A NEGLIGENT DISCHARGE inside a Bass Pro shop outside Richmond, VA??

[ny32182]

Plenty of mistakes by all three people here, it sounds like, but I'd say the guy that was carrying the gun made the biggest one and got the ball rolling. He unholstered a loaded carry gun and introduced it into an environment where, unfortunately, many people "assume" the guns are empty. He let *his* gun out of *his* possession, and it was fired.

If the second employee (third person to handle) saw the gun sitting on the back counter and didn't notice the mag was in it, complacency could easily make him think it belonged in the display case... rack the slide, point in safe direction, pull the trigger... boom. Stupid, yes, but at least he pointed it in a safe direction. He followed the same procedure you do to show clear at the end of an IDPA stage, with the key exception of not dropping the mag.

This is exactly the reason that gun shows have a no CCW policy... because it is a virtual certainty that Bubba will be unholstering his carry gun to show it off, or compare it to the new model... and will be introducing a loaded gun into a "safe" environment by doing so.

If you want to charge the counter guy with an unlawful discharge, you can also charge the patron with brandishing his carry piece in a situation that did not warrant it.

 

[ironcode]

Says so in the Glock manual - pulling the trigger is part of the procedure of unloading, the last step. After that it's pretty obvious that it's unloaded (seeing that the trigger is back). Also allows the Glock to be disassembled (for which they just tell you to start with an unloaded pistol, which assumes the trigger has been pulled).

That being said, one should still treat the gun as if it is loaded when pulling the trigger in this case (point to a safe backstop, have proper grip, and pretty much expect it to go bang; it's a relief every time when it doesn't).

 

[Realtree1]

Proshooter should not be chatting away about the incident because I am sure that if Bass Pro found out about this you would not be teaching classes there anymore since they are trying to keep it hush and all employees were told not to comment about this.
Idvandal what in the hell are the employees suppose to do. Is the whole store suppose to shut down and no more guns to be sold for the rest of the day. Most people in the store did not know a gun had gone off. Most thought it was something falling including most of the employees downstairs. Also what is the hunting lead suppose to say when u ask him that after being told not to comment? Put yourself in their shoes before commenting about them making them sound like a bad employee.

 

[JohnBT]

"what in the ... are the employees suppose to do"

Take the rest of the day off and go shopping at Green Top or DeGoffs. That's where I was.

 

[winter1857]

I don't know how many of you guys out there are/were 11 Bravos but it sounds like Bass Pro Shops needs a freakin' clearing barrel!

 

[danez71]

Proshooter should not be chatting away about the incident because I am sure that if Bass Pro found out about this you would not be teaching classes there anymore since they are trying to keep it hush and all employees were told not to comment about this.
Idvandal what in the hell are the employees suppose to do. Is the whole store suppose to shut down and no more guns to be sold for the rest of the day. Most people in the store did not know a gun had gone off. Most thought it was something falling including most of the employees downstairs. Also what is the hunting lead suppose to say when u ask him that after being told not to comment? Put yourself in their shoes before commenting about them making them sound like a bad employee.

Joined on Sept 24th.... reads like he was there/is an employee and even slightly defensive.... maybe it was him.

 

[winter1857]

Is this not a sad state of affairs? It's not worth mentioning because Corporate said nothing happened? No Blood/No Foul.....? And Realtree1 is just eating it up????

Does that say something about where we exist in the 21st Century? Someone did some really stupid stuff but it didn't cost anything (yet) so management chooses to ignore it.....?

Or am I putting too much into this? Does it not matter until it costs money? (Blood = MONEY) Have we become that shallow?

 

[zoom6zoom]

Proshooter should not be chatting away about the incident because I am sure that if Bass Pro found out about this you would not be teaching classes there anymore since they are trying to keep it hush and all employees were told not to comment about this.

Pro's an independent contractor, not a Bass Pro employee.

 

[Spirit 1]

I don't see any mention of Nationwide Bass Pro Shop's existing Corporate Policy regarding employee training, or in-store Gun Handling Rules, or violations of those company policies or rules? Apparently there aren't any?

Overall it's beyond amazing that several employees entrusted with handling firearms in a public place, and at a firearms dealer, did not follow the very most basic rules, the fundamentals, of gun safety in any way!

This is the stuff you teach a 10 year old before they're ever allowed to touch a firearm!

It's obvious that the company lacks something very important to doing business in this industry, and that is intensive Employee Screeing, Training & Testing, plus regularly scheduled employee Gun Handling Refresher Courses and clear, understandable 'Store Policies & Rules for Safe Gun Handling'.

Bass Pro Shops should have already caused this event to be physically impossible in any of their stores.

The actions of every employee mentioned entirely failed the basic test of adequate knowledge of firearms and their safe handling & use.

That failure is not the responsibility of the employees if the corporate management doesn't attend to the minor details of how to prevent employees and customers from being shot to death during the shopping experience.

I also don't see any mention by any Bass Pro affilitated person here describing the NEW STORE POLICIES now instituted nationwide to PREVENT THIS HAPPENING AGAIN?!?

Sounds like the house cleaning should start at the corporate management level.....? Instead the picture I get is the house cleaning is a matter of sweeping this under the carpet.

 

[Dihappy]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, this happened because some people have a compulsion with pulling the trigger on an empty chamber. I see it time and again. Check the chamber, it's empty, pull the trigger. WHY? Why pull the trigger? The only time I pull the trigger on a handgun is when I want a bullet to come out the other end, except in the cases where I've reassembled a handgun and want to function test everything. I don't know if people don't want to "wear out" the trigger spring, or if they think it is safer to have the hammer or striker uncocked, but it is definitely NOT. It is something I'll just never understand.

I have made this statement maybe a hundred times when speaking to friends.

i NEVER pull the trigger, even if im cleaning my gun and its apart and the mag is in a different room. What for? There is no need and may bite you in the arse one day.

 

[Dihappy]

guess you've never cleaned a glock, XD, Steyr, Smith and Wesson sigma...etc

or decocked a revolver.

there are times when one must pull the trigger on a gun without the intention of fireing it. Also, dry fireing a gun (AFTER verifying without doubt that it is unloaded) is a great way of improving trigger control and gain familiarity with the gun when one cannot get to the range or simply cannot afford (or find) the ammunition with which to practice.

What about before buying a gun? Do you not want to know what sort of trigger to expect before you get to the range? I am not sure what type of guns you are in to, but lets say 1911's for example. The trigger is a big deal. If I am deciding between 2 seemingly identical 1911's and yet one has a 9 lb trigger as compared to a 4 lb on the other, guess which I am more intersted .

It is careless to TOUCH a random gun placed on a random countertop. It is more careless to then not drop the mag and check for clear. It is also true that some of the less experienced have a compulsion for pulling the trigger on every gun they see and while that is a lesson to be learned saying one should never pull the trigger on any gun without the intention of shooting it is not the lesson to be had.

Pulling the trigger on YOUR gun for practicing "trigger control" seems fine to me, if all steps have been taken to ensure no rounds in the chamber. Although i will practice all my trigger control on my property or at the range with live ammo.

Pulling a trigger on a gun at the gun shop to get a feel of the trigger i will NEVER do. If I dont like the gun, ill bring it back to my gun shop for another, plus i can read up on the particular gun im interested in before i buy it to get an idea of how many pounds it takes for the trigger to break.

Pulling triggers is a bad habit, standing around others who have that habit can be deadly.

 

[dstoneburg]

Its just crazy that this is not a bigger issue. I myself would have loved news coverage so I could determine whether I think its safe to shop there or not ( no way in hell ). I also can't believe the police were not involved, even though no one was hurt, a gun was NEGLIGENTLY discharged in a room full of people, in a place of business no less.

 

[akodo]

sounds to me like the employee was racking the slide because somewhere along the line someone taught the employees to 'do this to check that the chamber is empty' and then further along that line employees forgot the PURPOSE of racking the slide and just racked the slide because 'that's what we were told to do'

 

[akodo]

P.S. I've always worded the 4 rules as 'keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready for the gun to be fired'

this means you maybe don't INTEND for the gun to fire, but you have at least considered the possibility that it may fire, and are pointing it in a safe direction because of that consideration.