1) Woman Preparing to Shoot Ferguson Protesters Accidentally Shoots Self
The irony of Becca Campbell’s death is surpassed only by its tragedy. While the passenger in a car being driven by her boyfriend in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, Campbell “jokingly” waved a gun around while reportedly exclaiming, “We’re ready for Ferguson!” Her boyfriend ducked, which seems like a perfectly normal response to having a loaded gun pointed at him, leading to an accident. The impact of the collision caused the gun to fire, hitting Campbell in the head and killing her. The boyfriend later told police the two had purchased the weapon days before the Ferguson grand jury verdict, in anticipation of some imaginary, life-threatening “civil unrest.”
It is tragic when any life is lost, but the irony of Becca Campbell’s death is surpassed only by its tragedy. While the passenger in a car being driven by her boyfriend in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, Campbell “jokingly” waved a gun around while reportedly exclaiming, “We’re ready for Ferguson!” Her boyfriend ducked, which seems like a perfectly normal response to having a loaded gun pointed at him, leading to an accident. The impact of the collision caused the gun to fire, hitting Campbell in the head and killing her. The boyfriend later told police the two had purchased the weapon days before the Ferguson grand jury verdict, in anticipation of some imaginary, life-threatening “civil unrest.”
2) 3-Year-Old Accidentally Shoots and Kills Mother
In the days just before Thanksgiving this year, Christa Engles was accidentally killed by her 3-year-old son, who’d found the semiautomatic weapon he used hidden “under a couch” in the family’s Tulsa, Oklahoma, home. The 26-year-old mother was in the middle of changing the diaper of her 1-year-old daughter at the time she was shot. According to a neighbor, Engles’ own mother returned home and “found the two children covered in blood.” Engles was an Army veteran whose husband, a truck driver, was on the road at the time. Police said en route to be interviewed, the confused toddler kept repeating two words: “Mommy shot.”
This is a tragic event that took place just before Thanksgiving. Christa Engles, a 26-year-old mother of two, was shot and killed by her 3-year-old son. The son had found a semiautomatic weapon hidden under a couch in the family’s home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Engles was in the middle of changing her 1-year-old daughter’s diaper when she was shot. According to a neighbor, Engles’ own mother returned home and “found the two children covered in blood.” Engles was an Army veteran and her husband, a truck driver, was on the road at the time. The toddler was confused and kept repeating the words “Mommy shot” on the way to be interviewed by police.
3) Florida Man Threatening to Shoot Wife’s Dog Accidentally Shoots Self in Face Instead
A man in Florida, having just threatened to shoot his wife’s dog, accidentally shot himself in the face, killing himself in the process. Police report that Dennis Eugene Emery was having a fight with his wife, the owner of 13 dogs, over the animals’ barking. He pointed a gun at one of the dogs, going so far as to cock the weapon to prove he would actually shoot. Later, Emery—who for some reason, was holding the barrel toward his face—was trying to put the hammer back in place when the weapon fired. The 57-year-old was dead by the time authorities arrived on the scene.
Emery had criminal run-ins with local police a staggering 34 times since just 2012. In October alone, he’d been arrested three times in six days. When he died, he was facing charges ranging from aggravated assault to resisting arrest. (None of these charges landed him in jail or the cemetery, making him a potential posthumous contributor to #CrimingWhileWhite.)
4) Man Shoots Self in Penis
While sitting in his car at a gas station in Macon, Georgia, a man attempting to put his gun in its holster instead shot himself, in the penis. Weirdly, instead of calling the police or an ambulance, the unidentified man drove to a friend’s house, where he removed his clothes to find that the bullet had “exited out of his buttocks,” an epiphany he probably came to as “[t]he spent round fell onto the floor.” It’s likely he was also disappointed to later learn he’d miss out on the only upside of shooting yourself in the penis, which is having a one-of-a-kind story to tell for the rest of your life. As it turns out, he’s just one of six guys who’ve shot themselves in the penis over the last five years.
5) Gun Seller Dad’s 3-Year-Old Shot By 4-Year-Old Neighbor
Michael Holzworth, a father and weapons enthusiast, accidentally shot his 3-year-old son in the mouth with one of his guns. The shooting occurred when Holzworth was babysitting his son and a 4-year-old neighbor shot the 3-year-old with Holzworth’s gun.
Doctors at the hospital later informed Holzworth that his son had been shot in the mouth. Holzworth’s estranged wife, who filed for an order of protection months prior to the incident, accused her husband of having “a habit of leaving his Ruger 380 with his 12-year-old daughter. He will leave her in the car with it for protection while he goes into the store.”
News footage of Holzworth’s condominium, where the shooting took place, shows a metal sign on the door that reads, “We don’t dial 9-1-1,” above a metal cutout of a pistol.
6) Idaho State University Professor Shoots Self in Foot During Class
In July, the Idaho State Legislature passed a law allowing gun owners to carry concealed weapons on college campuses across the state. Just two months later, an unnamed chemistry professor at Idaho State University shot himself in the foot, right in the middle of class, with his legally concealed gun. The professor had been toting the pistol around in his pocket when the gun apparently went off. Speaking to press, Idaho State University president Arthur Vailas took the opportunity to say out loud what we are all thinking, remarking, “When they passed this law, it was bound to happen.”
7) Florida Man Shoots Self in Butt
A man from Hollywood, Florida, accidentally shot himself in the butt. According to a local paper, the man—identified only as a twentysomething —was in the middle of cleaning his .38 caliber weapon when the accident occurred. The man (let’s call him “Butter Fingers”) apparently dropped the gun, which discharged a round when it hit the floor, striking him in his buttocks. He then reportedly “banged on” the door of a neighbor, who called local cops for help.
8) Georgia Waffle House Cook Shoots and Kills Customer Who Won’t Leave
After a verbal altercation with two “unruly” customers came to head with a glass of water being tossed in his face, Waffle House cook Quintavius Martin decided to respond by shooting one of them. According to witnesses, Martin had been arguing with the two men for some time when they began to physically threaten him, and the cook repeatedly told them they needed to leave. The water, apparently, was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Martin. In response, the Georgia-area man grabbed his gun and fired on 33-year-old Adrian Mosley, who died at the scene.
Incredibly, the case was the second fatal shooting to take place at an Atlanta-area Waffle House in a two-week span.
Just one month prior to the shooting, the Georgia Legislature passed HB 60, more commonly known as the “guns everywhere” law, which permits gun owners to carry weapons into bars, churches and government buildings.
10) Jose Canseco Accidentally Blows His Left Finger Off
Jose Canseco: Former Major League Baseball star; steroids whistleblower; guy who once shot his own finger off. Earlier this year, Canseco accidentally shot himself in the left hand while attempting to clean a gun at his Las Vegas home. Girlfriend Leila Knight described the (presumably very bloody) scene, saying, “I heard the gun go off and saw his middle finger hanging by a string.” Doctors reattached the digit, and mid-recovery, Canseco gave a teary interview to “Inside Edition” in which he described himself as “kind of traumatized by [the incident].” Later, he tweeted that the finger had fallen off during a poker game, and that he was considering auctioning it off to the highest bidder on eBay, neither of which was true. Canseco’s finger is, at least for now, successfully back on his left hand, though reports state he’ll never regain full use of his hand.
11) Man Accidentally Shoots Self In Hand, Killing Dog in Process
Police in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula responded to a call from a man who had accidentally shot himself in the hand. The man was taken to a local hospital and treated for his non-life-threatening injuries. However, the incident had a tragic outcome for the man’s pet dog, which was killed by the bullet after it had exited the man’s hand.
12) 9-Year-Old Girl Accidentally Shoots and Kills Her Gun Instructor
Tragedy struck at the Arizona Last Stop gun range on Monday as Charles Vacca, an instructor at the facility, lost his life in a fatal accident. Vacca had been teaching a 9-year-old student how to fire an Uzi when the incident occurred. Video footage from the scene showed Vacca handing the gun to the girl and positioning her to begin firing. However, the recoil of the weapon caused it to be thrust upwards, resulting in the fatal accident. The police report quoted the girl as saying the submachine gun “was too much for her” to handle. Vacca’s family has since released a statement expressing their condolences to the young student.
Shockingly, Arizona state law does not set an age minimum for firing a weapon.
13) Iowa Cop Accidentally Shoots Self and Another Officer
In early November, an unfortunate accident occurred in Iowa City when an officer, in the midst of cleaning his weapon, accidentally shot both himself and another officer. Police Chief Sam Hargadine refused to name the officers involved, but did confirm that both would make full recoveries. The incident is currently being investigated.
Honorable Mention: Man Leaves Gun with 11-Year-Old Daughter While He Gets a Tattoo
John Ruiz, this year’s Father of the Year, faced a common dilemma when leaving his home: what to do with his .22 caliber weapon? He came up with an inventive solution – to leave it with his 11-year-old daughter as a means of protection. Unfortunately, the gun was spotted by a neighbor at a local swimming pool, and the police were alerted. Ruiz, who was getting a tattoo at the time, explained to KOB-4, an Albuquerque NBC affiliate, that he often leaves the gun with his daughter when he is away from home, in case of a break-in or other emergency.
