NC Woman Driving Car Is Shot When Gun Flies Loose Inside
BY Herschel Smith
7 years, 9 months ago
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – A woman is expected to recover after an early Saturday morning shooting, according to Greenville Police.
The shooting happened in a moving vehicle around 3 a.m. Saturday near Ridge Place.
All four occupants of the car reported they were traveling on Hooker Road toward Ridge Place. As the driver made a right turn onto Ridge Place, a handgun belonging to the back left passenger fell to the floor.
In an attempt to catch the gun, the back left passenger accidentally pressed the trigger and the gun discharged, striking the driver in the back.
The driver of the car was transported to Vidant Medical Center for treatment and is expected to recover.
The rear left passenger, Joshua Strong, was cited for discharging a firearm within city limits.
The Police are annoying. But even though they determined there was no foul play involved, and they did, they must have had to cite the accidental shooter with some code violation in order to have a police report for the hospital visit. Or so I’m assuming.
Folks, it’s been said a thousand times. For modern firearms, there is absolutely no reason to try to catch the gun if it’s falling, it is drop-safe. Trying to catch it may very well end up shooting somebody because not only might you catch the gun with the trigger, the natural tendency when anything is falling, including yourself, is to grip tightly.
This is a sympathetic muscle reflex, and as I’ve discussed before, it’s possible with many thousands of hours of training to overcome this and train this out of you. But you don’t have all of that training, and you likely don’t have the time for it. Neither do I.
Let falling guns fall. Take it to a gunsmith to repair the ding or scratch. It’s be a chance to get that brand new Cerakote finish you always wanted for that gun.
On March 27, 2017 at 3:51 am, Nosmo King said:
In lieu of knowledge about proper gun handling, I wonder if someone will start offering Kevlar upholstery for autombile front seats….
On March 27, 2017 at 7:54 pm, Blake said:
My CCW instructor stressed, more than once, that if you drop a firearm, do not try to catch it, as there is a good chance of your finger winding up inside the trigger guard.
Nothing like having his point proven.