Posted on 03/28/2007 11:27:32 AM PDT by kiriath_jearim
A retired decorated Jersey City police officer working for the department as a civilian employee died after shooting himself yesterday in what police say likely was a gun-cleaning accident.
At 11:50 a.m., Robert J. McGillis Jr., 53, was found dead in the Emergency Services Unit offices where he worked on Route 440, Police Chief Tom Comey said at a news conference yesterday afternoon.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
New Jersey Ex-Cop Killed In Apparent Gun Accident
By Associated Press
March 27, 2007
JERSEY CITY — A retired Jersey City police officer died yesterday at a city police building when a handgun discharged as he was cleaning it, police said.
Robert J. McGillis Jr., 53, died of a single gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after noon, police said.
The shooting appeared to be accidental, police said.
A preliminary investigation found that McGillis was cleaning the large-caliber handgun at the time of the accident.
nobody heard the shot?
Paging Charles Darwin.......
Mar 26, 7:08 PM EDT
Retired Jersey City cop dies from gunshot in apparent accident
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) -- A retired Jersey City police officer died Monday at a city police building when a handgun discharged as he was cleaning it, police said.
Robert J. McGillis Jr., 53, died of a single gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after noon, police said.
The shooting appeared to be accidental, police said.
A preliminary investigation found that McGillis, who retired in June of 2000 and was rehired in January 2006 as a consultant and coordinator for the K-9 unit, was cleaning the large-caliber handgun at the time of the accident. Cleaning materials were on a table adjacent to where the shooting occurred, officials said.
McGillis joined the Jersey City Police Department in 1976 and was the recipient of five commendations. He was a member of the department's Emergency Service Unit as a K-9 officer. He came back from retirement to oversee an expansion of the department's K-9 unit.
The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office is handling the investigation.
Do you think he'd have liked to have had a "do over?"
I cannot for the life of me figure out how he could come to point a loaded gun at his chest with his finger on the trigger while cleaning the gun....?
1. Clean weapon of any unused ammunition.
2. .....
Maybe he should have taken the bullets out and cleaned them first.
You are correct. The gun cleaning accident explanation is the way the cops preserve life insurance and pension benefits for the survivors of one of their own who has killed himself.
It's okay with me. May this man rest in peace.
Too bad, that's a hard thing. Even after years and years of handling firearms basic safety is still important.
"Gun cleaning instructions:
1. Clean weapon of any unused ammunition.
2. ....."
And always treat it as if it were loaded....
He's been cleaning weapons for his entire life.....seriously doubt he suddenly just forgot it was loaded while, errr, pointing it at his chest.....errrr
Something fishy about this story. I don't know what kind of gun he was cleaning, but at what point in the cleaning process do you point the gun at yourself and pull the trigger?
I agree, when I went to a handgun safety course, we had to clean a revolver and a SA pistol.
The first step is to remove the ammo.
I can concieve maybe a one in a million chance that a mishap could possibly occur with the SA while removing the chambered round, but there is no way in million years that that would happen with a revolver.
No one cleans a loaded gun and if they were, then it most likely was no accident.
NRA safe gun handling rules:
Most likely without proper training.
Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction
Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot
Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use
probably. seems a bit odd that the story doesn't say who heard the shot and what they did when...
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