To the person that shot themselves at the 1500..

[Ted]

Well I hope he will get better.

I hope the handgun is okay.

 

[Big Ram]

Geez that's great publicity for our anti gun liberal tv crews

 

[338sniper]

I heard it was in the wrist from one of the front entry officers?

 

[Pinchaser]

It's unfortunate that some here have posted that it's the show's fault that this guy was careless enough to shoot himself. "If they didn't make him unload the gun, these things would virtually never happen..."

While this may seem the answer on the surface, it is a rather simple-minded conclusion. The Indy 1500 is a business trying to maximize their profit potential. Among many things, that means they are purposely minimizing their liability exposure for the outrageous insurance they must buy for the event. It's their event. It's their decision. If you don't like it, you don't have to attend. But, if you do attend, an IMPD officer, hired by the show, asks you, individually, if you are carrying a gun. You answer yes or no. If you answer yes, it must be unloaded. THEIR house, their rules. Particpation then demands that you have the minimal competence necessary to unload and load your weapon. If you do not have that competence, YOU SHOULD NOT BE THERE.

Several posts in this thread suggesting that it would be better if the show just allowed everyone to carry loaded. Let's ponder that. Suppose the loser who shot himself today arrived at the show with his loaded gun. No rule to say he can't take it in with him. He does so. He gets to a booth and just loves that new 33-round mag...he MUST know if it will fit his gun! No problem, he'll just pop out his loaded mag and see if it will insert. BANG!!!! Uh Oh, he just fat-fingered the trigger on his loaded gun and discharged it into the head of the 7 year-old kid standing next to him.

Wouldn't happen you say? Tell that to the idiot who shot himself today....

Some of you have the ability to reason just far enough to be dangerous. Beyond that, let those of us who plan for such things professionally decide what does and does not make sense. The Indy 1500 isn't to blame for this nut shooting himself. The nut is responsible. Period.

 

[wally05]

If the 1500 would drop their asinine rules that force people to screw with their firearms before entering, then incidents like this would virtually never happen. They force people to coonfinger their guns and things like this happen.

No crap... keep them in the holsters and this wouldn't happen!

 

[7.62]

Hopefully not a serious wound.

Honestly I hate to be the one who says it but WHY? The idiot doesn't deserve anything but the worst. People are so stupid and ruin things for the people who have an IQ of more than 4. It's impossible to shoot yourself unless you are down right stupid. Follow the basic safety rules....good thing he shot himself instead of someone else. He could have killed a kid. Personally I'm glad he shot himself because now he may be more safe thus saving someone else's life down the road. Darwin's law.

 

[wally05]

It's unfortunate that some here have posted that it's the show's fault that this guy was careless enough to shoot himself. "If they didn't make him unload the gun, these things would virtually never happen..."

While this may seem the answer on the surface, it is a rather simple-minded conclusion. The Indy 1500 is a business trying to maximize their profit potential. Among many things, that means they are purposely minimizing their liability exposure for the outrageous insurance they must buy for the event. It's their event. It's their decision. If you don't like it, you don't have to attend. But, if you do attend, an IMPD officer, hired by the show, asks you, individually, if you are carrying a gun. You answer yes or no. If you answer yes, it must be unloaded. THEIR house, their rules. Particpation then demands that you have the minimal competence necessary to unload and load your weapon. If you do not have that competence, YOU SHOULD NOT BE THERE.

Several posts in this thread suggesting that it would be better if the show just allowed everyone to carry loaded. Let's ponder that. Suppose the loser who shot himself today arrived at the show with his loaded gun. No rule to say he can't take it in with him. He does so. He gets to a booth and just loves that new 33-round mag...he MUST know if it will fit his gun! No problem, he'll just pop out his loaded mag and see if it will insert. BANG!!!! Uh Oh, he just fat-fingered the trigger on his loaded gun and discharged it into the head of the 7 year-old kid standing next to him.

Wouldn't happen you say? Tell that to the idiot who shot himself today....

Some of you have the ability to reason just far enough to be dangerous. Beyond that, let those of us who plan for such things professionally decide what does and does not make sense. The Indy 1500 isn't to blame for this nut shooting himself. The nut is responsible. Period.

Easy solution... unloaded guns stay in boxes. Loaded stay in holsters. Unless you have a required loading/unloading station, you shouldn't make people do it or you accept that possibility.

 

[2500ekW]

The 1500 should NOT encourage people to handle a loaded gun two more times than necessary. Leave it in the holster where it belongs and DON'T TOUCH IT, and nobody will have to fumble with loaded guns in public.

Every time I go to the show I feel morally obligated to break their rule because I do not want to put others at risk.

 

[FestusHaggen]

These idiots NEVER amuse me! not in the least! I have never been "trained" but i know better than to do that garbage! WHY? Because I was lucky enough to have a dad and a few other crusty old marines teach me at a very young age. I FEAR what my dad will do to me if i even THINK about breaking one of the firearms safety rules....and hes been DEAD for 14 years!!

We didn't think so at the time, but Thank God for being raised by a crusty old Marine.

 

[LP1]

Well at lest he didn't shoot someone else. When will people learn?

No, a guy in NC took care of that. Trying to sell a loaded shotgun.

 

[in625shooter]

These idiots NEVER amuse me! not in the least! I have never been "trained" but i know better than to do that garbage! WHY? Because I was lucky enough to have a dad and a few other crusty old marines teach me at a very young age. I FEAR what my dad will do to me if i even THINK about breaking one of the firearms safety rules....and hes been DEAD for 14 years!!



How deliciously ironic THAT would be.



You and I KNOW better than that, and I am beer bottle half full kinda guy as well.

It's only ammusing when someone doesn't discharge a round but you have to sort of laugh because the few times I have politely made a suggestion normally the phrase "Oh I know what I'm doing" or "I got mad skills" is the reply.

FMJ, You were fourtunate to have a Father that trained/taught you the RIGHT way. A lot of folks are not that lucky. My point is while most gun folks are safe and do things responsibly there are some that are self taught or taught the wrong way and others that simply make a mistake. I have a lot of experience as an instructor both for regular Officers and Tactical Teams. That being said I can tell you I still don't know everything and usually learn a few things everytime. So if I learn something with the experience I have I'm pretty sure the average person would learn a heck of a lot. Yes firearms safety has pretty much stayed the same but if you've been around for 26 years look at how much a lot of techniques have changed.
Example, 26 years ago no one really knew or used let alone called front waistband carry "Appendix Carry"

 

[LP1]

I am wondering if it was actually the slide that got his hand and not the round itself? Doesn't matter as the news media will make the worst our of it regardless.

If the gun went boom, whether his hand was injured by the slide or the bullet is irrelevant. ND either way.

 

[HICKMAN]

thousands out on display and ONE moron to wipe away all of the good headlines...

 

[UncleMike]

Example, 26 years ago no one really knew or used let alone called front waistband carry "Appendix Carry"

Uhhh........
Fifty years ago we called that the "Mexican Carry" and it was used extensively.
Skeeter Skelton, Bill Jordan, Col.Cooper and others used it long before that.

 

[mrjarrell]

?.......kind'a stoopid as h*** ain't it?......WHY should THEY be liabel if YOU (or anybody....) ND a round in yer ownself ?......Mostly the MAIN problem with this country these days......everbody wants the other dude to pay for they stupidity.....cain't go along with'a logic on that 1.....

The 1500 should be liable for any damages that occur as a result of a ND, since they are the ones who require people to unload their firearms. Every time you have to take a firearm out of its nice, safe holster and futz around with it to unload or load it, you run the risk of a ND. Their asinine rules compound the problem. Multiply that by the hundreds of people who are required to do it at any given show and your recipe for disaster goes up even farther. Their rules, their liability. Even the safest gun owner can have a discharge, as we have seen here on INGO many times. And the 1500 doesn't even provide a safe area to unload. The foyer is not safe and there are no barrels.

 

[irishfan]

thousands out on display and ONE moron to wipe away all of the good headlines...

They should pull his permit for at least a period of time for his stupidity. Feel free to flame me but any moron you can take away from causing us bad publicity is a good thing.

 

[chilly2477]

If they must ziptie the guns why not just put one around the gun and holster, that way they cannot remove it from the holster until they leave,then officer friendly can cut the ziptie for them with some wirecutters, if they want to show it don't bring it loaded. Just an Idea. Don't get me wrong I carry a handgun. But rarely do into a gunshow.

 

[spearheadersarge]

There is no excuse for carelessness! Guns aren't toys and are dangerous tools. I've seen military officers first hand on the range do stupid crap just like that. Career soldiers all their adult lives and still can't load or clear their personal weapon! Dumb is dumb wherever you find it!

 

[in625shooter]

Honestly I hate to be the one who says it but WHY? The idiot doesn't deserve anything but the worst. People are so stupid and ruin things for the people who have an IQ of more than 4. It's impossible to shoot yourself unless you are down right stupid. Follow the basic safety rules....good thing he shot himself instead of someone else. He could have killed a kid. Personally I'm glad he shot himself because now he may be more safe thus saving someone else's life down the road. Darwin's law.

So the few shootings during training the FBI HRT team has had training and firing hundreds of thousands of rounds a year per team member or some amature gun guy probably not being trained deserve to have horrible things happen to them because they shot theirselves?

Like I stated and will stand by while training won't stop 100% of the AD's/ND's they do drastically reduce them. My 2 examples are on both sides of the spectrum and while a lot of civillians want to point to an LEO's accedent as proof training won't help I can say LEO's especially SWAT type training the members are light years ahead on training and weapons handling but due to the types os shooting/training they do the risks of AD's/ND's go up. Most neve get the privliedge to see or participate in that kind of intense training where you are shooting within close proximity to team members, from your back while repelling with a gas mask in a smoke obstructed room, through barriers you name it.

Do all groups have "that guy"? Yes but sometimes just because they made a bad error sometimes under a stressfull training scenerio sometimes walking in the parking lot or standing infront of a group.
I wouldn't wish them the death penalty especially if they only hurt themselves!

 

[Bunnykid68]

Sometimes guns go boom by the simple act of letting the slide slam home. Hope it never happens to any of you guys that wish to punish this man any further for what has happened to him. As Mrjarrell said it has happened to some of the safest and most well trained.