. I am just hoping this helps someone else learn / re-learn the easy way ... never let anything or anyone make you lose your concentration and focus.

And no I don't blame the Glock. This is MY fault and my fault alone. The Glock is not a hard weapon to clear."

Another One

Sailor says he didn’t know gun was loaded

The Associated Press
Wednesday Feb 18, 2009 9:56:45 EST

Milwaukee — A Wisconsin sailor told police in Virginia he didn’t realize his gun was loaded when he pointed it at his girlfriend’s head and pulled the trigger, killing the woman. Darren Mackie is charged with second-degree murder in the death of fellow Navy sailor, 20-year-old Caitlin Trask.

A report in the Newport News Daily Press says the 22-year-old Mackie, from Chippewa Falls, told investigators he was playing with his gun at his Navy apartment in Newport News, Va. Thursday, walked up behind Trask, pointed the weapon at her head and pulled the trigger. A criminal complaint says Mackie then called 911.

Mackie is stationed aboard the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge. Trask, of North Andover, Mass., was stationed on the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Darren W. Mackie is charged with second degree murder in the death of his once live-in girlfriend, Caitlin E. Trask. "Mr. Mackie advised that he was playing with his firearm and walked up behind the victim and pointed the weapon at her head and pulled the trigger," Police Detective J.T. Williams wrote in a criminal complaint on file in Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. "He further stated that he did not know the gun was loaded." The complaint went on to say that Mackie then called 911. IT3 Trask was found shot once in the head. She was deceased. Newport News police have charged Airman Darren Mackie with murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Darren Mackie is being held without bond.

"It was just a terrible accident and she was only 20 years old," said Mary Trask of Haverhill, the mother of Caitlin Trask.

No. It was not an accident, It was stupidity. Caitlin Trask died because her boyfriend was an idiot. Don't point a gun at something you do not wish to destroy.

If you think a gun is unloaded, you don't know it's unloaded. OPEN THE CHAMBER and verify it. If you don't know how to open the chamber, then put the damned gun down and step away.

If the gun is truly unloaded, then STILL don't point it at your girlfriend and pull the trigger. If you do, you are an idiot, and you should not be allowed to breed. Instead you should be behind bars where you cannot infect the human race with your own special brand of chronic cerebal vaccuum.

Foreboding Photos

The young couple had a blast shooting skeet with their family that Saturday. Afterwards they had lunch and visited through the afternoon. Joshua and Alaina Beasley had been married for three months, and were very much in love.

When the newlyweds got back home, they decided to engage in a little house clearing practice, in case their home was ever invaded. They had done this before. Joshua Beasley had completed a gun safety course, and felt as though he knew how to handle firearms safely. As he entered the kitchen where Alaina stood by the sink, she pointed her finger at him, pretending to have a gun. Joshua Beasley shouldered his shotgun and pulled the trigger.

The resounding blast was deafening and horrific. Alaina was shot in the right shoulder. She crumpled to the floor and cried for her husband to call 911 as he struggled to locate his cell phone. As she slipped into unconciousness, Alaina's last words to her husband were "I love you." Josh pleaded with the dispatcher as he pressed a towel to his wife's hemorrhaging wound. Paramedics rushed Alaina Beasley to BryanLGH Medical Center West. Joshua Beasley was taken into police custody for questioning.

Initial news reports alluded to the old "I was cleaning my gun" excuse. Later, Josh claimed something was wrong with his shotgun, that he loaded it and put it away. When he took it out again for his house clearing drill, he forgot it was loaded. Court papers assert Joshua Beasley loaded the shotgun with three rounds Saturday night and walked around the couple's apartment "pretending to clear the house for an intruder as he and his wife had practiced in the past."

Once he had answered the police questions and had been released from custody, Joshua Beasley went to the hospital. He discovered that the errant blast had lacerated Alaina's aorta. Surgeons had to remove part of her right lung. As doctors struggled to stabilize her afterwards, Alaina died.

From Hecate:

"The deceased wife had posted pictures of herself, her husband, and other family members on MyWedding.com showing all of them handling firearms in extremely unsafe ways. Her page is still up, but has been password-protected for family privacy.

I saw the photos and read the accompanying narrative before the site was secured, and as a firearm-safety fanatic found it horrifying. Here we obviously had people with the best of intentions operating at the level of unconscious incompetence. They honestly did not know how much they did not know."

I agree, and the photographs do not surprise me. The photo above was captioned "Watch out! (Uncle Doug was the brave one to take this picture! We triple checked to make sure ALL of the guns were unloaded! lol!)"

From her blog, Alaina wrote:

"GUNS! Yes, since we've been married we (I say "we" but I mean "Josh" lol!) have bought two guns- Glock 19 9mm and a 12 gage[sic] pump action shotgun. I have to admit it's pretty fun to go shooting. The 12 gage[sic] wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be but the first time I shot it did kick me back a couple of steps. Now it doesn't even phase me. Josh and I practice clearing the apartment in case an intruder were to come we have a plan of action in place."

"I think its great information to have b/c you never know if you'll be in a situation where you have to deal with a gun. Plus once you understand them and have a healthy respect for guns they are a lot of fun."

It is clear that this tragedy was unintentional. To experienced gun handlers, the photographs of abhorrent gun handling speak for themselves. This family, the entire family, did not have a clue as to how little they knew. They were dangerous and had no appreciation for the lethal weapons in their hands. I can not blame them for being ashamed and making the photographs private. The photographs are a disgrace, and in light of Alaina Beasley's death, they have an ominous foreboding to them. Ironically, the photographs of gun posturing also help demonstrate the lack of intent and malice in Alaina's death because they are so blissfully ignorant of fundamental gun safety.

A couple of years back I had a feature on my blog called Idiots With Guns, in which I posted a weekly photo harvested from the net of incompetent and ignorant gun handling. Almost invariably these photos were of young people portraying themselves as Billy Badasses. Some readers understood. Others were appalled. After tiring of constantly commenting on the series, I wrote an open letter to my readers. Finally I let Idiots With Guns drift into obscurity, and later elected to bring it back. My interest in making it a regular feature had disolved in the criticism, however.

With the portent of tragedy frozen in time in Alaina Beasley's photographs, I have to wonder if that decision was right. If Josh Beasley had been a coworker of mine, and I knew he was interested in firearms, I would have persuaded him to get professional instruction. I would have used every means possible, from personal instruction to ridicule to attempt to get him to understand that the cavalier attitude he used when handling firearms could be lethal to those he loved.

That is what we, as competent and mature gun owners, should do. Educate those of us who are dangerous. Bring them into the fold. Help them develop into safe and skilled shooters.

Joshua Beasley has been charged with manslaughter in causing his wife’s death, as well he should be. Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought. The charge fits. In Nebraska, manslaughter is a class 3 felony. It carries between 1 to 20 years behind bars and a $25,000 fine.

Gun safety is serious stuff. You can learn it in a properly taught firearms safety course if you pay attention and are receptive to learning. To be safe though, one must practice what they have learned. The Four Rules of gun safety as condensed by Jeff Cooper are:
1. All firearms are always loaded
2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot
4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it

These rules are inviolable and redundant. You must violate two rules to have a tragedy. Sadly, Joshua Beasley violated every one of them.

Cracking Up

A patron was heeding nature's call at Carl's Jr. restaurant in Centerville Utah when his Kahr P40 came out of it's holster and hit the floor. The pistol discharged, shattering the toilet and frightening a woman in the ladies room next door. Injured by the shrapnel, the unfortunate man hiked up his britches, and left the bathroom holding his wounded arm to ask for assistance.

Paramedics responded to the shot along with police. The man's arm was treated for lacerations. The woman next dooe was treated for chest pain. The Kahr P40 was secured by officers. The unfortunate man was not cited.

This could happen to any person who uses a cheap floppy holster that will not secure a firearm without the help of gravity. Good holsters are available. They certainly beat getting the crap scared out of yourself.

Lady Luck Shines

"How did it happen? That's the scariest part of this whole short story. I'm not really sure. I'm a stickler for keeping my finger off a trigger. I'm a freak about checking the condition of a gun. The XDm has a loaded chamber indicator. All of this failed in a split second."

A negligent discharge described at Firearm Fun. It takes a man to own up to a ND.

Thank you for the story Kennard. You're blogrolled.

Blam!

"Uncle, how was your weekend?"

"Mostly uneventful, except for that negligent discharge."

Read more from Uncle. We are all one brain fart away from an unintentional firing of our weapon. Follow the Four Rules. If you only break one, everyone gets to go home safely. Break two, and someone may not.

A Shot in the Arm

Another negligent discharge is presented at Pistol Training.com.

Deep Concealment Discharge

From The High Road:

"I'm not eager to post this, but an airline pilot friend of mine told me that my AD changed his mind about how he carries on duty, and maybe my story will change someone elses' mind as well.

Friday, Sep. 5 is a day I will long remember. I'm 47 y/o, married, father of three (10,18,20 y/o olds) and I've been shooting since I was ten. I've never had an AD or ND; I've never been injured by a firearm. I'm the type that triple checks for safety; the type that reads the manuals of a firearm to know how it operates.

This spring, I bought a CZ 82 which is a Makarov design, 9mm Makarov caliber pistol. I've shot the CZ 75's on several occasions and I like the simplicity of the CZ design along with the all steel frame. I'm not a big fan of autoloaders, as they have a propensity for AD/ND that revolvers don't have. But, I figured the little gun would be a good BUG and good for the wife or girls to shoot and/or carry. At the time, I only had one handgun and that was my full size, Colt .357.

One big problem with the CZ 82 is finding a holster. I had looked at a lot of holsters and was intrigued with the Smart Carry holster for deep concealment. Reno had a big gun show at the end of August, and I had hoped to find the folks from Smart Carry there so I could look at their holsters 'up close'. Instead, I found someone selling a nylon version of this holster. He claimed that this holster was thinner and the nylon was tougher than the Smart Carry material, so the holster would last longer. At $30 the price was right, and the CZ snuggled into the pocket like it was made for it.

So, I tried out the holster first with the gun empty. I normally carry the CZ 'cocked and locked', and I wanted to make sure the manual safety wouldn't come off. The problem I had was that the gun wanted to slide into a 45 degree angle with that double stack grip canted over on the right side, which was uncomfortable. Anyway, the gun seemed to carry safely with the manual safety staying on, but the problem was comfort. I wasn't carrying with the gun trapped under my belt, it was below the belt and not comfortable.

I pulled up the Smart Carry site and the video they have of putting on a Smart Carry rig and tried that technique, which seemed to work. You have the gun carried on the centerline of your body, with the grip under (or just below) your belt and the barrel pointed straight down. On the morning of the accident, this is how I was carrying the weapon.

Friday morning and I've put the holster on, slipped the gun into the pouch and I'm planning to go to town on errands. The dogs are bugging me to go for a walk along the river, and I figure it won't take that much time. We live on a hill above a small river, so I take the dogs and head out down the dirt road to the river. At the river, I check the guns' safety, and it's still on (remember, this is a new position for me to carry it in).

I walked for three or four hundred yards along the river, as usual. Coming back there is a point at which I have to stop and pull the stickers out of my little Schnauzers fur. I squatted down to pull the stickers, and the weapon discharged one round into my groin.

When the weapon discharged, I remember standing up and yanking the weapon out of my pants, wondering just what the #$%^ had happened. It's an odd feeling being shot. The body is screaming that it's in trouble while the mind is racing to catch up on what just happened.

I realized I was bleeding pretty good, but not enough to have hit an artery. I safed the weapon, stuck it behind my back and put pressure on the wound. I then discovered a big mistake I had made---no cell phone! I had to walk back, about 1/4 mile to the house to roust my daughters and call 911.

I'll make a long story short in that I was Careflighted to a trauma center where a very good surgeon took three hours to repair the damage. The round was a 95 gr. Hornady XTP that patially fragmented. I had three holes in my penis and a smashed left testicle. I know this is a bit graphic, but especially the guys need to realize what can happen when you carry a gun 'ready to go' inside your pants.

I was discharged the next Monday, and a full recovery is expected. Folks, everybody needs to be really careful not only how they carry, but in what they carry. I can only figure that having the slide under the belt allowed the safety to come off leaving the gun cocked. The holster material was very thin, which apparently allowed the heavy denim of my jeans to bunch into the trigger guard and set the gun off.

One of the rules of choosing a holster is to get one that covers the trigger guard---but you also need one that is made of a material stiff enough to prevent anything from pushing on that trigger!

You also really need to think about a worst case scenario if you're carrying a semi-auto IWB that is ready to fire. Is that really a good idea? Or would a revolver be a better choice. I know that some jurisdictions have rules on firearm carry that make it almost impossible to carry except in deep concealment. But do yourself a favor and carry as safely as possible."

I want to be clear on a couple of items. First, this unfortunate injury did not happen to me. No further telephone calls or condolences to my spouse are necessary.

Second, I use the SmartCarry holster frequently with a cocked and locked 1911. I believe it is a safe and superior product. I have never had a 1911 become cocked and unlocked in it, much less discharge. Most holsters, if one looks at them critically, place some part of somebody's anatomy at risk some of the time. The difference between the holster used here and a SmartCarry holster is significant in the thickness of the material surrounding the firearm. That bit of thickness protecting the trigger makes all the difference.

Captain James Langenhahn Fired

US Airways pilot James Langenhahn, whose gun discharged in the cockpit of a plane landing in Charlotte , N.C., was fired by the airline and removed from the program that allows pilots to be armed, federal safety officials said July 24, 2008.

"The individual is no longer a federal flight deck officer," Kip Hawley, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said after testifying at a House aviation subcommittee hearing. Hawley refused to say say whether investigators had decided the negligent discharge was caused by pilot error. He did say unrealistic regulations and poorly designed equipment, specifically the Holstervault, were not a contributing factor.



More

We Are The Only Ones Professino Enuff.....

On May 3, 2008, Riverdale Utah Police Chief Dave Hansen was teaching a concealed carry class. The Chief was using his Glock service weapon as a demonstration tool. The Top Cop of Riverdale ejected his magazine, and reportedly held the weapon underneath a table to field strip it. A slightly different story comes from the police chief's brother, Neil Hansen. "He pointed it down, pulled the trigger because he didn't want to give it to a classmate not knowing for sure whether a shell was in there. And at that point, the gun discharged and [the bullet] had gone through his ankle," brother Neil states. Strange how that happens.....

"We were told the gun is the chief's personal sidearm, but it looked to me like he didn't know anything about the gun," student Lewis Walker said after the incident.

Responding to the gravitational forces underneath the table, the malicious Glock fohty, apparently the most dangerous cop shootinist evil black ceramic coated plastic assault pistol on the planet magically pulled it's own trigger and damned near blew the Chief's ankle into oblivion. Due to the Chief's heroic quick response, falling to the floor and squealing "I'm hit!" he was not shot a second or third time. Quick acting students began excitedly shrieking "Officer down!" as they cursed themselves under their breath for missing out on recording the latest You Tube video sensation.

Thanks to the professionalism of paramedics in the next room, the Chief was rushed to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden where physicians reassembled his damaged ankle with a bit of external fixation. A couple of surgeries and rehabilitation are looming in the future for Chief Hansen.

What can be learned from the unfortunate and undeniable exposure of Chief Hansen's incompetence?

First......All guns are always loaded. Do not point the damned things at something you do not wish to destroy. In this case, do not point it at yourself. Keep your finger off the damned trigger until you either are ready to shoot, or you have confirmed the weapon is unloaded. Guns do not shoot themselves. In a classroom setting, have two competent people check each firearm brought into the classroom, and then remove all ammunition from the room. Chief Hansen undoubtedly pulled the trigger of his handgun in preparation of field stripping it. I do not want to think he was so stupid as to pull the trigger in a classroom of students to determine whether his service weapon was loaded, as his brother states.

Second....The gun is not unloaded until you yourself, have opened the chamber and personally checked the chamber for a cartridge. If you pass the gun to another individual, they should be expected to again check the chamber to confirm it is unloaded. This is not an insult or a slight on your gun handling. A person is responsible for confirming the status of the weapon they are holding themselves. If you are handed a firearm that unintentionally discharges, you have only yourself to blame if you are too stupid, too shy, or too intimidated to recheck the firearm handed to you. This is the handler's responsibility, nobody elses.

Third......A city issued star on your epaulet does not confer gun handling prowess. If you do not know how to handle a firearm, put the damned thing down until you do. Do not be such a pretentious idiot that you end up teaching a class about a subject that you obviously know nothing about. If you do not know how to properly check a firearm's status, then how in the Hell can you claim competence in teaching gun safety? You can not. Bullets and triggers are unforgiving things. They will expose your incompetence every time.

Here's wishing Chief Hansen a speedy recovery and a lesson hard learned. Regards can be sent to:
Chief Dave Hansen
4580 S. Weber River Drive
Riverdale, Utah 84405
(801) 394-6616
dhansen@riverdale.state.ut.us

Gunfire Over Charlotte

It seems the first shot by an armed airline pilot has been fired.......A negligent discharge through the fuselage of an A319 Airbus. According to the MSM, a US Airways pilot reportedly may have been mishandling his sidearm, resulting in a tell tale puncture from within the cockpit to the airspace outside. The so called accident occurred Saturday over Charlotte, North Carolina, aboard Flight 1536 from Denver to Charlotte, as the plane was at about 8,000 feet making it's approach to land. According to investigators, the 124 passengers and five crew members were not placed at risk.

What the Hell?!!! The driver of an air taxi is jacking with his gun in the cockpit and nobody is at risk? The dumbass pulls the trigger and puts a bullet through the aluminum skin of the airborne bird and nobody is at risk? The last time I checked Charlotte North Carolina had a few people on the ground. Perhaps these investigators need to reconsider the law of gravity. The last time I checked, bullets do not disappear once fired, they do not enter Earth's orbit, they do not incinerate on reentry, and they have a disconcerting tendency to continue to travel until their energy is expended or they strike an object they can not penetrate.

So, how do we know said knucklehead was monkeying with his gun rather than doing his job landing his aircraft? All people eligible to carry guns in the cockpit carry the same weapon, the .40S&W H&K USP. The HK USP is not a pistol known for popping off rounds while holstered. As a matter of fact, the HK USP is a handgun known for it's safety and reliability. It has a thumb safety, and is a double action pistol which can be carried cocked and locked if desired. It is doubtful that the pilot carried the USP in this fashion though. Few people who carry a USP take advantage of the C&L option. In fact, the C&L option may not have even been present on the HK variant he carried. In double action, the pistol has a trigger pull that is long, heavy and gritty. Regardless, the sidearm has a track record of keeping it's bullets safely inside the gun, and "Aw shucks" from never being uttered. The only way for this pistol to "just go off" is for the man who carries it to pull the trigger. Sorry Mr. Pilot sir.........you may fool the gun ignorant suits in the board room, but you ain't fooling anyone who knows the gun you were dinking around with.

"The jet will be grounded at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport for several more days as repairs are made. The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it won't be involved in looking at why the gun went off but will investigate to make sure the plane is safe before it returns to service.

'We want to make sure there was no structural damage and no systems on board were damaged by the bullet,' said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. 'We want to take a look at the aircraft to make sure it's in an air-worthy condition.'"

Yeah? Well what about the man who pulled the trigger of the gun? Shouldn't he be grounded? How about rescinding his permission to tote a hogleg on an aircraft? Will someone please take away his right to endanger lives with a gun? Do you really think he's professino enuff? And if you think he is, then why is not everybody else?



More information here and here.

Incident Report (pdf file)

Michael Bane's thoughts.

Hattip to The Pawnbroker

ND

"When the gun went bang, it surprised the heck out of me, of course. It took about a half a second to realize what happened. The sound didn't seem as loud as I remember when I shot without hearing protection at the range. I chalk that up to the fact that the gun was down away from my face.

Then I realized that I was bleeding. I honestly don't remember if it was pain or the wetness of the blood. This all took maybe two seconds. I stood up and saw the blood all over my jeans and hollered upstairs for my wife to call an ambulance. I pulled my jeans off to see what was going on - I had a pair of longjohns on under them.There was a bag of rags and old towels laying there and I grabbed a handtowel which barely reached around my leg, so I grabbed the ends and twisted them. Then I walked/crawled up the stairs and laid down up there on my back and propped my leg up on a bucket. I noticed the pain by then and was afraid I was going to pass out - I had a cold sweat on my forehead and felt kinda woozy.By the time the medics got there, the bleeding had pretty much stopped. My leg hurt SOOOOOOO bad. They wouldn't give me any pain meds - I had to wait on the ER doc. 4 doses of morphine before it calmed down. I'm going to my family doc today and plan on getting my hands on my XRays.

All the ER did was wash the blood off of my leg, took an X Ray, listened to the pulse and checked what was still numb. Gave me a tetanus shot, a sript for antibiotics and Lortabs. Wrapped it up with pressure bandages and sent me home."

No, it wasn't me. It was someone who was experienced with firearms though. More here.

Divine Discharge

Kokomo Indiana--A thug shot himself in the balls after robbing a convenience store of cash and cigarettes. While the cashier bagged his loot, the thug pulled a Lee Paige while shoving his semi-automatic handgun into his britches. The slug pierced one testicle free of charge, and then lodged in the unfortunate criminal's leg. The criminal exclaimed that he shot himself and ran out of the store.

Coincidentally, less an hour later, police received a call concerning a man who had been shot nearby. 25 year old Derrick Kosch claims he was just minding his own bidness, concentrating on truckin' right, when a dark voice beside him tried to rob him......and in the ensuing battle, Kosch was shot in the groin, and the leg.

Kosch was arrested on robbery and criminal recklessness charges. Police say they are still searching for the gun. Kosch is still hoping they find his right nut.

Negligent Discharge Account

From The High Road:

So today I had a negligent discharge this evening. I got complacent and forgot that I had put two rounds of buckshot in my HD shotgun's magazine tube. I pumped it once nothing came out and I assumed that it was empty. So I decided to dry fire it. I brought it up to my shoulder and lined up the ghost ring sights and pulled the trigger.

The worst sound is when you hear a bang instead of a click.

My room smelled like gunpowder, my ears were ringing and I saw a golf ball sized hole in my mirror and I could see into my wall.

Seeing that hole and hearing that boom was the worst and most surreal moment of my life. The first thought that went through my head was, "I can't believe I just did that". The 00 buckshot did not penetrate through the house so that is a blessing.

After it happened I wanted to cry, vomit and a lot of other things all at the same time because I did not believe what I had done. I am going to keep the empty shot shell as a visible reminder of what happened today. I really thought that it would never happen to me. But further possible tragedy was averted because I had the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

Afterwards I went for a drive to clear my mind. I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight because I am so keyed up. I know I screwed up and I am forever going to be more careful. So that is my story...

Glock22

Charges Filed in the Austin Haley Shooting

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Second-degree manslaughter charges will be filed against two Noble police officers involved in the accidental fatal shooting of a 5-year-old boy, a district attorney said Friday.

Austin Gabriel Haley was killed Aug. 3 after one of the officers fired his .40-caliber handgun at a snake in a birdhouse outside a home in Noble. The boy was standing at a dock at a pond near the house when he was hit.

District Attorney Greg Mashburn identified the officers as Brad Rogers and Shawn Richardson. They would face up to four years in prison if convicted of the felony charge. Mashburn said he researched the law extensively, visited the shooting scene twice and met with family members of the boy before making his decision. "I take no pleasure in this decision," he said. "Although this shooting is accidental, with reasonable care and caution, the death of a child could have been avoided."

The boy's parents, who were at the news conference where Mashburn made his announcement, said they supported the prosecutor's decision. The officer who fired the shot believed the snake to be a rattlesnake, but it turned out to be a harmless black rat snake that is often mistaken for a dangerous snake, Noble City Manager Bob Wade said. The city of Noble had no animal control officer at the time of the shooting.

District Attorney Greg Mashburn has declared the child's death was caused by "culpable negligence". "I conclude that these officers failed to do something that a reasonably careful person would do, by firing a weapon at a non-poisonous snake that was stuck in a birdhouse without knowing what lay behind their location," he said.

Paul Bradley Rogers, a sworn rookie peace police officer, fired his sidearm at a snake stuck in a birdhouse. He misidentified the snake as a rattlesnake. The snake was actually a black rat snake. City officials, being the snake experts they are, claim this confusion between rattlesnakes and black rat snakes is not uncommon in the area.

The dumbass errant officer who could not tell a stuck black rat snake from a viciously attacking killer rattler took the life of a child. Paul Bradley Rogers killed little Austin Haley.
Let me rephrase that.......Paul Bradley Rogers took the life from Austin Haley. Paul Bradley Rogers took a beloved son from his mother, Renee Haley, and a beloved son from his father, Jack Haley. Paul Bradley Rogers is a killer. Regardless of the reasons why, this police officer is a child killer.

Robert Shawn Richardson was Rogers' supervising officer with the Noble Police Department. He was at the scene when the decision was made to place lives at risk to kill a misidentified but stuck harmless black rat snake with a handgun. Rogers had been on the police force about a month, and Richardson had been on the force for more than five years

Reality Check Time..............It does not matter whether the snake was dangerous or not. It does not matter whether the snake was stuck in a birdhouse or not. It does not matter whether the snake was poisonous or not. It does not matter if the snake resembled a black mamba and was spitting blood from it's eyes like a horney toad. Discussion of the species of snakes, statistics of misidentification between serpent species, and degrees of peril encountered by these police officers is simply smoke and mirrors thrown up by a police department and a city government that does not want to accept the truth.

It does not matter whether the officer was a rookie or a 20 year veteran with trophies from Camp Perry and a gold trimmed letter from Ronald Reagan testifying to his history of safe firearm usage. The fact that the shots were fired by a rookie cop under the direct supervision of his more experienced partner is simply more distraction from the central issue. These facts are true, but they are irrelevant.

What is relevant is the town of Noble Oklahoma issued a yahoo a firearm, and instructed him to go preserve the peace. That is irresponsible and negligent. They would not instruct him to drive a police cruiser without first ascertaining he knew how to drive. They would not instruct him to enforce the law without first knowing what the law was. Yet they instructed him to strap on a deadly weapon and allowed him to parade about town as their agent of law and order, without a whit of information in his head on basic firearms safety. None. The city of Noble, Oklahoma allowed that. If they gave him instruction on the safe use of his firearm, he did not retain the instruction, he did not comprehend the instruction, or he just did not give a damn in his quest to be the big bad snake killin' hero of Cleveland County. Simple instruction. Basic safety instruction. Instruction not deemed necessary by the city government of Noble, Oklahoma or the police department of Noble, Oklahoma.


The Four Rules
1. All firearms are always loaded
2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot
4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it

4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it.

What could be more simple? A precious life is over, an innocent child is dead because a town did not care enough to train an officer of the law in the most basic rules of firearms safety. A innocent life is over, an precious child is lost forever because an officer of the law did not care enough to avail himself to the most basic of firearms safety, comprehend and integrate it into his vocation, and follow it before his hand approached his firearm.

A financial judgement against the city of Noble will not bring young Austin back. A prison sentence for the officers involved will not give these parents back their child. A financial judgement will help wake this city government up, make them face reality, and will help insure they invest in basic firearms safety training for their police officers. Prison sentences will insure that the remaining police officers stay awake in the class.

Rule Four

Noble Oklahoma: The first shot was so loud it made the hair stand straight up on Jack Tracy's arm. The bullet hit the water just a few feet in front of the boat dock where he was standing. Instinctively, he pulled his 5-year-old grandson, Austin Haley, close to his left side and began yelling that there were people down by the pond. Then came the second shot, and the unforgettable thump of a 9 mm bullet penetrating a young boy's skull.

"It went right through the back of his head and came out the front,” Tracy said. "He was just bleeding severely and I knew, right then, he was most likely dead, right there.” Tracy thought he and his grandson were under attack by someone trying to kill them both, so he threw the boy into the back of a 4-wheeler and drove to his daughter's house about 200 yards away.

"Then two officers came out of the brush over there,” he said. "They didn't tell us they were the ones who had been shooting or that they had shot him. They didn't admit a doggone thing.” Much later, Tracy said, he found out one of the officers had fired two shots in the Crest Lane neighborhood, trying to kill a snake that had become lodged in a birdhouse on the back porch of a house just up the hill from Tracy's pond.

Police had gotten a call of a snake complaint from a woman on Crest Lane, whose 16-year-old daughter saw the snake hanging about 3 feet of its body outside a neighbor's bird house. The woman, who would not identify herself, told The Oklahoman she called the police station to see if animal control could respond and take care of the snake, which she believed to be a diamondback rattlesnake. She was told that the city, which lost its only animal control officer recently, would send a police officer over to help.

"This was just a freak and tragic accident,” the woman said, "and I just feel really bad for everyone involved.” Other neighbors weren't as sympathetic.

Crest Lane resident Kara Johnson said there was no excuse for shooting a gun at a snake in a residential area. "It's a shame that someone had to lose their 5-year-old child over a snake,” Johnson said. "And that's their only child. They'll never get their kid back.”

Neighbor G.W. Henderson said his wife heard a woman screaming within minutes of the shots. "She was shouting ‘You shot my boy! You shot my boy!'” Henderson said.

City Manager Bob Wade said rumors of overeager Noble officers are inaccurate.
"I was told that they tried several ways to get the snake down, but it was still hissing at them and firmly lodged,” Wade said. "What I was told is that the owner of the home either suggested or agreed that they should go ahead and shoot the snake, and then everything happened from there.” Wade refused to identify the officer suspected of firing the shots but said the officer has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents were told that officers decided to shoot the animal after being told there was a field behind them, said Jessica Brown, bureau spokeswoman. "The first shot grazed the snake, and the second killed it,” Brown said.

Wade said he is 90 percent sure that the same bullet that killed the snake also killed Austin, but due to the trajectory of the shot and the fact that Austin and his grandfather were downhill, investigators have to be 100 percent certain. "This is so bizarre it has to be fully investigated. ... We're pretty sure circumstantially that it is the bullet from the police officer's gun, but it might be a bullet from someone else,” Wade said.

Tracy has little doubt about what happened. "I was standing right beside him when they shot him in the head,” he said. "There just wasn't anything I could do for this baby. He was dead. And he was just the finest Christian boy. His mother just bought him a Bible not a week before this — he wanted one that was camouflage because he was in the Lord's army.'”

Tracy said that when he saw the news reports and heard the police chief saying it was an "unfortunate accident,” the remark seemed too trivial and dismissive. "I'm not saying the cop shot him on purpose,” Tracy said. "It was an accident. But let me tell you — if I had a kid and put him in this car and didn't put him in a car seat and he got killed on the way to town, they'd charge me with murder ... and what this cop did is a lot worse than that. ... There was no reason for him to kill my grandson.”

By Johnny Johnson
Staff Writer NewsOK.com

Rule Four God Dammit! Rule Four! This is not a damned accident! This is negligence, pure and simple. There is no rational reason for this tragedy. None. These officers should be prosecuted. The shooter for negligent homicide. His partner as an accessory.

And to think that these are likely the same nimrods who run around saying that firearms are too dangerous to be in the hands of civilians. Yep, they probably believe they are the only ones professino enuff.

Be certain of your target and what lies beyond it. Rule Four.

A comment from Austin Haley's mother:

My name is Renee Haley....the proud mother of Austin Haley who was shot and killed by a Noble Police Officer. I want to mention two very important things that have been somewhat forgotten in the blogs. First, the THREE police officers who reported to the house of the snake, decided to literally pick up their feet, step over a hoe, rake, and hedge clippers placed directly inside the gate before the police officers arrived to shoot the snake. The second fact is this was not a poisonous snake, but a rat snake that is very similar to a king snake. It was five feet long, but it could not get out of the small opening in the bird house because it had eaten bird eggs or birds. It was stuck and harmless! I do forgive the police officer who shot my precious son, but I do believe there have to be consequences of his behavior. Please keep us in your prayers...God bless all of you.

Renee

More.

Video statements from the Haley family.

Jeff Cooper on shooting snakes.

And the news story.........

"It Just Went Off"

Man Accidentally Kills Neighbor While Cleaning Gun
Jesse Hernandez, 35, says he was cleaning his M-16 when it just went off. The bullet went through his wall and killed 24-year-old neighbor Salvo Garcia. After the weapon fired, Hernandez thought the odds of the bullet hitting someone were remote. This all happened late Friday night on Bandera Road near Hillcrest. The bullet pierced a bedroom wall, and then passed through a headboard and struck Garcia in the back of the head while he slept. Garcia's wife found her husband when she got home from work just after midnight Saturday morning. When Hernandez heard Garcia's wife scream, he said he fled to his brother's house before telling police.

Police aren't sure if any charges will be filed in the case but they do say the shooting does look accidental. "Anytime someone discharges a weapon, there's accountability," said San Antonio police spokesman Joe Rios. Hernandez says he feels bad for the Garcia family and wishes it never happened. He also says he is getting rid of his gun. He bought it a few months ago for protection.

Dumbass. Thank you Mr.Hernadez for making gun owners look like a bunch of morons. Your damned poodle shooter did not just go off. Chances are, you weren't cleaning it either were you? It's damned difficult for a disassembled AR15 to just go off.

There was nothing wrong with your damned gun Mr. Hernandez. It was not an appropriate self defense weapon in an apartment complex, but it worked exactly as advertised didn't it? There is something wrong with you. You bought a piece of equipment and failed to get proper training before you started placing your boogerhook all over the trigger didn't you?

When you pulled the trigger and your rifle went bang, you failed to find out where the bullet went didn't you? Then you ran like a turpentined cat when you later heard a scream. The media has your story to twist against responsible gun owners now. You won't be selling that gun Jesse, it will be going into evidence and you are culpable. You were negligent. You were an idiot with a gun and I want to never be associated with you or your kind. You deserve whatever the criminal and civil courts have in store for you. Dumbass.

Rule #2

There have been some who question why Rule #2 is so important. Hopefully this photo will help stress the need for Rule #2. What your muzzle sweeps might matter a great deal someday. When a projectile rapidly exits your muzzle, what is before your muzzle matters a great deal. Learn muzzle awareness today and accept no excuses from yourself. If you like to carry your AR-15 on a tactical sling pointed at the ground, be aware of your feet.

If you want to view the results, brace yourself and click the image at left.

Professino Enuff

What can be learned from the infamous DEA agent's mishap in a classroom? It's an unusually entertaining video to watch, but let's be serious about it for a bit. There are lessons to be learned from this event, beyond booger hooks on bang switches.

The DEA agent in question, Lee Paige had a career that spanned over a decade, approximately 14 years before this negligent discharge. He had handled weapons for at least that long with no negligent discharges. So why did Lee Paige have a ND in that room on that particular day? What made a once safe gun handler unsafe?

Public speaking is a frightening thing. More people are afraid of public speaking than any other fear. Most people never get over that fear, they simply learn to control it.

Educating people about firearms safety is not for amateurs, and being in Law Enforcement does not qualify a person to educate others regarding gun safety. Mr. Paige may have been professional enough to handle a "Glock 40", but he wasn't professional enough to be doing so in front of an audience.

If guns are to be handled before an audience, it is imperative that two people clear and confirm the guns are unloaded PRIOR to the speaking event. Then the guns do not leave the speaker/handler's vision thereafter. No ammo should be present. If a gun is found to be loaded, the ammo should be contained and removed from the auditorium. Take it outside to a car. Then, repeat the process of checking. The assistant stays in charge of the weapons afterwards. The guns do not leave his sight. Even so, the speaker should again check the weapon as soon as his hands touch it during the speech. He should stop speaking. He should maintain muzzle discipline. He should open the chamber, look in the chamber and check the magazine's follower if it's an auto or shotgun. He should place a finger on that chamber and follower. Then, he should never put his finger on the trigger. Only when he has again confirmed he is holding an unloaded weapon should he continue speaking.

If you observe Mr. Paige, he did none of these things. His mind was preoccupied with not looking silly due to his inability to speak effectively. He removed his sidearm from it's holster. He opened the chamber of his Glock, and held it for someone across the room to confirm it was clear. He never looked himself.

The gun had an empty chamber but a full magazine. Paige was carrying it like this because he was apparently afraid of a chambered round, and he wanted to be safe. He did not really understand how guns work apparently.

Paige then held the pistol over his head to dramatically release the slide from slidelock. This, of course, chambered the round. Then, after he made his point that he was the only one in the room, that he knew of, professional enough, he nervously placed his finger on the trigger and fired the shot heard around the internet.

Tellingly, Paige informs his supervisor he had a "AD" or accidental discharge. He, to this day, as shown by his lawsuit, has refused to accept responsibility for his actions.

If you are going to speak about gun safety, and handle weapons in front of an audience, you need to be a competent and comfortable public speaker as well as gun handler. Paige was neither. He is lucky he did not kill someone. Remember, if you are going to speak about weapons and handle them during the speech, have a friend you trust and yourself clear and confirm the guns are unloaded prior to the event. I'm talking no more than 15 minutes prior, at the location of the event. Have no ammo in the auditorium. Then, do not let the weapons leave your line of sight. Check the weapon competently as soon as you pick it up in front of the audience. There is no substitute for competence. The nervousness caused by public speaking can strip a person of their competence in handling weapons. Therefore, it is imperative that two people, the speaker and a trusted, responsible, assistant, check the weapons immediately prior to the event. The assistant should remain with the weapons thereafter.

In the end, when it came to handling guns before an audience, Lee Paige just wasn't professino enuff.