Attorney unintentionally shoots himself while cleaning gun

Guy Dotson, Jr., of Murfreesboro, Tennessee was cleaning his handgun when he unintentionally discharged the weapon. The bullet struck the right side of his abdomen and exited his middle back.
Dotson was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he remains in critical condition.
Dotson is an attorney whose areas of practice include criminal defense, personal injury, worker's compensation, and family law. He also serves as a municipal judge for La Vergne, TN. He was appointed city judge in 1994.

Man unintentionally shoots and kills 15-year-old neighbor

55-year-old Robert Furey, of Wendell, North Carolina, called 911 and told the dispatcher he had shot a teen who had entered his home. Furey said he shot the boy with a high powered rifle as the teen walked into his home through the open front door. He said he didn't know who was coming inside when he fired.
The teen turned out to be his neighbor, 15-year-old Nick Exley.
"I've known him since he was a little child," Furley told the dispatcher. "Oh, I cannot believe this. I just killed my little buddy."
Furey later told police the gun went off when he was showing it to Nick. Furey has been charged with voluntary manslaughter and is due in court January 10th.

Two years later, teen still recovering from unintentional shooting

On Halloween, 2010, then 16-year-old Tucker Karrh, of Amarillo, Texas, was hunting on his father's ranch. Tucker and his friends were preparing to leave. Tucker was cleaning his .243-caliber Remington Model 770 rifle when he unintentionally discharged the gun.
Tucker was shot at point-blank range along the surface of his face. The bullet took off his nose, destroyed his right eye, the roof of his mouth and many of his teeth, and left shrapnel in his brain. Tucker was in a coma in critical condition for a month. Since the accident he has had 15 surgeries, with more to come. After becoming suicidal, he also spent time in a mental health treatment center.
Today, Tucker is trying to resume a normal life. Commenting on how his life has changed, he joked with a reporter, "I can take off my nose and take out my eye and I've never been able to do anything close to that before."
Tucker works part-time at a local supermarket and will graduate from high school in June. He will attend Amarillo College next year and hopes to become a trauma counselor.
"I look at life in a totally different perspective than I used to," he said. "I have different beliefs about stuff, how you should live your life. You can't really let people or society hold you back from what you want to do."

2 injured in unintentional shooting at gun show

Two men, ages 20 and 27, were attending a gun show in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. According to police, one of the men had just purchased a 9mm Highpoint semi-automatic handgun and was attempting to load it when he unintentionally discharged the weapon.
The bullet went through the man's hand and struck the other man in the buttocks.
The men drove to the hospital where they were treated. Police were then called, but they don't anticipate filing any charges in the incident.

3-year-old unintentionally shoots and kills himself with uncle's gun

3-year-old Ryder Rozier, of Guthrie, Oklahoma was visiting his uncle Ian Rozier. Rozier is an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper. According to reports, Ryder found a loaded, unlocked handgun on a bedroom nightstand.
Ryder unintentionally shot himself in the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The gun was the trooper's person weapon, not his state-issued gun.
According to his aunt, the family was preparing for Christmas. Ryder was very excited about the upcoming holiday and asked his parents to hurry up and wrap all the presents so he could find them under the tree.
Oklahoma does not have a Child Access Prevention law. Such laws require that guns be kept locked and not accessible by children.

Man unintentionally shoots and kills himself at shooting range

62-year-old Jerry Marsh, of Columbia, South Carolina, was at Shooter's Choice gun store and shooting range. He was dismantling his 40-caliber Glock semi-automatic handgun when he unintentionally discharged the weapon.
Marsh was shot in the chest. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A firearms instructor commented, "Always assume a gun is loaded. Additionally, never point a muzzle of a gun at anything you don't want to destroy. Accident defined: premeditated carelessness.

Man shoots granddaughter mistaking her for an intruder

A 61-year-old Rochester, Minnesota man was sleeping when he heard a noise outside at around 11 o'clock Monday night. The man grabbed his 9 mm handgun and told his wife to call the police. He took the gun and went to investigate the noise.
When he saw a figure at the back door the man fired at least two shots. The person at the backdoor was his 16-year-old granddaughter. She was struck once in the upper torso. She was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive her injuries.
The granddaughter had been living with her grandparents for a few months. They thought she was home when they heard the noise outside.
"The homeowner and his wife remain cooperative and are extremely shaken by last night's events," said the local police captain. "It doesn't appear there was any dispute, any problems with the homeowner, his wife or the granddaughter. It's just a tragic event."

Man putting handgun under pillow for protection unintentionally shoots wife in the face

A 45-year-old Westtown, Pennsylvania man was preparing to go to bed. He was putting a .45 caliber Kimber semi-automatic handgun under his pillow when he unintentionally discharged the gun, shooting his wife in the face. (The couple is legally divorced but reconciled and moved back in together over a year ago.)
The woman was flown to a hospital in Philadelphia where she is listed in stable condition. She will undergo surgery to remove the bullet and repair facial damage.
The gun was legally owned by the husband. He was cooperative and provided a detailed statement to police. The case remains under investigation, but no charges have been filed.

7-year-old unintentionally shot and killed outside gun store

44-year-old Joseph Loughrey, of Sharpsville, Pennsylvania took two guns to a gun store in East Lackawannock Township to try and sell the guns. He had a scope rifle and a 9mm Taurus handgun but the shop owner was not interested in either gun.
So Loughrey went back to his truck with his 7-year-old son, Craig. He put the boy in a booster seat on the passenger side, and put the rifle in the truck. As he was getting in the truck he reached to put the handgun in the center storage console. That's when he unintentionally discharged the gun.
The bullet struck Craig in the chest. The boy died at the scene.
According to police, Loughrey was cooperative but distraught. He had taken the clip out of the gun and didn't realize there was a bullet still in the chamber.
Police are reviewing surveillance video from the shop. Loughrey could face charges, including manslaughter and negligence.
Loughrey is divorced from Craig's mother and had custody of the child over the weekend.

Baseball Hall of Famer unintentionally shoots Chicago Cubs manager while quail hunting

Former Milwaukee Brewer shortstop and Baseball Hall of Famer Robin Yount was quail hunting with Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum in Arizon.
According to Sveum the two were hunting around 50 yards apart. "The bird got up in front of him, and he lost track of where I was and pulled the trigger. I was just looking for birds myself. It was behind me, so I got drilled with pellets in the back and one stuck in the ear."
Yount and Sveum were teammates in Milwaukee and have hunted together before.
Sveum brushed off the incident and jokingly started calling his friend Dick Cheney (in reference to the former vice president who unintentionally shot a friend while hunting in Texas).
Thankfully, Sveum was not seriously hurt in the shooting, because that would have been no joking matter.

Police arrest 16-year-old in shooting police say was unintentional

Two 16-year-old boys were alone at a Chesterfield, Virginia home. The two boys were described as "best friends."
According to reports, they were playing with a handgun. The clip had been removed from the gun and the boys didn't realize there was a bullet left in the chamber.
One of the boys unintentionally discharged the gun and shot the other boy in the face. The bullet entered the boy's left cheek and came out the other side of this face. He was taken to the hospital for surgery and is expected to recover.
The teen who shot the gun has been arrested and charged with felonious assault and reckless handling of a firearm.
Police are trying to determine how the boys got the gun. It does not appear that the firearm was owned by either of boys' parents.
Why do some unintentional shootings result in arrest and others don't, even when the circumstances are similar?

Teenage boys charged with murder after friend killed by neighbor firing warning shot

Four teenagers were breaking into remote fishing camps on Gravine Island, Alabama last April when some nearby neighbors came to see what was going on. The three neighbors, William Hearn, Larry Duncan, and Lonnie Davison got their guns and boated over to the cabin where they had heard noise. Seeing the teenagers they told them to stop and stay where they were.
Hearn and Duncan fired warning shots into the ground. One of the bullets hit 17-year-old Summer Moody who was hiding in the bushes. Summer was shot in the head and died of her injuries ten days later.
Last week the District Attorney announced that a grand jury had indicted the three other teens, 18-year-old Scott Bryd, 18-year-old Dylan Tyree, and 18-year-old Daniel Parnell, for murder. The three were also charged with felony burglary.
In a news release the District Attorney stated:

But for the actions of these three young men - who were engaging in armed burglaries and who acted aggressively when caught - Summer Moody would be with us today.

No charges were filed against the man who actually fired the shot that killed Summer. However, Summer's family has filed suit against the three men, as well as against the Alabama Marine police. According to the family lawyer:

The family is upset and a little angry at the situation. They felt all along that there were two sets of offenders on that particular morning. One were the boys in some place they shouldn't have been and committing a crime that would be up to a jury or judge to decide what the appropriate punishment is. Ths other set of offenders are the shooters who armed themselves up and came down and interjected themselves into this situation where these teenagers were."

Father and grandfather struggling over gun unintentionally shoot 2 young children

27-year-old Kenton Cowgill, of Carthage, Missouri, was with his children at his parents' home when his father-in-law, 48-year-old Mark Wittenmeyer came over to confront him about an earlier domestic violence incident involving his daughter, Shayna.
According to a police report, Wittenmeyer forced his way past Cowgill's mother to enter the home. Cowgill then reportedly picked up a loaded shotgun which was nearby. The two began struggling with the shotgun while the weapons' muzzle was pointed in the direction of the two children. The shotgun unintentionally discharged, with pellets striking both of the children.
The two children, a 2-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy, were taken to the hospital and treated for non life-threatening injuries.
Cowgill was arrested and charged with three counts of domestic assault, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. Wittenmeyer was not charged in the incident.

4 injured in unintentional hunting shootings in Iowa this weekend

4 people were shot in unintentional hunting incidents this weekend in Iowa.

• 58-year-old Miles Sagen was hit in the shoulder with a shot fired by his hunting partner.  He was taken to the hospital in Des Moines where he was listed in serious condition. A spokesperson from the Department of Natural Resources said at the time of the incident there was a thick fog in the area that made it impossible to see more than 100 yards. "I would strongly urge hunters to reconsider hunting in these conditions with such dense fog," he said.
• 46-year-old Steven Thompson was injured when he unintentionally discharged his shotgun. He shot himself in the big toes and was taken to the hospital in Iowa City.
• 32-year-old Stacy Wiltfang was struck by a stray bullet while hunting.  The bullet penetrated one of her boots but did not penetrate her foot.  She was treated at the hospital and released. 
• 48-year-old Clint Morgan was hit in the elbow by another member of his seven-person hunting party. He was taken to the hospital in Des Moines for treatment.