Thursday, October 10, 2013

Illinois Teen Dead - It Was Just an Accident - No Charges Expected

Local news reports

A Wayne City teen died Sunday evening after being accidentally shot by a friend.
WFIW Radio in Fairfield reported a teen, not identified by police, was handling a semi-automatic handgun when it accidentally discharged, striking Christian Marvel in the head.

Marvel, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene by Wayne County Coroner Jimmy Taylor. 

Police said one of the teens removed the ammunition magazine from the pistol and believed it made the firearm safe to handle. The teen pulled the trigger, not realizing the pistol contained one round in the chamber. The firearm discharged, striking Marvel in the head.

An Illinois State Police detective and crime scene specialists were called to the scene to gather evidence in the case and confirm the death was accidental.

I suppose this boy never received any training or education of any kind regarding gun safety. That's the simple-minded gun-rights solution to this not-insignificant problem.

The truth is, like all the other idiot gun owners who forget there was one in the chamber, this young man is impervious to education and training. It takes a special kind of stupidity and recklessness to not only overlook the round in the chamber, but to also aim the gun at someone's head and pull the trigger.

The most amazing part of the whole story is the gun-rights fanatics who support the nonchalant attitude towards these incidents, in most cases no charges are even considered.  It's disgraceful.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

4 comments:

  1. This was a senseless and totally avoidable tragedy.

    Assuming the details of this story are correct, I believe the person who pulled the trigger should be tried (and found guilty) of negligent homicide and spend an appropriate amount of time in prison.

    The victim and the shooter failed miserably in safe firearm handling and safety protocols. Before handing a firearm to someone, you should remove any detachable magazines and cycle the action two or three times to show that there are no rounds in the chamber (or cylinders or fixed magazines if applicable) while the other person looks for themselves to see that the firearm really is unloaded. Then and only then should the other person accept the firearm. And, before, during, and after this activity, whoever is handling the firearm should always keep it pointed in a safe direction and keep their finger off the trigger. Note that pointing a firearm at someone's head is NOT a safe direction.

    Both parties failed and one of them died.

    -- TruthBeTold

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I appreciate that you don't make excuses for negligent gun handling. But, would you go as far as I do and say it should be criminal? Wouldn't it be better if proven cases of violating the safety rules were always treated as culpable negligence?

      Delete
  2. My guess is that the reason the person who shot Marvel was a juvenile considering that they have not released the name.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Intentionally pulling the trigger, is an accident according to the hillbillies. They have said so many times on many posts. This makes them to stupid and dangerous to even discuss the issue much less own a gun.

    ReplyDelete