After unintentionally shooting and killing friend, teen panics and tries to dismember body

19-year-old Jeremy McVicker and 19-year-old Dylan Heinen, of Spokane, Washington, were hanging out with friends at McVicker's house. According to another friend who was there, McVicker pulled out a 9mm handgun and began playing with it.
"He was loading, unloading and racking the slide on the gun repeatedly," the friend told police. Heinen said something like "why don't you just pull the trigger?" so McVicker pointed the gun at Heinen and thinking the gun was unloaded, pulled the trigger. Heinen was shot in the head and died instantly.
After the shooting, McVicker panicked. He got a hatchet and tried to dismember Heinen's body. According to the autopsy, McVicker struck Heinen's body 40 times in the back of the head and neck attempting to decapitate him.
Court records note, "after striking Heinen repeatedly with the hatchet, McVicker said he became sickened and stopped."
"It's such a foreign concept to us," said a Spokane police officer. "Not only to accidentally shoot your friend, but then go through the exercise of dismembering them with a hatchet. It's very tragic."
McVicker has been charged with first-degree manslaughter. His bail has been set at $1,000,000. Police said alcohol was involved in the incident.

Woman unintentionally shoots fiance at gun range

A couple were among a large group of people target shooting at the Manatee Gun and Archery Club in Myakka City, Florida. The woman was firing a .45-caliber Taurus handgun when a bullet casing landed inside her shirt.
While trying to keep the hot casing off her skin and get the casing out of her blouse, she bent over and started swatting her shirt. But she was still holding the gun with her finger on the trigger.
She unintentionally discharged the gun, shooting her fiance in the leg. The bullet passed through his right thigh. He was taken to the hospital with a non life-threatening injury.
Police confirmed that other witnesses at the gun range gave the same story. No charges are being filed.

15-year-old unintentionally shoots and kills himself with family handgun

15-year-old Matthew Daniels, of Sweetwater, Tennessee unintentionally shot himself with a family handgun. According to police, "Apparently based on everything we can find out, we have no sign that he was depressed or anything of that nature, so it looks like an accidental shooting."
Police responded to the call around 5:45 Thursday night. They found Matthew's mother performing CPR on her son. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Reports do not indicate how the family handgun was stored, whether it was kept unloaded and locked, or why Matthew was handling the gun.
Matthew was a freshman at Sweetwater High School. He was an honor student and had just been named Student of the Month. Students, faculty and staff at the high school wore purple on Monday in honor of Matthew. Purple was Matthew's favorite color.

Man unintentionally shot dead playing a game of "quick draw" at work

30-year-old Daniel Garrett, of Albertville, Alabama was at work at Extreme Concepts, a car stereo company, when he and another man decided to play quick draw with their guns.
Garrett had a 9mm handgun. The other man had a .40 caliber Glock handgun. Both men thought their guns were unloaded.
Garrett was unintentionally shot in torso. He was taken to the local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police are still investigating the incident and no charges have been filed yet.

Gun store employee unintentionally shot by another employee

A 58-year-old woman was working at Dawsonville Gun and Pawn shop in Dawsonville, Georgia when she was unintentionally shot in the leg by another employee.
According to the local sheriff, "One employee had attempted to try to break down a 9mm Ruger semi-automatic handgun that was brought in by a customer, during that time, the gun went off and struck another employee in the leg."
The woman was taken to the hospital in Gainesville for treatment where she is listed in stable condition.

20-year-old unintentionally shoots friend while showing off his shotgun

20-year-old William Thibodeau, of Walterboro, South Carolina, was showing his friend his Mossberg shotgun. As he was handing his friend the shotgun, Thibodeau unintentionally discharged the weapon.
The 20-year-old victim was shot in the upper chest at near point blank range. His girlfriend acted quickly to control the heavy bleeding until medical crews arrived.
The victim was flown to a trauma center in Charleston where he underwent surgery and was listed in critical condition.
Both the victim and Thibodeau told police the shooting was unintentional. Thibodeau has been charged with discharging a weapon within city limits.

Teen shot while playing basketball paralyzed from the waist-down

16-year-old Mario Whitehead, of Orlando, Florida, was playing basketball with friends when he was shot in the shoulder. Another teen, 17-year-old Takim Neal, was carrying a handgun when he unintentionally discharged the weapon.
Accounts of what happened vary. Takim told police he reached into his waistband to check the gun when it went off. But other witnesses say he was playing with the gun when he fired it.
Mario is in the hospital, the bullet still lodged in his spinal cord. He is paralyzed from the waist-down.
Takim was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed firearm, improper exhibition of a dangerous firearm, discharging firearm in public, possession of a firearm by a minor and culpable negligence causing injury.
Police did not indicate where and how the minor obtained the handgun.
"We just pray he walks again and that everyone out there understands the danger of guns," said Mario's aunt. "It was an accident, but it wasn't an accident that this young man had a gun and was in a public park."

Teenager curious about revolver unintentionally shoots friend

A teenager unintentionally shot his 14-year-old friend in the stomach while holding his grandfather's revolver. The two boys, and another friend, had crawled into the grandfather's house through a window, knowing the grandfather was out of town, because they were curious about the gun.
While the boy was holding the revolver he tripped and unintentionally discharged the gun. The victim was airlifted to the hospital where he underwent surgery.
Tom Cooper, the grandfather and gun owner, told reporters that he had left the unlocked, loaded gun on top of his refrigerator. He said he owned the gun for protection and keeps it unlocked and within reach in case he needs it.
"I actually shot at a person or two," he said.
Cooper assumed his grandson was responsible because he had taken a hunting course a few months ago and had learned all about firearms.
"The gun was off limits but it wasn't locked up all the time," said Cooper.
The incident is under investigation.

5 people shot at 3 different gun shows on Gun Appreciation Day

A 36-year-old man from Wilmington, North Carolina wanted to sell a shotgun at a gun show at the North Carolina State Fairground in Raleigh. He had the gun in a case and was unfastening the case at the security table when the gun unintentionally discharged.
Three people were hit by the bird shot. A retired sheriff's deputy suffered an injury to his hand. He was treated and released from the local hospital.
A 54-year-old woman from Benson was being treated for a wound to her right torso and a 50-year-old man from Durham was treated for an injured left hand.
Police have banned any private gun sales for the remainder of the two day gun show. Only licensed firearms dealers will be able to sell guns. Police have also banned any private gun sales on the fairgrounds for the indefinite future.
54-year-old Emory Cozee was leaving a gun show in Indianapolis, Indiana. The gun show does not allow loaded guns inside, so he had unloaded his .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun. He was reloading the gun while walking back to his car when he unintentionally discharged the weapon. Cozee was shot in the hand and taken to the local hospital for treatment.
A dealer at a gun show in Medina, Ohio was examining a semi-automatic handgun he had just bought when he unintentionally discharged the gun.
The bullet ricocheted off the floor and struck a man standing nearby in the leg and arm. The man was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Cleveland. His condition is unknown.
Police have not said if anyone will be charged in these incidents.
The shootings occurred on Gun Appreciation Day, a nationwide event organized by Political Media. Political Media is a political advertising agency dedicated to promoting right of center causes. They are a for profit corporation that is keeping a portion of Gun Appreciation Day contributions.

Two men target shooting with AK-47 shoot nearby houses

53-year-old Mark Bornino and 45-year-old Daniel Volpone of Montville Twp, Ohio were target shooting with an AK-47 in Bornino's backyard. They were shooting at paper targets without any backstop to stop the bullets.
Mary Kuruc, who lives about a third of a mile away, called the police to report the gunfire and was waiting for them to arrive when a bullet came through the wall and shot into her microwave.
Police confronted the shooters as they were being another volley. "Both men were ordered to the ground and taken into custody," said a police spokesperson.
Bornino and Volpone had been drinking alcohol and police also found some marijuana. They were arrested and charged with discharging a firearm in a public place.
Police seized an AK-47, two high-capacity magazines, three handguns and over 700 rounds of ammunition.

FBI agent unintentionally shot during training exercise

An FBI agent was unintentionally shot last week while training at an Edmond Police Department facility in Oklahoma. According to an FBI spokesperson, Thursday afternoon FBI agents were involved in a live fire tactical training exercise when the accident occurred.
The agent was shot in the leg. He was treated at the scene and then transported by medical helicopter to OU Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition. He was released from the hospital on Monday.
The FBI did not release the agent's name, the type of firearm involved, or any other details about the incident.
"We are going to be conducting a shooting investigation as we always do," said an FBI spokesperson. "FBI personnel always try to use best safety practices and sometimes accidents happen," he added.
Normal activities at the facility include annual qualifications for weapons and other general law enforcement training.

Virginia man unintentionally shot and killed by 4-year-old great-nephew

58-year-old Casper Jones of Richmond, Virginia was rushed to the hospital after being unintentionally shot in the head Sunday by his 4-year-old great-nephew.
Jones was intially listed in serious condition at VCU Medical Center. Family members told reporters he was "clinging to life." Jones died of his injuries on Tuesday.
It's unclear how the 4-year-old came to have the gun. According to a neighbor, the victim "watches the kids all day. He watched his nieces, nephews, grandsons...he is the babysitter for the family." He added, "That's why I am sorry it happened to him. His own nephew."

Man unintentionally shoots and kills girlfriend

20-year-old Antonio Brown, of Champaign, Illinois, was at a Super 8 Motel with his girlfirend, 20-year-old Sydni Kay Blackwell. According to police reports, Brown "improperly handled a gun, causing it to accidentally discharge a round and wound Ms. Blackwell."
Sydni was wounded around 3 o'clock in the morning. She was taken to the hospital and died of her injuries at 12:45 p.m. Before she died she told police that the shooting was unintentional.
Brown was arrested for unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and aggravated discharge of a firearm.
Reports do not indicate where Brown obtained the gun. As a convicted felon he is prohibited from possessing a gun and a simple criminal background check would have denied this purchase.

Teen unintentionally shoots and kills himself trying to show friends how to safely use a gun

18-year-old Alex Shaw, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was sitting with friends on the back patio of his grandparent's home. He was showing off a .38-caliber revolver he had bought for protection.
According to police, Alex told his friends "that he carried the gun in such a manner as to keep one round out of the firing chamber to prevent an accidental discharge." He told them to fire the gun to see, but none of them wanted to, so he held the gun against his head and pulled the trigger.
Alex was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene.
"It's very heart-wrenching to realize what this family has gone through and now they have this latest tragedy to deal with," said the police spokesperson.
In June, Alex's mother died of cancer. Just eight days later, armed suspects broke into the Shaw's home and Alex's father was shot to death while confronting the masked gunmen. It was after his father's death that Alex began to carry a gun for protection.

12-year-old unintentionally shoots and kills cousin with gun he got as Christmas present

A 12-year-old Pleasant Valley, Alabama boy was with his 12-year-old cousin, Will when he went inside to get the 20 gauge shotgun he had received as a Christmas present. He wanted to show his cousin his new gun.
He brought the gun outside and was showing it to Will, who was on a trampoline, when he unintentionally discharged the gun and shot his cousin in the chest.
"The injuries were too severe and the young man was pronounced dead at the Jacksonville hospital," said the local sheriff.
The sheriff doesn't expect any charges to be filed. Alabama does not have any law that prohibits allowing a child access to firearms.
"If an adult buys a gun and gives it to a child that's not a crime in Alabama," said the sheriff. "There's no restriction whatsoever in that so the responsibility comes back to us as an adult. If I put a child in the front seat of a car with me and I don't put on a seat belt and something bad happens I'm responsible....So the lesson is for people to take these things very seriously, to make sure we're doing everything we can to ensure that safe practices are followed whatever the device is."

Kansas man unintentionally shoots and injures 4-year-old

39-year-old Brian Bruno, of Ottawa, Kansas was showing a friend how to handle a handgun. Thinking the gun was unloaded he pulled the trigger. The gun discharged and the bullet hit a 4-year-old boy who was sitting on the floor nearby.
The boy was wounded in the upper left leg. He was taken to the hospital where he was treated for a non life-threatening injury.
Bruno was arrested and charged with aggravated endangerment of a child and criminal discharge of a firearm.
"I wouldn't characterize it as an accident, " said the police chief. "Because you have to pull the trigger on a weapon in order to fire it. He intentionally pulled the trigger, thinking it was unloaded."

Mistaking him for a burglar, man unintentionally shoots and kills brother

65-year-old Al Dastmalchi, of Wilmington, North Carolina heard the sound of glass breaking at his front door. He grabbed a handgun and went to investigate. He told police that he saw "someone lunging at him with a spiked object in his hand" so he fired his gun.
After firing his gun Dastmalchi turned the front porch light on.
It was then he discovered that he had shot his 63-year-old brother, George.
George was shot in the chest and later died at the hospital.
According to police, they had been called to the home earlier in the evening for a domestic disturbance. George was taken to the hospital for "severe intoxication" but was later released.
Police noted that under North Carolina's Stand Your Ground/Shoot First law, people are allowed to use deadly force if they feel their lives are being threatened on their own property. There is nothing in the law that requires you to verify your target (turn on the front porch light) before shooting.
No charges have been filed.

10-year-old shot by New Year's Eve celebratory gunfire dies

10-year-old Aaliyah Boyer, of Manheim, Pennsylvania was at her grandparents' home in Elk Neck on New Year's Eve. The family was standing in the yard watching the neighbor's fireworks displays when Aaliyah was stuck in the head by 'celebratory gunfire.'
Police are still looking for the person who fired the bullet. They believe the bullet could have been shot from a lengthy distance. Investigators have concluded the bullet was fired indiscriminately into the air and it plunged into Aaliyah's head after falling from the sky.
"This was just a family gathering," said Aaliyah's grandmother. "No one here was drinking or breaking the law. We were just celebrating New Year's Eve."
Aaliyah was taken to the hospital but was taken off life support a few days later. Her organs will be donated to others.
An autopsy will be performed and hopefully the bullet that struck and killed Aaliyah will be recovered.
Police are continuing a door-to-door search in the neighborhood looking for the person who fired the gunshot.

Father charged after unintentionally shooting and killing 8-year-old son

30-year-old Justin Brueger, of Bennettsville, South Carolina was cleaning his gun Sunday night when he unintentionally discharged the weapon. The bullet hit his 8-year-old son, Easton, in the stomach.
Easton died at the hospital of his injuries.
Brueger has been arrested and charged with unlawful conduct toward a child. Police say Brueger put his son at unreasonable risk by pointing the gun in his son's direction while he was cleaning it.
"I want to say I'm very sorry to my son," said Brueger at his court appearance.

Security guard unintentionally shoots friend during a game of "quick draw"

24-year-old Daniel Grenon, of Webster, Massachusetts, and 24-year-old Ryan Aldridge wanted to see which weapon could be drawn faster - a knife or a gun. So the two decided to play a game of "quick draw."
During the contest Grenon pulled out a handgun and unintentionally shot Aldridge in the lower abdomen.
Grenon told police he thought the gun was unloaded.
Aldridge was taken to the hospital and is listed in serious condition after surgery on his abdomen to remove bullet fragments.
Grenon was arrested and charged with assault and batter and improper storage of ammunition and a firearm. He has had his license to carry a concealed weapon revoked and had to surrender his firearms.
Grenon is employed as a security guard at Securitas Security Services in Boston. He has been suspended indefinitely. "He's on administrative leave pending adjudication of the case in the court system," said a company spokesperson. "He is not employed as an armed guard," the spokesperson added.

Two killed in separate unintentional shootings in Vermont

Unintentional gunfire took the lives of two Vermonters this past weekend.
34-year-old Louis Miller, of Richford, Vermont, was killed when a handgun he was holding unintentionally discharged. According to police, Miller wasn't drunk but had been drinking and made a bad decision as he played with his gun. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
17-year-old Jacob Lehouillier, of Johnson, Vermont, was unintentionally shot and killed by his younger brother who was trying to clean a shotgun.
A Vermont State Trooper said that having a conversation with your kids about gun safey is imperative. "You wouldn't give your kids a car and say here you go, why would you do that with a gun?" he said.
He went on to add that guns need to be properly stored. "You can put trigger locks on them, store them in a gun safe that's locked, keep the ammunition separate from the gun and don't leave the keys accessible."