Shotgun blast hurts two at gun show
By CLIFTON ADCOCK World Staff Writer
10/22/2006
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Two men were injured Saturday morning at the Wanenmacher's Tulsa Arms Show at Expo Square when a vendor accidentally discharged a shotgun.
The men, whose names were not released Saturday, suffered only minor injuries, officials said. Investigators will forward a complaint against the vendor of misdemeanor reckless handling of a firearm to the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office.
The vendor's name was not released Saturday.
Joe Wanenmacher, the gun show's manager, said the vendor was examining a double-barreled .410-gauge shotgun that he thought was loaded with a snap cap. A snap cap is a nonlive round that allows the handler to dry-fire the weapon without damaging the firing pin or the firing pin holes.
However, when the vendor pulled the trigger, the shotgun fired a blast through his display case, Wanenmacher said. The pellets ricocheted off the floor and struck two men standing nearby, he said.
Cpl. Jerry Holloway of the Tulsa County Sheriff's Department said investigators recovered one spent shell and a live shell in the gun's other barrel.
One of the victims was wounded in the back of the head and the other in the right side of the abdomen, Holloway said. Both were taken to St. John Medical
Center, where they were treated and released, he said.
Wanenmacher said loaded guns are not allowed at the show.
"This would have never happened if the exhibitor had been following the rules," he said. "It was something that could have easily been prevented.
"We will pack him up and move him out, and he will not be welcome back."
When handling a firearm, Wanenmacher said, safety should always be the top concern: "A good rule is when handling a gun, assume it's loaded, even if you know it's unloaded."
In 1994, a similar accident happened at the Tulsa Gun and Knife Show when a vendor accidentally fired a .45-caliber pistol. Investigators said the bullet ricocheted off the floor and struck two men in the feet.
In 2000, a 10 mm pistol discharged as a man was unholstering it at Wanenmacher's Tulsa Arms Show. The bullet struck the person next to him in the leg.