GunsFive people injured as guns go off at gun shows
“Gun Appreciation Day” rallies were held in cities around the country this weekend, and gun shows were doing brisk business; five people were injured as guns went off accidentally in three such shows.
Five injured at "Gun Appreciation Day" shows // Source: huanqiu.com
President Barack Obama announced twenty-three executive measures to tighten gun control measures, and supporters of gun control in Congress are crafting legislative action. On the other side, gun rights rallies were held in several cities, and gun shows continued to do brisk business.
At least five people were accidentally shot this past weekend at these shows. CNN reports that three people in North Carolina, one person in Indiana, and one in Ohio were injured after weapons went off at gun shows.
Gunfire rang out at the Dixie Gun and Knife show in Raleigh, North Carolina around 1 p.m. Saturday. Police later said that a 36-year-old man was unfastening the case of his 12- gauge shotgun on a table when it accidentally discharged. The bird shot hit three people, including a sheriff’s deputy who was hit in the hand, but was treated at a local hospital and returned to work according, to Joel Keith, chief of police of the North Carolina State Fair. Two other people were treated for minor injuries.
“I want to emphasize that this is an accident,” Keith told CNN.
The show closed after the shooting, but reopened on Sunday. Wake County Sheriff’s investigators have yet to determine whether to bring charges against the gun owner.
As a result of the shooting, police banned any private gun sales in which visitors bring their guns to sell at the show for the remainder of the weekend. Keith told CNN there would not be any private gun sales on fairgrounds for the indefinite future.
“If we thought if it was a problem or a hazard, we wouldn’t have this show,” Keith said about private gun sales at the show. “I’m sure there isn’t anybody who hates this more than the guy who owned this weapon.”
Another man is in stable condition at an Ohio hospital after being shot by his business partner at a gun show, according to Medina police Chief Patrick Berarducci. The man is expected to make a full recovery.
The gun owner brought his firearm to the show fully loaded despite the policy, backed up by searches, which requires all guns brought to the show to be empty and rendered safe before the public can handle them.
Berarducci told CNN that the man who bought the gun took it out and accidentally fired it, hitting his business partner in the arm and thigh. Authorities do not know who brought the gun to the show and sold it, but they will file a request with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to find the owner.
In Indianapolis a man shot himself in the hand as he was exiting the Indy 1500 Gun and Knife show while loading his .45-Caliber semi-automatic firearm, Indiana State Police said in a statement.
The 54-year-old man was sent to the hospital and treated after being “slightly” injured.
“The investigation determined the shooting to be accidental, and no charges will be filed,” police said.
The reform of private gun sales is one of the changes that Obama and his supporters are pushing. Currently, federal law requires background checks on gun sales by federally licensed firearms dealers.
The incidents occurred on what was dubbed “Gun Appreciation Day,” an event lead by pro gun groups that urged Americans in support of gun ownershipto “go to your local gun store, gun range or gun show with your Constitution, American flags and your ‘Hands off my Guns’ sign to send a loud and clear message.”
