Ex-cop who unintentionally shot himself outside school faces felony charges

42-year-old Douglas Good, of Glenwood, Iowa, was in his car outside of Glenwood elementary school, waiting to pick up his daughter who attends the school when he unintentionally shot himself with a 9 mm handgun.  Good was shot in the leg and taken to the hospital for treatment.

Police did not give details of how the shooting happened.  Good has been charged with carrying weapons on school ground, a Class D felony.

Good is a former Glenwood police officer and has taught training classes for people seeking permits to carry concealed weapons.

Man unintentionally discharges weapon in Walmart, keeps shopping

50-year-old Christopher Strube, of Centerville, Iowa, was at the Walmart store in town when he unintentionally discharged a .45-caliber handgun that was in his pants pocket.

Strube told police that a bottle he was carrying hit the handgun and caused it to fire one round. Strube kept shopping, paid for his items and left the store.

Police were notified because several employees and customers said they heard a gunshot and smelled gun powder. Police found a bullet hole in a basket and several cans of beans. They also located a .45-caliber bullet in one of the cans of beans.

Strube, who has a valid concealed weapons permit, was arrested and charged with discharging a weapon within the city limits.

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.

Teen buys rifle, later that day unintentionally shoots friend in the leg

18-year-old Kory Denton, of Crescent, Iowa, was target shooting with two friends. Kory's friend had just purchased a high powered rifle and the teens were checking it out.
They had finished shooting and were clearing out the weapon when they discovered that a cartridge was stuck in the gun. They were trying to remove the cartridge with a screwdriver when they unintentionally discharged the weapon.
The muzzle was pointed at Kory's leg and he was shot in the thigh.
Kory was taken to the local hospital and then flown by helicopter to a university medical trauma unit for surgery. The sheriff says Kory has a lot of recovery time ahead of him and it's very fortunate he wasn't more seriously injured, especially since the weapon is capable of doing a lot of damage.
Iowa does not require any gun safety training before residents can purchase a long gun.

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. 

8-year-old boy unintentionally shot at gun range

8-year-old David Young, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, was with his family at the Black Hawk Park firing range. He wandered across the firing line and was unintentionally shot in the head by his 5-year-old sister with a .22-caliber rifle.
At first officials thought it was a minor injury with an entrance and exit wound. But later at the hospital doctors discovered a lump on another part of his head and suspected the bullet fragmented and part of the projectile went deeper than first thought.
David was flown to Iowa City and taken to the Brain Trauma Unit. His conditions wasn't available.
Officials plan to meet at the sheriff's office to review safety at the range in light of the incident.

4-year-old picks up gun, shoots father

A 4-year-old boy was in a pick-up truck with his father, 29-year-old Christopher Upenieks, of Mason City, Iowa, when the boy picked up a handgun and fired it. The bullet hit Upenieks in the knee.
When police arrived the two were in the parked truck outside their home. Upenieks was taken to the hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Upenieks, who has a concealed weapons permit, has been charged with child endangerment and allowing a minor access to a firearm for leaving a loaded, unsecured firearm where the child could access it.

Man sitting in his apartment shot when bullet comes from apartment above

34-year-old Tjuane Butts, of Des Moines, Iowa, was in his apartment playing a board game with friends when he was shot by a bullet that came from the apartment above.
"I'm rolling the dice and it's like pow! I went from playing a board game to laying on the floor." said Butts.
The bullet went in Tjuane's chest and out his stomach. He was taken to the local hospital where he was treated and released.
Police arrested 19-year-old Chad Ashley and charged him with reckless use of a firearm and illegally discharging a firearm within the city limits. Chad's mother told police that she had just bought two guns. She thought the 9mm pistol must have fallen and discharged. She also told police she hadn't bought any ammunition and didn't know how the gun came to be loaded.
Ohh shoot.

Iowa woman unintentionally shot and killed by 10-year-old

An autopsy performed by the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation has confirmed that 41-year-old Amy Hettinger of Dundee, Iowa died of an unintentional gunshot injury.
Police were called to Amy's home on Thursday were they found she had been shot. According to reports, "D.C.I. determined that Hettinger had been shot by a 10-year-old inside the house who had been handling a loaded handgun. The gun belonged to another family member."
Police have not identified the relationship between the 10-year-old and Amy nor have they said who the gun belonged to. The case is being sent to the district attorney for a review of possible charges.

Three injured over the weekend in separate Iowa hunting accidents

Three people were shot and injured in separate hunting accidents this weekend in Iowa.
35-year-old Benjamin Parker, of Grinnell, IA, shot himself in the foot when his gun became tangled in some bags he was carrying. Parker had just finished hunting for the day and while trying to free the gun Parker unintentionally discharged the weapon. He was taken to a hospital in Des Moines with a non-life threatening injury.
25-year-old Ryan Mills, from Altoona, IA was shot when a deer ran between him and other hunters in his group. The bullet passed through the deer and hit Mills in the thigh. Mills was airlifted to the hospital in Des Moines where he was treated for his injury.
38-year-old Thomas Burns, of Waterloo, IA, was shot in the midsection when one of the people he was hunting with went to shoot a running deer. The bullet missed the deer and struck Burns instead. Burns was hunting with 21 other people when the incident occurred. He was airlifted to the hospital in Des Moines where he is in stable condition.
"Hunters need to plan the hunt and then hunt the plan so that all of the hunters know where the other members of their party will be," said Iowa Department of Natural Resources Safety Officer. "Shooting at deer running between members of a hunting party is the number one cause of shooting related injuries during shotgun deer season."
Ohh shoot.

Unintentional shot severs man's femoral artery and vein

21-year-old Marcus Lorimor of Fremont County, Iowa was disassembling a handgun when the gun discharged. The bullet hit him in the thigh, severing his femoral artery and vein. Rescuers found Marcus in his driveway. He was flown to the Nebraska Medical Center in critical condition. He is expected to survive.
"He's lucky he didn't bleed to death," said the county sheriff.
Ohh shoot.