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Was Accidental Discharge by Illinois Judge a Dry-Fire Mistake?
Ammoland ^ | 13 March, 2018 | Dean Weingarten

Posted on 03/17/2018 1:18:41 PM PDT by marktwain

It happened on 15 September, 2017. An Illinois Judge, Patrick O'Shea, 67, accidentally fired a short barreled Smith & Wesson five-shot in his apartment in Wheaton, Illinois. The bullet went through a mirror, the wall, and into the next apartment. No one was hit, and there was little property damage. He checked to see if anyone was in the apartment. There was not. He may have thought “No harm, no foul”, and proceeded to attempt to lie his way out of the problem. Big mistake. It changed his life. From dailyherald.com:

On Sept. 24, the neighbors told police they found what appeared to be a spent bullet on their living room floor. They turned over the bullet to police, along with photographs they had taken of their damaged wall.

Police reports say O'Shea gave property managers at least three excuses for the hole, including that he accidentally put a screwdriver through the wall while hanging a mirror and that his son accidentally caused the hole while using a pneumatic nail gun.

Ekl previously called the shooting an “accidental discharge of a gun” that O'Shea believed to be unloaded.

As a condition of his bond, O'Shea was ordered to turn in all his weapons, ammunition, FOID card and concealed carry permit to Wheaton police.

I have a strong suspicion that this was a dry fire accident. They happen to people who take carrying a firearm seriously, and while rare, happen often enough to take precautions so they do not happen to you. The common situation goes something like this:

(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: banglist; dryfire; il; judge
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Dry fire accidents, while rare, tend to happen to those who are proficient in firearms use.
1 posted on 03/17/2018 1:18:41 PM PDT by marktwain
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To: marktwain

A judge lie? Surprise, surprise.


2 posted on 03/17/2018 1:25:50 PM PDT by Reno89519 (Americans Are Dreamers, Too! No to Amnesty, Yes to Catch-and-Deport, and Yes to E-Verify.)
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To: marktwain

whatever happened to the old adage “never point a gun at anything you are not willing to destroy”? Sorry - but irresponsibility is irresponsibility. He had better get on his knees and thank God Almighty that nobody was home next door to get injured or killed!f

The way I see it - he earned his infamy and financial cost. It’s stuff like his actions (accidental or not) that lead to ever-more restrictions on the rest of us.


3 posted on 03/17/2018 1:29:28 PM PDT by TheBattman (Democrats-Progressives-Marxists-Socialists - redundant labels.)
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To: marktwain

I think dry firing a gun in an apartment is not something somebody should do.

Part of my reasoning is that I had a .45 pistol go off one day inside my Suburban driving down a street in Galveston, Texas.

A couple facts are: 1. to this day we have no idea what happened 2. no one was hurt

We can only speculate that it was a bad primer maybe or some jolt occurred triggering the firing pin. Whatever, just sitting in its normal spot between my driver seat and the console it went off with no one having touched it. Thankfully, it was pointed downward.

For 25 years since, I NEVER keep a round in the chamber unless I am actually about to shoot it.


4 posted on 03/17/2018 1:31:08 PM PDT by Cen-Tejas
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To: marktwain

It’s hard to have a dry fire incident with a revolver. Either he wasn’t paying attention or he was drunk. I guess he could have just hated his wallpaper...


5 posted on 03/17/2018 1:31:43 PM PDT by Artemis Webb (Maxine Waters for House Minority Leader!!)
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To: marktwain

The better question is: Why is an Illinois judge — who is surely bringing down north of 100K — living in an apartment with paper-thin walls?


6 posted on 03/17/2018 1:33:23 PM PDT by StAnDeliver ( Parkland is the most massive failure in law enforcement since 9/11)
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To: Artemis Webb

Standing in Front of Mirror,

“You Talking to Me!?!”

Travis Bickle


7 posted on 03/17/2018 1:36:27 PM PDT by Big Red Badger (UNSCANABLE in an IDIOCRACY!)
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To: StAnDeliver
"The better question is: Why is an Illinois judge — who is surely bringing down north of 100K — living in an apartment with paper-thin walls?"

No, the better question is, WHY would the judge try to lie his way out of it - where did he think the bullet went. And, he's worried about the hole - how does he explain the bullet found? Srewdriver; pneumatic drill - how stupid could he be?!

8 posted on 03/17/2018 1:40:06 PM PDT by jackibutterfly (It' funny (NOT ha! ha!). We dehumanize humans and humanize animals.)
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To: marktwain

I had a dry fire accident with my Ruger Security Six .357.

158gr Federal hollow points.

Went through the wall, ricocheted off the street out front and lodged in the neighbors tree across the street.

It totally freaked me out, even made me a little gun shy.

Gratefully, nobody was hurt and property damage was limited to my stucco on the outside.

WOW! My ears are still ringing and it was a few years back.


9 posted on 03/17/2018 1:44:29 PM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: marktwain

Reminds me of my x-brohter-in-law from 48 years ago when he was piddling around with my .38, I placed out after someone tried to break in several days before.
He cocked it, then when he tried to lower the hammer his thumb slipped. BANG! He shot a chest of drawers.


10 posted on 03/17/2018 1:45:37 PM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar (Re-open the insane asylums, stop drugging the kids.)
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To: marktwain

My big problem with this story is that the judge didn’t step up to the plate and come clean. Because of that, all we can do is speculate how it happened.


11 posted on 03/17/2018 1:46:06 PM PDT by umgud
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To: StAnDeliver

“Why is an Illinois judge — who is surely bringing down north of 100K — living in an apartment with paper-thin walls?”

Two reasons I can think of.

One is that property in Wheaton proper is very expensive. Although there is no reason he couldn’t have bought in Downers Grove, Bloomingdale, or someplace else in DuPage County.

Two is in the form of a question: What do you call the lawyer who graduated last in Law School? Answer: Your Honor.

L


12 posted on 03/17/2018 1:46:09 PM PDT by Lurker (President Trump isn't our last chance. President Trump is THEIR last chance.)
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To: marktwain

COVERUP BS story originated from progvert in rag parading “progressive” perverted causes.


13 posted on 03/17/2018 1:47:54 PM PDT by mosesdapoet (Mosesdapoet aka L.J.Keslin another gem posted in the wilderness)
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To: marktwain

Maybe just me, but don’t practice dry-firing in an apartment. Go to a range to practice.


14 posted on 03/17/2018 1:49:26 PM PDT by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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To: marktwain

Everyone knows about assuming that a gun is loaded but to take it one step further...

Never Ever have Ammunition in the same room you are cleaning a gun.


15 posted on 03/17/2018 1:49:55 PM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie (All I know is what I read in the papers.)
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To: marktwain

“Dry fire accidents, while rare, tend to happen to those who are proficient in firearms use.”

If it is loaded it is not a dry fire ...


16 posted on 03/17/2018 1:50:14 PM PDT by TexasGator (Z)
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To: marktwain

Not a dry fire accident - negligent discharge. Dry fire training involves an unloaded weapon or one with inert “snap caps” in it. Obviously the judge failed to properly set up his weapon for that training.


17 posted on 03/17/2018 1:50:22 PM PDT by ThunderSleeps (Doing my part to help make America great again!)
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To: Mariner

One should not underestimate the power of a .357.


18 posted on 03/17/2018 1:50:52 PM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: ImJustAnotherOkie

“Never Ever have Ammunition in the same room you are cleaning a gun.”

That’s my new rule.


19 posted on 03/17/2018 1:52:12 PM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: marktwain

Drunk again.


20 posted on 03/17/2018 1:53:45 PM PDT by Safetgiver (Islam makes barbarism look genteel.)
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