Accidental Shooting At A Bloomington Gun Show

armedselfdefense.blogspot.com/ ^ | 02/28/11 | Posted by jgh at 6:46 AM

[Sasparilla]

There was what appears to be a shooting accident on Saturday at a gun show in Bloomington, Indiana. A rifle went off as a person attending the show put it down on a vendor’s table. The bullet hit wood and two persons were hit by flying wood. One person had small wounds from the flying wood and refused medical treatment.

But, another man was hit by the flying wood and what is believed to be a .223 round. The bullet went through his arm and then struck another person.

One of the victims was reported to be in critical condition at a local hospital. Tests will be done to determine if the bullet came from the rifle. The bullet was recovered.

The show resumed after the injured left the building. At least one state has criminal penalties for accidental discharge of firearms at gun shows. There's an explanation of Arizona's law below. A visitor at the gun show turned on his cell phone camera right after the shooting. Here’s the video...

[driftdiver]

I don’t think cops do the checking here, if they are cops then they are off duty. I don’t see anything that makes cops more capable of checking a firearm than some other responsible person.

Only bad thing I’ve ever had happen at a gun show was when I had my wife with me. Got a Sieg Heil from one vendor and had another refuse to wait on me. My wife is Asian so they evidently had a problem with that.

[driftdiver]

5 tables away, bet that was interesting

[Dead Corpse]

Ruger. Mini-14. Not an AR or an AK, but still on the liberals “OMGWTFBarbecue” list.

[Erasmus]

Kinda scary.

I overstated my case w.r.t. the gun shows. My experience is only with those in Texas and Florida.

I must say, though, that I am mystified that a show could get insurance coverage without strictly enforcing the action tie-up on all weapons.

[lacrew]

Was there a zip tie in the breech like some people are describing? If I were a vendor, I would look through every barrel to make sure they were clear...is there a change the customer actually put the round in? And I’m with another poster - sometimes skeptical of drops, thinking the trigger was pulled. Tin foil hat thinking - an anti-gun activist who goes around gun shows loading the weapons?

[Bob]

One person had small wounds from the flying wood and refused medical treatment.

But, another man was hit by the flying wood and what is believed to be a .223 round. The bullet went through his arm and then struck another person.

One of the victims was reported to be in critical condition at a local hospital.

That certainly is a strange order in which to report the injuries. One guy was hit by flying wood and refused treatment, another was shot through the arm, and, by the way, a third is in critical condition at the hospital.

[Blue Collar Christian]

Bet they don’t.

[ctdonath2]

Why no discussion about who “put it down”? Nobody pulls a trigger when putting a gun down unless they want it to fire.

[jboot]

I'm an absolute Nazi about keepng my guns unloaded when I am not at the range. I take every precaution in the book, and some that aren't (such as removing the bolts from rifles for transport and empty cyclng and dry-firing pistols at the end of my session). Nevertheless, I once fould a gun in storage with a round in the chamber. I still do not know how it happened.

The moral of this story is You Can't Be To Careful. I'd never think of picking up any gun without immediately checking the chamber, and anyone who puts his finger inside the triggerguard when he's not aiming at a safe target shouldn't be allowed to touch a gun in the first place.