A teenage boy shooting handguns with his father at a Davis County gun range accidentally shot himself in the head Saturday afternoon. Davis County sheriff’s Sgt. Susan Poulsen said the 15-year-old was standing while shooting at the Wahsatch Shooters Association Public Shooting Range in Fruit Heights about 4:50 p.m. She said he tried to sit down on a swivel seat, but fell and lost control of the gun. It discharged, shooting him in the head, she said.
A doctor was at the range and immediately performed CPR until help could arrive.
The teen was flown by medical helicopter to a Salt Lake City hospital where he was listed in critical condition, Poulsen said.
“There were dozens of witnesses on scene,” she said. “They had the same story about what happened. Initially it appears it was an accident.”
She said the gun range was closed to the public while authorities continued to investigate. The teen’s name was not immediately released.
via www.sltrib.com
Although this incident appears to be a freak accident, it underscores the dangers of using firearms. No one, even the most experienced shooter should ever let his guard down while using guns, especially handguns. Handguns are potentially more dangerous because their short length makes them easier to point at yourself or others accidentally.
The basic rules that should be followed by any handgun user, would have prevented this accident, had they been followed.
While many people agree that firearm training for youth is a good idea, with state fish and wildlife agencies even offering and the NRA even offering courses in the safe handling of long guns (rifles and shotguns), there is often a lack of training youth with handguns. This is the effect of liberally public perception that handguns are used only for killing people.
While it is true that handguns are primarily used for self-defense purposes, the incidence of criminals who lose their lives is actually quite low. This is because of several factors: because handguns are still statistically carried much less often than either the numbers of those legally permitted to carry them, would indicate; handguns offer a deterrent effect simply by being shown (it is generally illegal to shoot someone who is fleeing); only one in twelve people who are shot under any civil circumstances, actually dies; people are reluctant to shoot others even in a ddefensive situation; and finally, it's quite hard to hit your target with a handgun in a defensive situation.
People who are using handguns defensively are taught not to shoot to kill, but to shoot to stop. This does not mean that they should intentionally try to merely "wing" them or shoot them in a non-fatal anatomical location--it means that a defender should fire at center mass two, three, or more times quickly until the attacker no longer presents an immediate danger.
These ideas are gruesome at best. If they are not gruesome, then something is wrong with the defenders perception. It is a serious event ot shoot someone. Most people have a huge reticence to shoot someone under any circumstances. It is a goal of training with humanoid targets and shapes over a period of time, and using other techniques to train a handgun carrying defender to even be able to pull the trigger when the time comes.
Because of all of these reasons and more, training youth to shoot handguns has a greater repugnance to those unschooled in the use of firearms and who ideologically opposed to allowing themselves to entertain such an approach to self-defense. Therefore, the attitude is often to not train youth in the use of handguns.
Many parents train their children in the use of handguns. Unfortunately, many parents may not fully understand the safe use of firearms themselves.
Let's face it, in any society, free or not, accidents will happen. No one even begins to think that a any regular ole person would not drive. It even takes multiple, potentially dangerous offenses, and a court ruling in order to prevent people from driving, even though exponentially greater numbers of people, specifically youth and young adults are killed by driving.
People are not prevented from training or doing most potentially life-threatening occupations, or using dangerous machinery. It is merely accepted that accidents will happen. If this is not a very happy notion, or seems like an irresponsible answer to why youth would fair better if they were trained on the safe use of handguns, let me assure you that it is not the most important answer.
Greater training of people in general, and youth in particular, consistently results in fewer shootings by those who are trained, whether by accident or by intention. People whoare trained to respect firearms of all kinds, especially the most dangerous varieties--including handguns--are far less likely to use a gun unsafely. Period. I don't have statistics on this, but they do exists. I have a lifetime as, a firearms user and as a firearms trainer, of the anecdotal truth of this.
I know of tow incidents of accidental self-shootings, while practicing by adults. I am aware of another incident of a government law-enforcement agent shooting himself while actually conducting a firearm safety class for new recruits. Stuff happens. But not very often. Statistically speaking.
It is just as much a tragedy when a person is injured while training with firearms as it is if they are injured in a automobile collision. If a person rides a motorcycle or bicycle long enough, they absolutely will hurt themselves, although this doesn't seem to deter people from riding motorcycles or bicycles. Few people suddenly decide to no longer drive or ride in automobiles when someone is hurt so doing.
However, unlike bikes and cars, a person who observes the four of, sometimes five, generally taught rules of safety, it is absolutely impossible to shoot oneself or another person, by accident. Impossible. This should drive the need to teach all people, especially youth, to see that firearm safety, including the use of handguns, is taught boldly and often.
What are these rules. I'll list the ones I teach: 1)Never point any gun at anything which you are not willing to destroy. 2) Never place your finger on the trigger of a gun until you are ready to fire at an identified target. 3) Always be aware of the surroundings of your target and be sure that no unintended object is in jeopardy when you do fire at your target. 4) Treat all guns as though they are always loaded--even when you feel sure that they are not loaded. In this vein I also stress the need and safe techniques for checking guns, and making sure that you do so upon receiving any handgun. 5) Keep all guns in your control at all times. This means just what it says. That only you have access to your guns. If you extend this right to others in your family, it is still your responsibility, and that person become a part-owner in that gun and in that charge.
There are a lot more safe firearm handling techniques which drive these point home, but observation of these four rules will absolutely prevent the accidental shooting 100% of the time.
These simple rules can become habit and muscle memory with use, just as surely as driving a car safely, or typing. And they a lot easier to learn and do. And unlike driving or typing, there is only one key you have to worry about. The trigger.
As with most things, the earlier these habits are started, the better.
If you deny your children or other people's children the opportunity to learn and practice the safe handling of firearms, you are far less responsible than if you did allow them the opportunity. The odds that your child, whether by design, or by fate, is almost 100% likely to have to handle a gun at some point in time in their life. This may be a choice to take up shooting sports as an adult, or by occupational need, in order to secure an unsafe gun found while jogging, if required to through conscription into the Armed Forces or national Guard, as a member of a community watch, while hunting for food or sport, or if he decides to own a gun for defense. In some localities, it is actually illegal not to have a gun in the house.
After all of this, I find the incident cited in the article to be very tragic. It sounds like a very freak event. I feel fro the parents, friends, and relatives--especially the supervising father. I cannot imagine. Some people may indeed incorrectly conclude that guns are too dangerous for youth or others to handle. But this is no more logical, nor practical to conclude that men should never shave for fear of fatally cutting ones throat.
