Man selling gun in private sale unintentionally shoots himself

35-year-old Clinton Scott, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida was selling a handgun in a private sale. He had arranged to meet the buyer in a parking lot off Racetrack Road. Scott took the gun out of the trunk of his car and placed it on the hood of the car.

When Scott picked up the gun again, he unintentionally discharged the weapon, shooting himself in the abdomen. Scott had to be taken by medical helicopter to Sacred Heart Hospital for treatment.  He is listed in fair condition.

Police are still investigating the incident.  It is legal under Florida state law to meet a stranger in a parking lot and sell them a gun with no criminal background check run and no records kept. 

Stepfather unintentionally shoots and kills daughter thinking she was a burglar

29-year-old Daniel Meade, of Colorado Springs, Colorado shot his 14-year-old stepdaughter, Kiana O'Neil, about 6 a.m. as she was crawling though a window in their home. Meade thought the girl was a burglar.
Police were on the way to the home at the time of the shooting, having received a burglary in progress call. When they arrived they found Kiana with a gunshot wound.  She was taken to the hospital where she died soon afterwards.
Meade is a 10-year Army veteran who enlisted and ascended to the rank of sergeant first-class.  He is the recipient of a Bronze Star and is currently stationed at Fort Carson.
Police are still investigating and have not yet filed any charges.  Colorado has a "Make My Day" law that allows residents to use deadly force inside their homes if they believe an intruder is intent on harming them or committing a crime. 

Teen shot and killed when friend upstairs unintentionally discharges handgun

24-year-old Ryan Frederick, of Columbia, Tennessee was in his bedroom, showing off his brand new handgun when he unintentionally discharged the weapon. The bullet traveled through the floor boards and struck 19-year-old James Wisdom who was in the kitchen below.

Wisdom was struck in the head and pronounced dead about 1 a.m.

Frederick has served in the Army Reserve for seven years and has a concealed weapons permit. "It was an accident," he told press. "But it shouldn't have happened and I'm going to miss him."

Police continue to investigate but no charges have been filed in the death. "Everything from our initial investigation it appears that it was a tragic accident, " said a police spokesperson. "Our hearts and condolences go out to friends and family."

Teen hit by stray bullet paralyzed from waist down

19-year-old Dominique Romero, of Richmond, California, was sitting on the couch inside her home on Saturday night when someone fired multiple shots in the street outside. One of the bullets came through the wall of her house and hit Dominique. The bullet went through her arm and wedged in her spine.

Doctors at the Walnut Creek medical center told the teen and her family on Monday that she is paralyzed from the waist down.

Dominique's mother told press, "She didn't even cry. She's like 'I'd rather be paralyzed mom, than gone.'"

Police are still searching for the person who fired as many as nine shots that night.

Police instructor found guilty in unintentional trainee shooting case, sentenced to jail

46-year-old William Kern, an 18-year veteran of the Baltimore, Maryland police department, was sentenced to 18 months in jail with all but 60 days suspended for unintentionally shooting a recruit in the head during a training exercise in February.

Kern was found guilty of reckless endangerment in the shooting of Raymond Gray, a police trainee. Gray was critically injured in the shooting. The incident occurred at the Rosewood Center in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Kern testified at trial that he thought he was holding his simunitions training pistol that fires paintball-like cartridges when he pointed the gun at Gray and pulled the trigger. "I realized it was not my simunitions weapon immediately," he said.

Prosecutors argued that Kern broke policy by bringing his gun to the training and that he had an "unhealthy attachment" to his gun, had pulled it by mistake before the shooting and was reluctant to give it up afterward.

Gray, who was shot in the head, lost sight in one eye and was hospitalized for months before moving to a rehabilitation center.

Kern was also sentenced to two years of probation and will have to undergo psychiatric counseling.

4 out of every 10 gunshot injuries in Florida hospitals are due to unintentional shootings

Data collected by the Florida Department of Health has found that four out of every ten people who are rushed to a Florida hospital with a nonfatal gunshot injury were unintentionally shot. In Orange County, Florida that number jumps to more than half of the people treated for nonfatal gunshot injuries.

In addition to leaving injuries which can be permanent, these gunshot wounds cost more than $57 million. The average unintentional gunshot patient admitted to a hospital in Florida required $85,024 in care. Half of that was borne by government providers such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Orlando police chief blamed the high Orange County numbers on the prevalence of firearms there. "Obviously, if you have a higher rate of firearms in a state or county or city, there's going to be a higher rate of nonfatal gun accidents," he said.

He urged gun owners to be responsible, to know at all times where their weapons are and to properly secure them. He added that his officers are finding and seizing too many stolen guns.

A University of Miami pediatrician commented, "We know how to prevent this. We should be reducing access to loaded firearms."

Homeowner struck by stray bullet from shooting range awarded more than $1 million

Mike Domin was working on a backhoe in his backyard in Gargland, Texas, in 2010 when he felt something strike his back. Mike had been struck by a stray bullet. He was rushed to the hospital and spent six days in intensive care.

He sued the owner of Garland Public Shooting Range for negligence. Mike's home was about a mile away from the range, but in the direct line from the firing line.

The owner of the range, James Day, denied liability. He said the bullet probably came from people who were shooting in a landfill near by.

Police and a ballistics expert testified at the trial that they believe the bullet came from the range. Also testifying was a consultant for the local power company who told the jury there was a history of bullets leaving the range. He said he met with the range back in 2000 and again in 2002 about power lines and conductors that had been hit and about damage done by people shooting up in the air. Also, in 2012 two homes in the area were hit by bullets in a two hour span.

The jury took only a few hours to deliver its decision - they found Day and the shooting range negligent, and awarded Mike money for his pain and suffering, medical bills and anguish. He was awarded more than $1 million, including money necessary for treatment for bullet fragments which remain lodged in his chest.

Two people injured in separate unintentional firing range shootings

A civilian police officer employed with the U.S. Marine Corps Support Facility at Blount Island in Florida unintentionally shot himself while training at a firing range in Jacksonville.

According to reports, the officer was putting his handgun in his holster when "the trigger was pulled and he shot a round through his calf."

He was taken to the local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

A 77-year-old Scarborough, Maine man unintentionally shot himself at a local firing range. The man fired a .22-caliber single-action revolver into his abdomen. According to police, "he was handling a firearm at Scarborough Fish and Game and it discharged. He was there by himself, unfortunately, but he was able to make a phone call and get us there."

The man was taken to the local hospital with life-threatening injuries. He underwent surgery and is recovering.

32-year-old woman killed by stray bullet at nightclub during friend's birthday party

32-year-old April Infinger, of Goose Creek, South Carolina was at a friend's birthday party at the Moonshine Saloon when she was struck by a stray bullet as people fought outside the bar.

According to witnesses, people were trying to diffuse an argument between two women when the patrons started throwing punches. The fight spilled outside the club when a man pulled a gun and started shooting.

April was inside the club, celebrating a friend's birthday, when she was struck in the back by a bullet that came through the wall from the parking lot.

April's friend told reporters that she and April were hugging goodbye. Just as they let go she heard a pop and watched as April dropped to the ground inside the bar. "She fell to her knees and never came back up," she said.

April was taken to the local hospital and died a short time later. She leaves behind a husband and 13-year-old daughter.

Police are still investigating the incident.

Man unintentionally shoots himself while buying Christmas tree

59-year-old Michael Bledsoe, of Kingsport, Tennessee, was buying a Christmas tree from a local tree lot. He had just bought a tree and went to his car to get a tree stand.

There was a 12-gauge shotgun in the backseat of the car and when he went to grab the stand the shotgun shifted, causing something to hit the trigger and discharge the weapon.

Bledsoe was shot in the pelvic area and the blast also hit the vehicle parked next to his. He was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Bledsoe is currently in the Intensive Care Unit in critical condition.

Man thought shotgun was unloaded, critically injures 23-year-old friend

A 22-year-old man from Cleveland Heights, Ohio was with friends, looking at a shotgun that belonged to a 31-year-old Columbus man. Thinking the gun was unloaded, he pulled the trigger.

The shot hit a 23-year-old woman standing less than five feet away. The blast struck her in the stomach and chest, and buckshot struck her in the right bicep area, severely damaging her arm. She was taken to the local medical center for treatment and remains in critical condition.

According to reports, the gun's owner was showing off the gun earlier in the evening, when it was unloaded. At some point he loaded the gun and then the group went out to a local bar. They returned to the home and at about 12:20 a.m. the shooting occurred.

Police arrested both the gun's owner and the man who shot the gun on suspicion of felonious assault.

4-year-old boy taken to hosptial after father unintentionally discharges hunting rifle in NYC apartment

50-year-old Luis Gonzalez was in his Vladeck Houses apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Gonzalez was preparing to go hunting over the weekend and was cleaning his rifle when he unintentionally discharged the gun inside his 5th floor apartment.

When the gun discharged the round smashed into the concrete ceiling, sending a piece of debris falling onto his 4-year-old son, who began to bleed. The boy was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Police said seven people were in the apartment at the time. Gonzalez has a license for the gun. He is a bus driver who hunts regularly. Police also removed another rifle and a shotgun from the apartment.

Gonzalez faces charges of reckless endangerment, assault and endangering tne welfare of a child.