75-year-old man unintentionally shoots and kills himself while cleaning his gun

75-year-old Frank Kern, of Flemington, New Jersey, was cleaning and disassembling his .22 caliber rifle when he unintentionally discharged the gun. Kern was shot in the abdomen.
When police arrived, they found Kern lying in his garage.  He was flown to a medical center in Trenton but died the next morning of his injuries.
According to the county prosecutor's office, "This is a terrible tragedy and our condolences go out to the Kern family."

Woman didn't know gun was loaded, shoots and kills boyfriend

20-year-old Makenzie Halinski was at her boyfriend's house in Festus, Missouri. She and her boyfriend, 20-year-old Cole Campbell were in the basement smoking marijuana and drinking. In a police interview, Halinski said that Campbell was showing her how to use guns and that he would always unload a gun and put the safety on before handing it to her.
At some point, Campbell handed Halinski a handgun and told her it was unloaded and the safety was on. He told her to point the gun toward him and said "shoot me." Thinking the handgun was empty, Halinski pulled the trigger.

The gun discharged and Campbell was shot in the forehead. Campbell was declared dead at the scene.
Neighbors said they were not surprised, that Campbell had set up a shooting range in his basement and that at times he practiced shooting targets from his basement bed.
Police seized multiple guns as well as several pipe bombs from the house.
Halinski was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Police chief unintentionally shoots himself with newly issued weapon

Chief Mark Hathaway, a 25-year veteran officer and current chief of the Bangor, Maine police, was cleaning his newly issued weapon Monday when he unintentionally discharged the gun.
According to a statement from the city, "At approximately 5:15 p.m., while officers were cleaning their new guns at the Bangor police station, Chief Mark Hathaway sustained a non-life threatening injury to his left hand in what appears to be an accidental discharge of his duty weapon."
Hathaway was taken to the local hospital where he was treated and released.
The department had just replaced the police firearms with .45-caliber semiautomatic Glock handguns.
"There are different mechanisms in the gun that is for sure," said a police spokesperson.

Teen who received handgun as graduation present unintentionally shoots friend

18-year-old Logan Evans, of Plankinton, South Dakota, was riding with three friends on I-90 Saturday morning. Evans had just received a 9mm handgun as a high school graduation present and was showing off the gun.
He removed the magazine from the gun and, thinking the gun was now empty, pointed it at Nick Lawson, who was sitting in the back seat, and pulled the trigger.
Lawson was shot in the chest. He was airlifted to the hospital in Sioux Falls. The hospital has not released his condition but according to social media posts, Lawson is improving but remains in the hospital.
The local school superintendent said that Evans graduated high school this year and that Lawson will be a senior next year. "It's obviously a tragic accident," he said, "we just hope and wish for the best for all people involved."
Evans has been charged with aggravated assault and reckless discharge of a firearm.

Man loading handgun unintentionally fires weapon, hits cyclist passing by

49-year-old John Albers, of Herndon, Virginia, was in his home Saturday night cleaning and reloading his handgun. Albers unintentionally discharged the weapon.
The bullet traveled outside and hit a man on a bicycle who happened to be riding by at that moment. The man was hit in the abdomen. He was taken to the hospital for surgery. "He should make it though this," said a spokesperson for the police, "but the injuries were pretty significant."
Albers was charged with reckless handling of a firearm, a class one misdemeanor.

Parents fighting over handgun shoot and kill 6-month-old daughter

26-year-old Angela Major and 40-year-old Ken Mason, of Knoxville, Tennessee were struggling over a handgun when the gun unintentionally discharged.
According to a witness, the couple was fighting over a handgun while their six-month-old baby sat at their feet. The gun went off, striking the father in the hand and hitting the baby girl in the head.
The baby was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Major has a criminal history that includes charges of aggravated burglary, aggravated arson, theft and vandalism. She had three other children but has lost custody of them. Mason also has a criminal history.
The parents have been charged with reckless homicide and are being held on $1 million bond.

Gun in purse discharges, shooting 7-year-old girl

43-year-old Sondra Taylor, of St. Louis County, Missouri, had arranged for a massage therapist to come to her home and give her and her 17-year-old daughter massages. The therapist brought her 7-year-old daughter along.
Sondra had left her purse on the dining room table. Inside her purse was a .38-caliber handgun.
Somehow the purse was knocked off the table and when it hit the floor the gun inside discharged. The bullet struck the 7-year-old girl in the leg. She was taken to the hospital for treatment and is expected to be okay.
It was not clear if Sondra has a concealed weapons permit. Police are investigating the incident.

Man unintentionally shoots and kills daughter

51-year-old Scott Hazelbaker, of Des Moines, Iowa, was at home with his 18-year-old daughter Emily. Hazelbaker told a reporter that the two were joking around, having fun, while Emily was packing and getting ready to go to Kansas City for a concert the next night.
A news release from police details what happened next. "Early reports suggest Scott Hazelbaker pointed a handgun at his daughter and pulled the trigger without knowing a bullet was loaded in the gun."
Emily died at the scene.
Hazelbaker called Emily his best friend. He said he will have to live for the rest of his life with the fact that he pulled the trigger. According to a neighbor, Hazelbaker "talked about how his daughter was his prized possession."
Hazelbaker has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and assault by intentionally pointing a weapon at his daughter.

After man unintentionally shoots through apartment wall, police find cache of weapons

31-year-old Matthew Klein, of Glen Burnie, Maryland unintentionally discharged a handgun in his apartment. The bullet went through the wall into the apartment next door. Six people, including three children were in the next door apartment at the time but fortunately, no one was injured.
Klein tried to convince police that he had unintentionally shot an air rifle, but police found a loaded handgun with a fresh spent round.
After obtaining permission to search Klien's home police found two high-powered rifles, two air rifles, a Tec9 assault pistol, 14 handguns and 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
Police confiscated the guns and charged Klein with reckless endangerment and related offenses.

Man buys gun for protection, unintentionally shoots and kills friend

20-year-old Joe Colter, of Glendale, Arizona, was with some friends playing video games. Colter started joking with one of his friends about having a gun. According to reports, he reached into his back pocket and took out a 9mm handgun. Keeping the gun hidden behind his back he racked the slide to eject the chambered round. But he neglected to remove the magazine and didn't realize that he had also chambered a second round.
Colter pointed the gun in the direction of his friend and pulled the trigger expecting to hear a "click." Instead, the gun went off and he shot his friend in the chest.
The man was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Colter told police he had purchased the gun three months earlier for protection. He bought the gun through a private sale via an Internet website. Because it was a private sale, with no background check, Colter did not have be 21. If he had gone to a licensed firearm dealer he would not have been able to buy the handgun.
Colter told police he wasn't really familiar with the gun. He didn't receive an owner's manual, had received no training and had only fired the handgun once before, at a range.
Colter and other witnesses at the scene said the two men were good friends and that the shooting was unintentional. Colter is being charged with reckless manslaughter.