Posted on 01/19/2013 11:54:01 AM PST by backwoods-engineer
RALEIGH, N.C. — At least two people were injured Saturday afternoon in an apparent accidental shooting at the gun show being held at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds.
Emergency crews responded to the scene shortly after 1 p.m., and two people were loaded into ambulances.
A witness told WRAL that a gun went off after being checked by an official at a safety check-in location, hitting a man in the hand and a woman in the side.
The Raleigh Fire Department confirmed that the Dixie Gun and Knife Show would be closed for the remainder of the day Saturday. There was no word on whether the show, which is held inside the Jim Graham Building, would continue Sunday.
(Excerpt) Read more at wral.com ...
And if that were a picture of this specific entrance, for this post Sandy Hook gunshow (less than a dozen people at the entrance), I'd agree with you.
But it's not.
At some gun shows in the past, it has been known for someone to look at a firearm, quickly stick a cartridge in it, then lay it back on the table.
Then someone else picks up the firearm, pulls the trigger, and “BANG!”
Link?
Probably not, unless there was some intentionally negligent act associated with the situation.
If it could be proved that the person intentionally presented a loaded gun, then maybe. The exception to this might be if the person is legally carrying a loaded gun and is attempting to comply with a "no loaded guns" policy. In this case, the officer KNOWS the gun is loaded, though if he follows the safety rules, it won't matter.
Another exception might arise if the trigger mechanism has been modified in such a way that the gun has been made inherently unsafe and the owner knew this. Liability would be shared with the incompetent cop. A friend of mine let me fire his .22 target pistol. It felt like you could fire it by just breathing on the trigger. It was not a gun I ever wished to own.
There are two different scenarios that I have run across which present difficulties.
The first is when a round fails to discharge. You have to wait so that the primer becomes stable despite having possibly been struck by the firing pin. If the primer has been deformed by the attempt to fire it, then I could see how handling the gun with the defective round in the chamber could be risky.
Another situation I dislike intensely is using a revolver in single action mode. How does one safely lower the hammer on a live round? Everything about trying to lower the hammer slowly feels awkward and unsafe.
By first aiming carefully at the target, then squeezing the trigger. Moral of the story? Don't cock it unless you're ready to shoot it.
I’ve seen similar signs at the Washington Arms Collectors gun shows in Monroe and Puyallup except they have way more of them and with bigger and more colorful lettering that only the blind and illiterate would not be able to see and read.
With all the new people attending gun shows, I can imagine several ways that an inexperienced gun owner might show up.
One possibility might be the surviving spouse or offspring of a deceased gun owner. Perhaps, having inherited a rather bulky, older semi-auto pistol, like a Model 1911, the new owner wishes to sell or trade it in order to obtain a more manageable gun. I hope to see my grandsons someday inherit my guns. If at all possible I will be training them myself, but we don't always get everything we want.
There are probably many other ways that a person could come to own a gun with which they are unfamiliar. They may have bought the wrong thing and the dealer would not offer a refund or trade-in. I made a dealer take back a used gun I bought years ago after I determined that it was defective. You would have thought I was extracting all his teeth. He refunded but he wasn't happy about it.
Such a buyer might find themselves at a gun show with that unfamiliar and unwanted gun, hoping to get the value back.
Perhaps the person possessing the gun is a close relative of the actual owner and the owner lives in a state where that gun has been outlawed. The relative might find himself handling an unfamiliar gun in his attempt to help the owner recover the value. (This scenario is not as far-fetched as it might sound. I won't get into the details since all my guns were lost in an unfortunate boating accident.)
There are even some nefarious reasons that this could happen. Perhaps the "owner" was unfamiliar with the weapon because he stole it. He hopes to benefit from its value without ever intending to make use of the gun himself.
You think I spend all my time trying to find links to old info? This was published years ago before there was an internet.
Often I still hear about it happening in a paper thing called a gun magazine. That is stories about guns brought together and held with staples with a slick printed cover.
Yes, you are correct. You've never been to a gun show. Everyone is "forced" into a challenge from a guard. All firearms are shown to be empty. And as an added precaution most are wire tying (plastic) actions open or hammers back.
Since it was a LEO, how convenient that the site is closed for comments.............LOL!
No private sells at this gun show. That's the bad news.
Three people were injured during the accidental discharge including the retired deputy.
that used to happen alot in my gun case until I finally got smart and hid my ammunition in my sock drawer........
I was headed out for this show today and checked Free Republic before I drove down there. I canceled my trip because of that. I hope it is open tomorrow. This possible false flag is too close to home for me.
I checked WRAL, the local Raleigh mainstream news source of the article. Not a word in their lead article or anywhere else that it was an LEO that discharged the weapon and no word that he was not following basic gun safety procedures.
I phoned the city editor at WRAL, Andy, and told him that piece of information needed to be in the story. Andy said "We are checking it out before we pull the trigger on it". "Cute metaphor" I replied. Andy said "Why I didn't even realize that."
I complained to Andy that it is a purposeful editing of the story to leave it out and I was complaining. I told him it was well know by witnesses and it was all over the Internet but not on WRAL. Andy said thanks and he will check it out.
Liars
Relevant excerpt from WRAL follows:
Raleigh, N.C. — Officials said the Dixie Gun and Knife Show will continue Sunday without private gun sales after three people, including a retired sheriff's deputy, were injured Saturday when a gun brought in by a patron who planned to sell it accidentally discharged.
A man identified as Linwood Hester, 54, of Durham, brought the 12-gauge shotgun to the show at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds and was attempting to remove it from its case when the weapon went off shortly after 1 p.m., police said.
Hester was struck in the left hand by birdshot, according to Joel Keith, police chief with the state Department of Agriculture. The birdshot also struck a woman identified as Janet Hoover, 54, of Benson, and Jake Alderman, a retired sheriff's deputy from Wake Forest who was working at the event.
Alderman was treated and released at WakeMed North Healthplex for a minor injury, Keith said. Hester and Hoover were taken to WakeMed. Details on their conditions were not immediately available.
Visitors are supposed to allow security officials to check in weapons, Keith said, but Hester removed the gun from its case before personnel had a chance to handle it. The shotgun was laying flat on a table when it discharged.
"I want to emphasize that this was an accident," Keith said. "At the time, no employee, no officer had inspected that gun."
No decision has been made about whether any charges will be filed against Hester, authorities said. The investigation has been turned over to the Wake County Sheriff's Office.
The gun's owner was identified as is Gary Lynn Wilson, 36, of Wilmington.
The show, which is held inside the Jim Graham Building, closed for the remainder of the day but will continue Sunday without private gun sales. Authorities said no personal guns will be allowed on the property. Only guns sold by licensed dealers and vendors will be allowed.
The policy is in place for Sunday, the last day of the show, but won't necessarily be permanent. Keith said. Officials said they will review procedures to determine whether any changes need to be made.
The Dixie Gun and Knife Show has taken place at the fairgrounds for more than 30 years with an excellent track record for safety, officials said.
"If we thought that it was a problem or a hazard or was dangerous, we would not have this show," Keith said. "Let's keep in mind this was an accident, and I'm sure nobody hates this more than the guy that has this weapon."
Either your friend is lying or both you and he didn't read the article. IT WASN'T A PISTOL, IT WAS A SHOTGUN .........And as for the "cop", he was a retired deputy sheriff
A man identified as Linwood Hester, 54, of Durham, brought the 12-gauge shotgun to the show at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds and was attempting to remove it from its case when the weapon went off shortly after 1 p.m., police said.
And for what it's worth, I've been to many gun shows and in those alleged "50 feet", there's likely to be 5 vendor booths or 40 people between your friend and the location the incident happened. So it's unlikely he actually witnessed the event and just embellished the story to get your attention......
I have no problem with you criticizing news articles but at least base your argument on facts and immobilize your knee to keep it from jerking around..................
This makes the story even dumber.
While a loaded conceal-carry handgun is at least imaginable, a loaded shotgun under these conditions is, or ought to be, criminal.
Need to find out if the culprit is a leftist activist of some sort.
First of all the attendee wasn't required to have a CCW because the weapon in question wasn't a handgun, it was a shotgun.
Second, the shotgun did not belong to the individual who brought it to the gun show, it belonged to someone else. He was likely taking it there on behalf of the friend who owned it to see what it was worth.
All that information was available in the article if people would have just taken the time to read it............
I saw posted signs at the first gun show I ever went to. In addition, some shows also check purses and gun cases before they let you enter.
Go to a gun show before you say signs may not be posted clearly or prominently.
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