Girl shot in the neck by stray bullet while traveling in car on Interstate 55

An 11-year-old Kirksville, Missouri girl was traveling with her family on Interstate 55 when the driver's side window suddenly blew out. The incident occurred near the 2-mile marker in Missouri.

According to the Pemiscot County Sheriff, "the first thought was the heat caused it; however, the 11-year-old was in the back seat and began complaining of pain in her neck. It was determined she had been shot by a 9mm round."

The girl was airlifted to a hospital in Memphis, TN for treatment.

Deputies are investigating a person who was shooting his pistol in the area at the same time. If a shot missed the berm, it would be in line with I-55. Ballistic testing is being done on two pistols.

The girl was reportedly released from the hospital later that evening and the family continue on its vacation.

Two teenagers playing with guns unintentionally shoot and kill woman

40-year-old Tina Castro, of Kansas City, Missouri, was seated in the front seat of a friend's car.  Two 16-year-old boys got into the back seat of the car.  One of the boys was a relative of Tina's. The boys started playing with guns in the car.

News reports do not indicate if the guns were already in the car or if the boys brought the guns into the car.  One of the boys unintentionally discharged one of the guns.  The bullet struck Tina in the back.

Her friend pulled her out of the car.  She died at the scene.

Police arrested the teens and charged them with involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action.

Tourist from South America killed at gun range when gun recoils

25-year-old Andrea Corredor-Rivera, from Colombia in South America, was visiting family in Missouri. She was at the Salt River Gun Range near New London, MO when she lost control of the gun she was shooting.

According to reports, Corredor-Rivera died of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. She was shooing a .500-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun when the gun recoiled and she lost control. The sheriff said the gun spun around in her hand, leading to a second fatal shot.

Man target shooting in his backyard unintentionally shoots and kills 4-year-old

4-year-old Zoie Dougan and her mother were staying at a friend's house in Rogersville, Missouri.

According to reports, the 24-year-old man who lived in the house was outside target shooting with a .22 caliber rifle.

"The position he was shooting from - his vision was blocked to his right and a visiting 4-year-old girl walked into the path of fire and he shot her in the head," said the county sheriff.

Zoie died on the way to the hospital.

No charges have been filed relating to the death, although the man was arrested on an outstanding warrant and is currently in the county jail.

Mentally challenged man didn't know gun was real, unintentionally shoots and kills his sister

20-year-old Marcus Anderson, of St. Louis, Missouri is described by police as "mentally challenged", althgough they didn't identify specific disabilities. Marcus and his family had just moved into a new home. A person who had lived in the house before, a family friend, had left behind a shotgun that had been spray painted gold. In an effort to hide the gun until she was able to properly dispose of it, Marcus' mother put the shotgun behind a dresser.
Marcus found the gun. He didn't realize it was a real gun and unintentionally shot and killed his 15-year-old sister Alicia.
According to a neighbor, "The little girls was in the shower as she got out of the tub and put on her robe as she was walking out of the door, boom he shot her in the head." She added that after the shooting Marcus kept repeated "I didn't know it was a real gun."
Police arrested Marcus and charged him with 2nd Degree Involuntary Manslaughter.

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.

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.

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.

18-year-old unintentionally shot and killed when dropped gun discharges

18-year-old Patrick Goddard, of Strafford, Missouri, was hanging out with a group of friends Monday night. According to Brockwell Rostam, one of the teens present, "We were in my room and he [Patrick] had a little handgun. He starts showing us it and passing it around and it was scaring Haley, because she doesn't like guns. So I threw it down on the table because she was so upset about it. And when I did, it just exploded; I didn't even see where it hit him. And everyone just freaked out and we thought he was faking or something."
Patrick was hit with the single bullet and died at the scene.
Police are investigating the incident but no charges in the death are filed.
"I always thought guns were to protect you," said Brockwell. "But all they did was take away our best friend and so I'll never touch another gun as long as I live. That's a promise."

Missouri man unintentionally shoots and kills wife

Earl Kuschel, of New Haven, Missouri, was in his work shop, sighting a scope on his 22 caliber rifle. He fired a shot through the open door of the shed at a target in his yard.
Unfortunately, he did not see his wife, 63-year-old Ruth Ann, come around the corner. The bullet struck her in the upper chest.
Earl attempted CPR until the ambulance arrived. Ruth Ann was pronounced dead by the ambulance crew.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by a son and two grandchildren.

3-year-old shoots and kills himself with handgun his father had just bought to protect the family

3-year-old Joshua Turner, Jr., also known as J.J., of Independence, Missouri, shot and killed himself after finding an loaded, unlocked handgun that had been stuffed in the couch cushions in his house.

J.J.'s parents talked with the local television station about the shooting.

To view the two stories on the website go here:
http://www.kmbc.com/news/kansas-city/Grieving-parents-talk-about-son-s-shooting-death/-/11664182/15186050/-/elcftvz/-/index.html
http://www.kmbc.com/news/kansas-city/Heartbroken-parents-talk-about-toddler-s-accidental-shooting/-/11664182/15179898/-/22ke6kz/-/index.html

J.J.'s father said he had just purchased the handgun but didn't have a holster to store it in so he stuffed the loaded, unlocked gun into the couch as he sat with his family watching a movie. Both he and his wife had left the room when they heard a pop and returned to find that J.J. had found the gun and shot himself. J.J. died at the scene.
The parents say they have other guns in the house, that J.J. was used to seeing guns and had played with water pistols so knew where the trigger was. They say they have the guns in the house for protection and the father told the reporter he always has one gun "loaded, ready to use at any given moment."
Dawn, J.J.'s mother, says she doesn't want any guns in her house ever again. She says she doesn't want J.J.'s brother to suffer the same fate.

Man unintentionally fires gun at VA hospital, causes lockdown of nearby elementary school

An outpatient at the Jefferson Barracks VA Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri dropped a small caliber handgun in the foyer area of the mental health outpatient center. When the gun hit the floor it discharged. While police were investigating the incident an elementary school and early childhood center located next to the hospital were put on temporary lockdown.
No one was injured and the man does have a concealed weapons permit. However, guns are not permitted on the premises. According to a spokeswoman for the hospital, "There is tremendous signage posted around the center and staff are very vigilant in making certain our patients and guest are aware of that policy."
The man had been to the hospital before. Police have not indicated what, if any charges, may be filed.

13-year-old girl unintentionally shot in the head able to give nurses a thumbs up sign

13-year-old Alyssa Howe, of Lee's Summit, Missouri was at a friend's house when the friend brought out a 9mm handgun. Thinking the gun was not loaded the girl unintentionally fired a single shot. The bullet struck Alyssa in the head. Alyssa was taken to the hospital where she underwent surgery.
Alyssa remains in serious but stable condition. Her breathing tube has been removed, she is able to track people with both eyes, was able to squeeze her mother's hand and say "mom", and was able to give her nurses a thumps up sign. She has started physical therapy on her long road to recovery.
Police are investigating the shooting. Reports indicate that the gun was owned by a resident of the home where the incident occurred. At this time, no charges have been filed.

Fundraiser at church ends with unintentional shooting

St. Patrick Catholic Church in Wentzville, Missouri was holding a fundraiser for a cancer patient Saturday night. As the evening was ending and decorations were being taken down people were popping balloons. According to the local police chief, "During the popping of the balloons there was a pop that was unrecognizable and there was a victim of a gunshot."
23-year-old Aaron Dwan had been shot and fell to the floor. Due to all the activity in the room few people realized what had happened.
Dwan was taken to the hospital where he is in serious but stable condition.
The next day a "person of interest" went to police. After interviewing him, police determined the shooting was unintentional. Police have not identified the person nor have they said how the shooting happened.

Teenager who posed with numerous guns on Facebook page unintentionally shoots and kills himself

19-year-old Jared Hyndrich of Pacific, Missouri has a photo album on his Facebook paged titled "what i do when im bored." The album consists of numerous photos of Jared and his friends posing with handguns and an assault rifle.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Jared was in his room with a friend when he put a handgun to his head and thinking the gun was unloaded, pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, the gun was loaded and it fired one shot, killing Jared.
An autopsy is being conducted but police found no evidence of drugs or alcohol.

Man sentenced in unintentional shooting death of 3-year-old

In November of 2009, Joseph Novak was target shooting next to his home in Owensville, Missouri. He was shooting a 9mm handgun. One of the bullets missed the target and traveled more than 350 yards across a field and struck 3-year-old Allison Schneider in the head. Allison was walking on her property with two other children when she was shot. She was flown to a hospital in St. Louis where x-rays revealed that the bullet was still lodged in her head. Allison died later that day.
In May of this year, Novak was found guilty of second degree manslaughter. He was sentenced this week and given a three-year suspended sentenced and placed on five years probation.

Man charged in stray bullet death of 11-year-old girl

50-year-old Aaron Sullivan of Kansas City, Missouri was with three of his friends on the 4th of July when they decided to celebrate by firing Aaron's .9mm Glock handgun into the air. Unfortunately, one of the bullets came down and struck 11-year-old Blair Shanahan-Lane in the neck. Blair was playing with fireworks in the yard of a relative who lived about 1,000 feet away. Blair died of her injuries the next day.
Sullivan was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. A Missouri state representative plans to introduce a bill that would make shooting a gun in the air a Class D felony. "We need you to be responsible gun owners," said the county prosecutor. "Shooting a gun for the Fourth of July or a holiday or celebration is incredibly dangerous, and we just shouldn't allow it."
Ohh shoot.

School resource officer unintentionally fires gun inside high school

A school resource officer at Hazelwood East high school in St. Louis county Missouri was cleaning his .40-caliber semi-automatic department issued handgun in the security room when he unintentionally discharged the gun. The bullet went through the wall into an office next door where a nurse and two students were sitting. Fortunately, no one was injured.
An internal investigation is underway and the resource officer has been reassigned to different duties pending a decision by the St. Louis County Police Chief.

Man told police he was shot during a struggle over gun, but he really shot himself

A 25-year-old Jefferson County, Missouri man told police he was on his way home when he saw a man lying in a ditch by the side of the road and stopped to help him. According to his story the man in the ditch pulled a gun and demanded money. The two men fought over the gun, which went off, shooting the man who had stopped to help in the hand.
However, the victim's story changed while being questioned by police. Finally, the man admitted he had shot himself in the hand while attempting to shoot a feral cat in his yard.
The man faces misdemeanor charges of filing a false police report.
Ohh shoot.

Man unintentionally shoots and kills himself in concealed carry permit class

63-year-old Glenn Seymour was taking a class to obtain a permit to carry a loaded, concealed gun in public. The class was being held at the Shootin' Iron gun shop in Vanzant, Missouri. According to news reports, "Students were working on an exercise in which they pull a concealed weapon with their non-dominant hand, take the safety off, aim and shoot."
Seymour was trying to use his left hand when the gun got turned around and he unintentionally shot himself in the chest. He died of his injuries.
State law requires that concealed weapons classes teach safe handling of a firearm, safe cleaning methods, safe gun storage, and that students demonstrate proficiency with a handgun through target shooting. There is no requirement to practice drawing and shooting with a non-dominant hand. This is an exercise that is taught in police training, which may explain why it was being taught in this class.
Ohh shoot.