Gun store customer shoots and kills another customer

[Cavedweller]

Ooops! What was that rule about checking the condition of a firearm when you pick it up? Who handed the guy a loaded gun?

Grandfather killed when Kentucky gun store customer accidentally fires merchandise

The tragedy occurred when an unidentified shopper who was viewing a firearm began “manipulating it.”

nypost.com

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[lucusloc]

Ooops! What was that rule about checking the condition of a firearm when you pick it up? Who handed the guy a loaded gun?

Grandfather killed when Kentucky gun store customer accidentally fires merchandise

The tragedy occurred when an unidentified shopper who was viewing a firearm began “manipulating it.”

nypost.com

There has to be more to this story than whats in that article. Was this a carry gun they thought they had "cleared"? Was someone using live ammo to check feed or functionality? Was this an actual malicious "booby-trap" set up by someone who has a grudge against the store?

Also, how was this not checked before hand-off to the customer? How did the customer not notice? Seems like there were failures all the way around, and an innocent bystander paid for those mistakes with his life. Check everything, every time. And even then you still pretend like it is loaded while handling it.

 

[Alexx1401]

Color me VERY skeptical we are getting the whole story here. Would be VERY interesting to see if they have camera's in there to see if this really went down like this.

 

[Cavedweller]

Source report:

"The preliminary investigation indicates that a customer in the store was viewing a firearm for sale and manipulating it when a single round discharged, striking the victim, who was also in the store."

Kentucky State Police

Public Affairs Website for Kentucky State Police.

www.kentuckystatepolice.ky.gov

 

[RVTECH]

I realize this is a very bizarre story and no doubt short on info but was it necessary for the MSM to refer to the 'shooter' as 'the gunman'?

with troopers saying the gunman is cooperating with investigators.

 

[AshWilliams]

There has to be more to this story than whats in that article. Was this a carry gun they thought they had "cleared"? Was someone using live ammo to check feed or functionality? Was this an actual malicious "booby-trap" set up by someone who has a grudge against the store?

Also, how was this not checked before hand-off to the customer? How did the customer not notice? Seems like there were failures all the way around, and an innocent bystander paid for those mistakes with his life. Check everything, every time. And even then you still pretend like it is loaded while handling it.

I was at a gun store recently where the gentleman behind the counter simply opened the case and handed me the pistol with little regard for muzzle awareness. I then pointed in safe direction, locked the slide back, made sure the chamber was empty, and dry fired.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Back when I worked at a local pawn shop...
We had a customer accessible rack of .22 rifles and shotguns.
( That soon changed )

One slow day at the shop , I was wiping down the firearms...and when I took a Remington Model 24 off of that rack to wipe it down / clean it...
I first cleared it...and a live .22 LR Cartridge popped on out...

Now when we took in a firearm either on loan or buying it outright...we always cleared it.
If one became ours , after a default on a loan...again it was cleared before it went on the sales rack
After the 30 day wait for a outright purchase of a firearm...it was also cleared before it went into the sales rack.
Before handing a firearm to a customer...we always cleared the firearm

Sad story all around in the OP.
Andy

 

[VinnieBoomBah]

I realize this is a very bizarre story and no doubt short on info but was it necessary for the MSM to refer to the 'shooter' as 'the gunman'?

with troopers saying the gunman is cooperating with investigators.

I wonder if that is an AI written story and that was just the default wording

 

[WEE]

It would be interesting to find out whose fingerprints are on the spent casing.

 

[monks]

With all the blood sucking lawyers in this world looking to sue it amazes me that gun shops don't post gun safety rules signs on the walls. I'd think that would be a no brainer!

 

[Yarome]

I'm a bit skeptical it went down the way it was reported as well. I mean.. the world is full of stupid people, but the aligning of the stars that would have to have occurred for it to have happened that way is almost beyond belief.

You would need an incompetent store clerk. a fool of a customer and bad muzzle discipline precisely in the other customers direction at the very moment the other person pulled the trigger.

Not to diminish the families loss, but ya ever notice that when anyone tragically dies like that they always turn out to be "saints"? Just once it would be refreshing to see a quote from the family,...

"Well... he was a real SOB! It's tragic the way he went out but no one's going to be shedding any tears."

 

[Koda]

This is [sadly] not the first time Ive read about a gun going off in a gun store. Barring any new information its not surprising the story is as simple as it was reported.

Many "experienced" gun owners don't truly understand Rule #1. There's no excuse to hand someone a loaded gun at a gun store. Likewise, there's no excuse to let the customer point it at another, even if you "knew" it was unloaded.

 

[RVTECH]

Not to diminish the families loss, but ya ever notice that when anyone tragically dies like that they always turn out to be "saints"?

Which brings me to the point of other 'possibilities'...

The fact it is a small town in Kentucky does not 'rule out' 'bad blood', old issues with family, business, acquaintances, relationships, etc.

Ever hear about the Hatfield's and McCoy's?

 

[VinnieBoomBah]

but the aligning of the stars that would have to have occurred for it to have happened that way is almost beyond belief.

Odds are really good that someone will win the Powerball, but that doesn't mean that any one particular person, like you or me, will be that winner. And as @Koda pointed out, not the first AD at a gun store

 

[Flopsweat]

Several years ago, I was at a local gun store, and they had a box full of random, used magazines for something like $5 each. I was digging through them when I came across one with a single bullet loaded in it. I quietly brought it to the owner, who was pretty shocked and told me that he'd double checked every mag before it went in the box. I asked him if he'd had any odd behaving customers that day. He shrugged like "It's a gun store, of course we had a weirdo come in".

 

[Koda]

You would need an incompetent store clerk. a fool of a customer and bad muzzle discipline precisely in the other customers direction at the very moment the other person pulled the trigger.

This combination is not uncommon. Ive been swept too many times by many "experienced" gun owners at public ranges and gun stores. Ive even heard the excuse "its ok, I unloaded it"

I would hate to be a gun store owner in need of counter help. I only have a handful of friends I trust to target shoot with I cant imagine having to hire a stranger to help sell guns.

 

[Yarome]

Odds are really good that someone will win the Powerball, but that doesn't mean that any one particular person, like you or me, will be that winner. And as @Koda pointed out, not the first AD at a gun store

I'm not saying ND's don't happen. I'm just thinking about the compounding odds.
1. Your present when a ND occurs
2. The ND goes in the near vicinity of another person
3. An ND hits another person
4. The single shot is fatal.

#4 alone... statistically... only 2% of accidental gunshots are fatal. KWIM?

I'm no statistician, but on the surface it seems like you have incredibly better odds of winning the powerball.

 

[TTSX]

Every store is different. Some stores have handed me guns without checking them. I can't imagine doing that, especially with how often I see John Q Public sweep the entire store and I didn't mean with a broom.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Manipulate around and find out.. and horns!

 

[oremike]

All you got to do is go to a gun show, the bigger the better. No matter how you pick up a gun you can't not point it at someone somehow.