coloradokevin
Member
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2008
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- 3,285
So, I just saw this article through a local news site:
http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=119786&catid=346
While I think that it is tragic when anyone loses their life in the course of enjoying a hobby, I also realize that this incident was completely preventable, and will probably lead to this range eventually being shut down!
For those of you who shoot in the Colorado Front Range, you are probably already familiar with the Rampart Range facility. When I lived near Colorado Springs I used to regularly visit this unsupervised range, which is located in one of the best natural settings I've had the pleasure of shooting at (with a nice big view of Pikes Peak and everything). Unfortunately, in classic form people have trashed this FREE and unsupervised public range, which has led to an ongoing controversy over whether or not it should be closed. Given this incident, I imagine we've probably seen the last of this facility
As I said, it is tragic when anyone loses their life unecessarily. But, it is a real shame that the negligent actions that led to this death will now probably impact the rest of the local shooting community!
http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=119786&catid=346
9news said:"EL PASO COUNTY - A 25-year-old man was killed when a friend accidentally shot him as they were unloading their weapons at an unsupervised shooting range on U.S. Forest Service land in El Paso County.
Otis Freison of Aurora was shot in the chest at the range on Rampart Range Road on Saturday, said Lt. Lari Sevene with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
Freison was among a group of friends who had gone to the range.
"Someone didn't clear their weapon properly," Sevene said. "As a general rule, everyone is on the line parallel to each other, and their firearms are pointed down range, but this is a public range, so there is no oversight."
The range in the Pike National Forest near the Garden of the Gods is managed by the Forest Service.
A National Rifle Association-sponsored shooting range adviser inspected the trash-strewn site in April 2007, according to a decision memo on the Forest Service website.
The adviser "recommended that supervision on site was needed immediately," the memo said.
A Forest Service dispatcher referred a call for comment to the sheriff's office.
Freison's father, also named Otis Freison, said the range should be closed.
"I thought this was a supervised club, and now I am finding out that this place is a garbage dump, basically," he said. "If you don't have supervision in a place like that it is dangerous. It absolutely should be shut down."
A 2006 article in The (Colorado Springs) Gazette described the range as trash-strewn.
"Thousands of paper targets blanket scrub oak trees, pines and both sides of the roadway," the article said. "Mixed in are the ubiquitous beer cans and bottles, fast-food sacks and cups that are dumped during busy weekends.
"Appliances such as refrigerators, water heaters and computer monitors are routinely dumped at the range," according to the article.
Freison was a "good kid," who had a gun but wasn't an avid shooter, his father said. "I'm still trying to figure out what he was doing down there."
Freison installed neon signs for a living but lost his job because of the recession, his father said.
A number of people were at the range when the accident happened at 12:28 p.m.
Freison's friends started life-saving efforts, and medical personnel who arrived shortly after the accident worked unsuccessfully to revive him according to the sheriff's office.
The El Paso County District Attorney's Office will determine whether charges should be filed, authorities said."
While I think that it is tragic when anyone loses their life in the course of enjoying a hobby, I also realize that this incident was completely preventable, and will probably lead to this range eventually being shut down!
For those of you who shoot in the Colorado Front Range, you are probably already familiar with the Rampart Range facility. When I lived near Colorado Springs I used to regularly visit this unsupervised range, which is located in one of the best natural settings I've had the pleasure of shooting at (with a nice big view of Pikes Peak and everything). Unfortunately, in classic form people have trashed this FREE and unsupervised public range, which has led to an ongoing controversy over whether or not it should be closed. Given this incident, I imagine we've probably seen the last of this facility
As I said, it is tragic when anyone loses their life unecessarily. But, it is a real shame that the negligent actions that led to this death will now probably impact the rest of the local shooting community!