College student killed in gun accident

[ZMP_CTR]

College student killed in gun accident
Published: Jan. 22, 2008 at 11:42 PM

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- A college student in the St. Louis area was shot accidentally when a friend's gun fired as he unloaded it, police said.

Megan Piontek, 22, died of a bullet wound in the head Saturday night, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. She was watching television in the house she shared with a cousin in Sunset Hills.

Lisa Piontek of Washington, Mo., the dead woman's mother, said the friend, a young man, was distraught.

"We seriously think it was an accident in our hearts, too," she said.

While police do not believe the killing was deliberate, the man could still face charges. Investigators plan to present their findings to the prosecutor once their work is done.

Piontek was in a master's degree program in rehabilitation and counseling at Maryville University. She worked at the Independence Center, a program in St. Louis that helps the mentally ill find jobs and also had worked on a crisis hotline and at the Judevine Center for Autism.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/01/22/college_student_killed_in_gun_accident/8298/

 

[Dave P]

"Piontek was in a master's degree program in rehabilitation and counseling "


So who do you call in for the grief counselor team when all them are grieving for a fallen comrade??

 

[romma]

That is the wrong way to unload a gun if not intending to do so...

No matter what, or if the police charge him with something, he has his own personal hell to pay with his conscience for the rest of his days.

 

[fletcher]

Tragic, but it can't be said enough:

Know and follow the 4 rules

 

[Nomad101bc]

"umm sorry officer but I have always pointed my gun at someones head before clearing it and determining its unloaded." Give the guy murder in the first degree; I dont buy into any of this it was murder with a crappy cover up story!

 

[RNB65]

Yet another example of why basic firearms safety training should be taught in every school. Guns are a fundamental part of American culture and way too many people don't know how to handle them safely.

 

[kingpin008]

"umm sorry officer but I have always pointed my gun at someones head before clearing it and determining its unloaded." Give the guy murder in the first degree; I dont buy into any of this it was murder with a crappy cover up story

Wow, way to be judgemental without knowing any of the facts.

Good job.

 

[Nomad101bc]

What facts am I neglecting? The idiot gives gun owners a bad reputation and does'nt follow basic safety. Not to mention the circumstances are so speculative that murder may have been the intent.

 

[fletcher]

Not to mention the circumstances are so speculative that murder may have been the intent.

Those facts.

I agree that people like this give gun owners a bad name, but I doubt it was murder, as this sort of thing happens all too often.

 

[Gato Montés]

Charge him with manslaughter.

 

[El Tejon]

Manslaughter?

On what basis???

 

[Eric F]

What facts am I neglecting?

How about the circumstances of how the gun was being unloaded. Perhaps he droped it and got an AD. The story does not state any details.
Kinda like a post that says person killed in car wreck and you come out with "should have worn a seat belt" maybe the car got hit by a tractortrailer going the wrong direction on the interstate. Any way no facts stated how can you possibly make a judgement based on no facts?

 

[Phil DeGraves]

Yeah, let's let some child molester out of prison to make room for this idiot that doesn't know how to unload a firearm properly...

 

[Eric F]

Charge him with manslaughter

I agree its a sure way for him to walk a free man after any 2 for a nickel lawyer gets hold of it. Bassed on current facts of the case which for us is NONE!

Yes here at The High Road no one ever makes a mistake and death to those that do

 

[Macpherson]

People do stupid things all the time with cars, planes, power tools, and there's no ulterior motive required. I think we all know of a certain DEA agent who did something very similiar, but he only shot himself. Should he be tried for assault with a deadly weapon...against himself? Accidents are just that: accidents. The sad thing is that with guns there is no margin for error when it comes to handling them. Given the saturation of guns in this society, even a non gun person has enough knowledge to know that fluffy bunnies do not come out of a gun, and thus should understand the cardinal rule of gun safety:

NEVER, EVER POINT THE GUN AT ANYTHING YOU DON'T WANT TO SHOOT!

So sad that an innocent bystander was the victim of carelessness, but I'm sure he'll be tortured by this for the rest of his life.

 

[Phil DeGraves]

"...the young man, was distraught."

"We seriously think it was an accident in our hearts, too," the dead woman's mother said.

"While police do not believe the killing was deliberate..."

If everybody's who are there and investigating (as opposed to most of us, who are making judgements based on a 150 word article) are correct in their assessment, what will putting this young man in jail accomplish? Is he going to unload more guns at people's heads if he is not incarcerated?
Heck, left on his own,he'll probably off himself from guilt before the year is out...

 

[Gato Montés]

After reviewing the facts, I now think hit and run in the first degree is more suitable.

Really though, what's wrong with involuntary manslaughter? Due to his recklessness a person is now dead.

 

[Nomad101bc]

His stupidity caused death and for that reason he needs to serve time. The drunk who hit a young teenager and caused her to suffer 3rd degree burns for the rest of her life got manslaughter in the first degree. This person who in sheer stupidity or neglect killed somebody at the very least deserves murder in the second degree.

 

[ZeSpectre]

Due to his recklessness a person is now dead.

We do NOT know that. Hell last week my wife came into the room as I was field stripping a gun and walked right over to a shelf next to me and leaned over to grab something...placing herself right into the line of the muzzle.

Now in truth it was no big deal as the firearm was empty, locked open, and half disassembled, but I still swung it away from her fast and pleaded with her to never do something that silly again while I was working with firearms.

Reading about this situation I had a horrible image of how my own situation could have been if I had been careless, combined with my wife's brain-skip.

 

[fletcher]

We do NOT know that. Hell last week my wife came into the room as I was field stripping a gun and walked right over to a shelf next to me and leaned over to grab something...placing herself right into the line of the muzzle.

She was watching television in the house she shared with a cousin in Sunset Hills.

 

[Eric F]

I think this might be my next signature

and again I say
Yes here at The High Road no one ever makes a mistake and death to those that do

 

[RNB65]

I imagine when the civil attorneys are finished with him, he'll feel like he's spent a decade in prison. He may not be guilty of a crime, but he's certainly liable for negligence.
.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Yet another example of why basic firearms safety training should be taught in every school. Guns are a fundamental part of American culture and way too many people don't know how to handle them safely.

Yep. Much easier to avoid negligent discharges than contend with their consequences.

 

[BigBadJohn]

He will probably get some time or at least probation, he will most likely be charged with criminally negligent manslaughter,if it turns out the above story
is true. If it was your daughter I highly doubt you would excuse it as a stupid mistake.

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

If it was your daughter I highly doubt you would excuse it as a stupid mistake.

Amen to that.

It is a bit weird though that so many people are jumping to conclusions before we know anything...



BTW, IBTL