How not to check if it's loaded

[anchored]

From the Charleston, W.Va. Gazette: A Darwin Award Nominee

Police briefs
Thursday February 6, 2003

Detectives say fatal shooting was accidental

Charleston detectives believe the shooting death of a Cross Lanes man Tuesday night was accidental.

Nickolas Patton, 24, was found leaning against a refrigerator inside 201 Norton Ave. in Charleston when officers arrived about 7:20 p.m., said Charleston Police Sgt. Brent Webster. He had been shot once in the head with an automatic pistol.

“It’s been ruled more-or-less accidental,†Webster said.

A medical examiner’s autopsy showed the death to be consistent with what the lone witness at the residence told police, Webster said. The witness said Patton had shot himself after saying he believed the gun was not loaded.

“The witness said he put it up to his head and said, ‘I wonder if this thing is loaded,’†Webster said.

Patton was alive when paramedics arrived, but died en route to CAMC General Hospital.

 

[foghornl]

Kind of like checking to see if the lamp has power, or if the bulb is burned out by removing the bulb and sticking your tongue in the socket..........

 

[Triad]

He doesn't know if his pistol is loaded, so he decides to put it to his head and pull the trigger to find out. You might want to submit that to the Darwin award folks.http://www.darwinawards.com/misc/submit.html

 

[New_comer]

one less to worry about...

 

[alan]

This case would be championship material for any compilation of Darwin Awards.

 

[MLH]

Hope he hadn't spawned yet.

 

[GeorgeAtl]

Yep!!

Darwin at work....Definitely!!


And It was stupid enough to be an urban legend, but there's no accounting for stupidity anymore.

 

[Carlos Cabeza]

OUCH ! That's gonna leave a mark !!!!!
Seriously though guys...........This was senseless and definitely tragic. Like my ol' Pops would say, "NOW LET THAT BE A LESSON TO YA ! " Shortly after a good switchin'......... Everyone should work together to reinforce good safety and handling procedures to all of thier loved ones.

Stay Safe (not original but effective none the less)

Carl

 

[anchored]

Two in one day!

Shooting incident called accidental
An Elkview man was in critical condition today after accidentally shooting himself in the head.

John Grover Buckland, 18, was at the home of some acquaintances on Cemetery Road in Pinch about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, passing around what they thought was an unloaded handgun, a dispatcher for the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department said.

Those present had been pointing the gun at one another and pulling the trigger in jest when, according to police reports, Buckland put the gun under the right side of his chin and pulled the trigger. The weapon discharged and the bullet exited on the upper left side of Buckland's head, the dispatcher said.

Police were called to the residence and Buckland was transported to Charleston Area Medical Center's General Division. He was in the hospital's intensive care unit, a hospital operator said.

Ok, despite appearances, we West Virginians aren't that stupid. These fellas must have been non-natives!

 

[Azrael256]

These articles expose the deadly flaw in the thinking of these people. The very idea that a gun could be unloaded is just silly. Unloaded guns simply don't exist. When you make "unloaded" a part of your gun vocabulary, you get killed by the magic bullet that isn't there.

 

[DeltaElite]

Oddly enough, the bullet into his brain, did not effect his intellect.

 

[Flatfender]

Just a little more clorox in the gene pool...

 

[schild]

Must be something in the water in WV.

 

[jmbg29]

More air, food, and water for me!

HOORAY!!!!

 

[Shooter 2.5]

So it someone wants to kill themselves, they have to find a witness and say the magic words, " I wonder if this thing is loaded", and then pull the trigger.
The authorities write it up as an accident and the insurance company pays off the policy.

Some of these people may be depressed but not stupid.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Every gun is always loaded, even if you know it's not.

 

[Airwolf]

Dang! I seem to be using that image more and more lately.

 

[M1911]

Definitely Darwin award candidates.

 

[Redlg155]

“The witness said he put it up to his head and said, ‘I wonder if this thing is loaded,’†Webster said.

I'm guessing the witness probably omitted the part when he said..."Gee..why don't you pull the trigger and find out?"

Good SHooting
RED