Gunfire Rings Out In Mall (aka Teen Shoots Self in Butt)

MSNBC ^ | July 2, 2003

[RogueIsland]

HOUSTON, 3:39 p.m. CDT July 2, 2003 - A gunshot rang out Tuesday in a west Houston shopping mall's food court, News2Houston reported.

Police said Joshua Michael Short, 18, accidentally shot himself in the backside with a derringer around 4 p.m. at Memorial City Mall, on Interstate 10 at Gessner. "He got up from the food court and accidentally shot himself in the buttocks and he was transported to Ben Taub and he's in stable condition," said Officer Catherine Truhan, with the Houston Police Department.

Investigators said that Short had the gun tucked inside the waistband of his pants. He somehow brushed the trigger and the gun fired.

"We saw him sitting on the ground. He had his handcuffs just laying there," said Brandon Rees, a witness. "It's pretty stupid."

Witnesses said the gunshot shocked them.

"It's devastating because you're not safe anymore," said Dayzy Malakul, a shopper.

"I just heard a big bang and everybody just started looking (to see) what was going on. It kind of scared us," said Rommy Patel, a witness.

"I just heard real loud (noise). We just thought it was like a terrorist attack or something," said Jose Lopez, a witness. "(It was) surprisingly loud, real loud."

Police said that the teenager was too young to carry a concealed weapon and he could face charges of carrying a weapon without a license. It is legal to carry a handgun if the owner has a concealed handgun permit, unless a sign is posted prohibiting weapons.

Experts said that the first thing people should do when they hear a gunshot is to get out of the line of fire.

"If a weapon goes off and you see it, the first thing one ought to do is try to take some cover," said Don Clark, News2Houston consultant and former head of the FBI's Houston office.

"If a person says, 'Give me your jewelry,' then I'm going to give them my jewelry. But on the same token, if they want to put the gun in my face and tell me to come and go with them, then I think I'm going to try to do something to defend myself," Clark said.

[RogueIsland]

Given some of the quotes, one may be excused for thinking this might be from The Onion. It isn't.

[RogueIsland]

bemused bang

[Tijeras_Slim]

"It's devastating because you're not safe anymore," said Dayzy Malakul

Miss Ignorance is Bliss 1998

[mountaineer]

"It's devastating because you're not safe anymore," said Dayzy Malakul, a shopper.

Well, Dayzy (what's wrong, did your parents hate you?), you're pretty safe. It's young "Bullet Butt" Joshua who has to watch out for himself.

[sticker]

" "He got up from the food court and accidentally shot himself in the buttocks and he was transported to Ben Taub and he's in stable condition," said Officer Catherine Truhan, with the Houston Police Department."

After treatment by the neurosurgery deparment

[sarasota]

Where was the appropriate use of the safety?

[TomGuy]

"We saw him sitting on the ground. He had his handcuffs just laying there," said Brandon Rees, a witness. "It's pretty stupid."

Huh??? Handcuffs? MSNBC needs to hire someone who can write/edit/report. This quote makes no sense in context.

[Overtaxed]

Looks like a job for Butt Balm!

[Flyer]

Experts said that the first thing people should do when they hear a gunshot is to get out of the line of fire.

In this case, don't stand between the idiot and his butt.

*PING!*

As always, a FReep mail will get you on or off this Houston topics ping list.

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[hellinahandcart]

"(It was) surprisingly loud, real loud."

I bet the guy's screams were surprisingly loud too.

[niteowl77]

Depending on which "derringer" he has, he may not have had a safety. Some were/are worse than others for accidental discharge (the older ones tending to require more care). The butt-heavy "classic Remington" configuration was supposedly notorious for hitting the floor with the barrels pointing back up at you if it fell out of your pocket/purse/garter/cleavage/etc.

[sarasota]

Then why on earth would this guy carry it in his pants?

[Izzy Dunne]

accidentally shot himself in the backside with a derringer

Are they sure it was an accident?
Perhaps he was trying to blow his brains out...

[wimpycat]

Then why on earth would this guy carry it in his pants?

'Cos he's a dumb kid, and probably some sort of wannabe gang-banger, and not a responsible gun owner.

[verity]

What a pain in the butt!

[bedolido]

Are they sure it was an accident? Perhaps he was trying to blow his brains out...

lol...Brilliant...

[Corporate Law]

Future Darwin Award winning candidate.

[EggsAckley]

"He had his handcuffs just laying there"...."it was really stupid."

Um......yeah, it WAS really stupid. Who walks around with a gun and handcuffs; cops and gangstas.

[ClearCase_guy]

It is legal to carry a handgun if the owner has a concealed handgun permit, unless a sign is posted prohibiting weapons.

I believe I've seen this mentioned before, and I'm curious. It appears that, if the owner has a permit, then they have a right to carry a concealed gun -- unless a property owner (such a s restaurant, or lunch counter) posts a sign saying "No guns allowed" -- which, property rights being what they are, trumps the right to bring a gun to the lunch counter.

Is that the thinking? And what if the lunch counter has a sign saying it won't serve African-Americans? Do property rights come into play there?

[niteowl77]

I dunno... he probably has an IQ that matches the caliber of his weapon, and I don't know of any derringers much over forty-five. There are rigs that make carrying about any handgun - even in the pants - a safe enterprise, but the yoot in question is probably not real big on research.