Dad Accidentally Shoots, Kills Son on Father's Day Eve

imported post

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200128,00.html





Tennessee Dad Accidentally Shoots, Kills Son on Father's Day Eve


Monday, June 19, 2006
OLIVER SPRINGS, Tenn.—Authorities said a 23-year-old man died after his father accidentally shot him while cleaning a handgun on the eve of Father's Day.

David Spoon Jr.was shot in the chest byDavid Spoon Sr.around 9 p.m. Saturday when the father was apparently cleaning the gun on his front porch and it discharged, saidRoane Countysheriff's officials.

Neighbors heard the shot and ran over to the Spoons' house. They tried to give the young man CPR but could not revive him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities said there were several witnesses to the incident and no charges are being filed against the father.


This is a sad story, but how stupid does someone have to be to clean a gun with it loaded.

imported post

It is a sad story but I still don't know how a gun just 'goes off' when cleaning it.

imported post

VAopencarry wrote:

It is a sad story but I still don't know how a gun just 'goes off' when cleaning it.

Click to expand...

1. Negligent discharge, accidental firing, just goes off all equal "someone pulled the trigger". Either that or you have a weapon in dire need of repair.

2. My right index finger is my primary safety. I never place it in the trigger well until I plan to shoot.

3. When I clean a weapon, I clear it then check it, then clear it again. Whith the why I have to take down my Glock 27, I like my fingers too much not to triple check.

4. Finally, even with the weapon disassembled, I don't point it at anyone.

Such a sad case. I pray that I will always keep my senses around firearms.

imported post

AD, Cleaning, Clearing, etc. As silly as this sounds, I always verbally (out loud) announce what motion I am taking. Safety on, Pistol is cold, Magazine eject, Clear Chamber, etc. It makes me "listen" to what I am doing. My index finger is ALWAYS pointing the same direction as the muzzle, too. While I have a routine, it is never automatic. This was a tragedy that should/could have easily been avoided.

imported post

This illustrates how easy it is for people to become careless with complacency. I went to a gun shop on Saturday and saw people working behind the counter handling guns incorrectly - pointing the barrels at coworkers and customers, etc. Not purposely, in a firing stance, but just in moving them around, pulling them out of cases, etc. I realize they handle hundreds of guns a day, but this is just plain a bad idea, and sets a bad example for others. It doesn't matter if you're the World's Greatest Gunsmith, do everyone a favor, be safe, and don't point even a disassembled gun at anything you don't want to destroy.

Check a dozen times if you have to; get one of those fiber-optic Maglites if you need to make sure. Of course, this will happen again...only because of carelessness.

Not only does it affect the people involved in the tragedy, but every stupid accident provides more ammunition for the anti-gun lobby. They go before committees, run commercials, appeal to constituents with with illogical, emotional evidence like this, and force many legislators to vote for asinine gun laws, or risk their incumbency to someone who has a track record of voting for gun legislation on a lower level.

imported post

That is a shame but entirely, as we software developers call it, a user error.

While at the range (and I won't say which) recently, I noticed a gentleman pointing his M16, not down range, but towards the area where other people are standing around! He was fiddling with the magazine and gun, it looked like he was trying to seat the magazine, but he was fiddling around with it in such a way as to look like he might be trying to clear a jam. And, oh yes, he got yelled at...not by staff, but by other shooters.

It staggers me the incompetence some people exercise with regards to firearms. I'm sorry the above story happened, but it was definately NOT an accident. Who pulls the tigger while you're cleaning a gun anyway?

imported post

GlockMan wrote:

....Who pulls the tigger while you're cleaning a gun anyway?

Click to expand...

Well, some guns actually require you to pull the trigger to disassemble them. That's why I have a habit of checking the chamber, then I check the chamber, and oh yeah, check the chamber before I do anything with my gun. Evenif I know full well my gun is empty when I pick it up, I will still check the chamber to just to keep the habit intact. This is one area where I think it's ok to have OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder).

This is a sad story, especially since this death was 100% preventable!

imported post

Often time ND's are a result of firearms ignorance, especially with your own firearms, ignorance of the safety rules and being to complacent. Just like most of you stated above.
A sad day for this father.