Florida deputy's son accidentally fires dad's gun: hits four people

[mfcorey1]

Authorities say the 2-year-old son of a north Florida sheriff's deputy accidentally fired his father's personal handgun inside a fast food restaurant.
The Florida Times-Union (http://bit.ly/Zfw4nr ) reports the boy was standing in line for food at a Wendy's in Middleburg on Sept. 4 when he put his hand in his father's front right pocket and accidentally fired the .380-caliber Kel-Tec semi-automatic pistol. Bullet fragments hit the boy's foot, the child's grandfather and two female customers.

According to a Clay County Sheriff's Office incident report released Monday, neither the boy nor the adults required medical treatment.

http://www.wfla.com/story/26485371/florida-deputys-son-accidentally-fires-dads-gun

[stevenleser]

1. If only there was a good guy with a gun to... erm...

what was that meme again?

[Eleanors38]

53. You should know, you use it like a skipping record.

[stevenleser]

58. And I love how it bothers gun nuts so. nt

[Eleanors38]

64. Ah, "the sweetest of moral pleasures."

[stevenleser]

65. Hitting those who disagree with me with cognitive dissonance is all of that. nt

[Eleanors38]

66. Those pleasures seem to waft about prohibitionists.

Kinda degrades positive social outcomes to back bench status, but that's nothing new.

[valerief]

2. If only the gun had a gun...

[shenmue]

4. DUzy

[TheVisitor]

52. oh snap...

I like the way you think

[Jenoch]

3. I think the trigger pull is too light if a two year old is able to pull it.

[Lurks Often]

6. A typical Kel-Tec trigger is takes 8lbs of pressure to fire the gun

The Kel Tec trigger is similar to the trigger on the revolver, long and requires about 8lbs of pressure to fire the gun.

The kid may not have known what he was doing, but it wasn't an accident either.

[Ghost in the Machine]

22. 5 pounds on the .380.... I had to look it up myself because I had a Kel-Tec 9mm and remembered

it had a heavy trigger pull as a built-in safety since they don't have manual safeties on them.

http://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/p-3at/pistol/

It actually says the 5 lbs is a light trigger pull on this model because it's popular with women. My P-11 had a 9 lb trigger pull!

I'm calling BS on a 2 year old pulling the trigger. These weapons are semi-auto, but also DOUBLE ACTION. The first part of the pull is what releases the safety and engages the (hidden) hammer. The rest of the trigger pull fires the weapon.

Peace,

Ghost

[Nuclear Unicorn]

28. "I'm calling BS on a 2 year old pulling the trigger."

Seconded.

Not only am I skeptical of a 2-year old being able to muster the strength I'm doubly-skeptical that he could do it through the pocket / holster with such speed that an allegedly trained professional couldn't react in time. What does this deputy do if a suspect grabs for his weapon during an arrest?

This reeks of a negligent discharge with the child as a scapegoat since the child won't be prosecuted.

[sarisataka]

34. That is suspiciously

Plausible

[Ghost in the Machine]

36. "This reeks of a negligent discharge with the child as a scapegoat since the child won't...........

be prosecuted."

I agree 100%! I'm not even a cop, but if I had a gun in MY pocket there's no way in hell my child would have his/her hands anywhere NEAR my pocket for ANY reason!! That kid would have had to have been rooting pretty hard around in his pocket so I don't even want to hear that the cop didn't feel the child's hand in his pocket.

Peace,

Ghost

[BrotherIvan]

50. The story is that the child reached into the pocket for a snack.

So it could be the fabric of the pocket helped or something. Whatever, the guy is an idiot.

[daleanime]

5. Well, I'm sure it's because......

there weren't enough guns in the store.

[sarisataka]

7. Police should leave their guns

at the station

[Action_Patrol]

32. That doesn't make sense in the slightest.

It also has nothing to do with the OP. It was a personal gun. Not duty issued.

[sarisataka]

33. It makes more sense

Than the ridicule below about fearfulness and hero fantasies. This man is a law enforcement officer and if something were to happen it is his job to intervene even if off duty.

As for this being a pro gun control example is also ridiculous as nearly all such laws exempt LEOs.

It is an example of awareness, proper carry and to avoid negligence.

Most officers do not carry their duty weapons off duty but will carry a personally owned gun.

[Action_Patrol]

35. Certainly negligence

No doubt.

[justiceischeap]

8. Gonna ask the obvious

Why did he have a gun in his front pocket with the safety off?

[samsingh]

10. in case he needed to fire it in a hurry

[justiceischeap]

11. Then I have to ask the next obvious question

Why take your family into such a dangerous place?

[Chellee]

13. Wendy's? Dangerous?

Well, the potatoes are baked to the point of being dry as a bone. They're probably deadly. I don't see how a gun will help you though.

[justiceischeap]

15. That was my thought

I'm not seeing the need to have a loaded weapon in your front pocket with the safety off.

[Chellee]

27. Well, you never know, do you?

I mean, the world today is so DAANNGGERROUUSS!

What if a horde of masked bandits came stampeding in? He would need to be a HERO. He would pull his weapon, and drop to the ground, while simultaneously shoving aside that veteran in a wheelchair, and shielding the little old lady. With his lightening fast reflexes he'd shoot the guns right out of their hands, except for the last one who has taken the beautiful, young girl who bags the fries and always smiles when she hands them to him, like maybe she knows he likes the extra crispy ones, and so she sorts those ones out just for him, except for the times that she doesn't, except that's probably not her fault, maybe her boss was all up in her face or something, hostage. And anyway, he'd tell the guy, "Drop the weapon! We can end this peaceful!" But the guy just sneers, "You're gonna have to kill me, coz I ain't goin back to jail." And then she would catch his eye, and her fear for him would be shining in her face, her eyes would tell the story, "Just save yourself! My life is worthless without you." Here, she would let out a little whimpering sob, and again he could read her thoughts in her eyes, "I'm just sorry I never got to PROVE how much I. WANT. YOU." Then, then, then, he'd know what he had to do. To save her, to save all of them, he'd have to take this guy down. So with only his eyes he communicates with her to drop at his signal. Their hearts are beating as one, so she knows when he's ready. And putting his own life on the line he calmly and calculatedly squeezes off just one deadly shot, between breathes, to make sure it's steady. The guy drops, the crowd erupts in applause, her face aglow with her love and pride....

until his nag of a wife reminds him that it's just the three of them, they don't need 8 orders of fries, for god's sake, and he notices that, yet again, that whiny kid pulling on his clothes, why can't the damn brat learn to keep his hands to himself!?!

[Divernan]

37. You are one brilliant, hysterically funny writer - at a professional level.

I hope you write for a living - because it would be a shame for talent like yours to go unshared and unrewarded. Thanks for the laughs - always needed in today's world!

[Chellee]

42. Thank you. And no. And you're welcome.

I sell doors, windows, and moulding for a company owned by a megalomaniacal ass.

Try to contain yourself, it's not as exciting as it sounds.

[Tsiyu]

51. You are not serious

You'd better be working on a novel when the boss isn't looking.



LMAO

[Laffy Kat]

44. Can't wait for the sequel!

[beam me up scottie]

47. One of the funniest posts EVAH!!!

I agree with Laffy Kat and Divernan, if you have any more gems like this laying around PLEASE post them to your journal.

[Arger68]

17. No safety on a .380 Kel-tec.

From the linked article:

"No thumb safety, no trigger safety, no grip safety and no heavy, revolver-like double-action trigger pull (the P3AT is DAO)."

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2010/09/don-gammill-jr/gun-review-kel-tec-p3at-380/

[justiceischeap]

20. I missed that when reading the article. Thanks.

Obviously not a safe gun to keep around your toddler.

[Arger68]

21. Actually that wasn't in the article posted

by the OP, it's from a review I just searched for. While not all that into guns I know more pistols seem to be coming without safeties, so figured that was the case here. I know I wouldn't want something like that in my pocket!

[sir pball]

49. Not a safe gun, period.

And I'm fairly lax on safeties, my preferred carry gun (relax, that was ten years ago) only had a grip safety when it was holstered, and was single-action...I carried it with the hammer back, "cocked and locked", with nothing more than a loose piece of metal on the handle to stop it firing.

Then again, things designed in 1911 tend to be a bit better engineered than today..

[samsingh]

9. now if there were other armed patrons they could have shot and killed the two year old

see, more guns, leads to more peace


sarcasm off

[Nuclear Unicorn]

29. Obviously what we need are more gun control laws --

-- enforced by law officers such as one that allows an infant child to pull the trigger through the fabric of his trousers.

I'm sure the program will be a resounding success ... assuming the officers don't all negligently kill themselves first.

[samsingh]

43. or we can do nothing and talk about muzzle velocities. nothing to see here

[Eleanors38]

54. vast quantities of laws will work. everytime. nt

[Nuclear Unicorn]

55. Discussing muzzle velocities would be as pointless as discussing prohibitions. nt

[Control-Z]

12. That is one tall 2 year old

to slip his hand into his dad's pants pocket. Or one short dad. Or a damn strange pocket (location).

Am I the only one who finds this strange? I'll admit to not having read the entire article. Is this facet of the "accident" explained?

[Shrike47]

16. A child at 2 is 1/2 of their adult height. Odd but true. He could easily reach hid dad's pocket.

[Control-Z]

24. His head may reach the pocket.

But wouldn't his shoulder have to be above the pocket to slip a hand down into it?

Or maybe daddy had on a tight pair of jeans with the hand grip already hanging out all macho and stuff. I guess that would work.

I'm just trying to picture it. 2 year old tugging down on daddy's pocket to get his hand in there without daddy noticing. I don't know. Sounds off to me.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

30. With enough alacrity to overcome someone supposedly trained to

deal with arrestees that might grab for his weapon?

[NV Whino]

18. Could be cargo pockets

But, still, I agree with you.

[Control-Z]

25. That's what I was thinking

when I said strange location for a pocket.

[Taitertots]

14. Extreme negligence almost kills people... Still on duty. ACAB

Are the so-called "good cops" fighting to get this dangerous moron off the force? Of course not, the bad apples have spoiled the bushel.

[Iggo]

19. Toddlers are more dangerous than terrorists up in this pad.

Yikes!

[Nuclear Unicorn]

31. I'm guessing it's a negligent discharge by the father and the father is blaming the child

to keep his job / avoid charges.

[Iggo]

46. Wouldn't surprise me one bit.

Cops. Gotta love 'em.

[oldandhappy]

23. Father gives workshops on safety, eh?

[99th_Monkey]

26. I guess this had to happen in Florida, home of Florida Man

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/twitters-florida-man

[Divernan]

39. In Florida, truth is stranger than Carl Hiaasen's fiction.

Adam Gopnik wrote in the Fiction Issue about a new genre of crime thriller that “may have supplanted the L.A.-noir tradition as a paperback mirror of American manners—the fiction of Florida glare.” American manners indeed: this is a literature in which “ ‘South Florida wackos’—all heavily armed, all loquacious, all barely aware of one another’s existence—blunder through petty crime, discover themselves engaged in actual murder, and then move in unconscious unison toward the black comedy of a violent climax.” The setting, in Gopnik’s words, is “a paradise despoiled,” a land where “ambition, appetite, and an absence of memory lay waste to a once exquisitely delicate environment of wetlands and beaches.”

Gopnik identifies Carl Hiaasen, a Florida native and columnist for the Miami Herald, as a master of the genre. Hiaasen himself labels South Florida “Newark with palm trees,” and churns out tales of sleaze and ruin to match. Yet despite his impressive output, Hiaasen’s dark annals of the Sunshine State cannot best the facts on the ground. Twitter—that first exposer of America’s most embarrassing sinkholes—has served up an aggregated feed of the “Florida Man.” The account, which gathers the police blotter’s sickest and strangest, and feels no need to give commentary, gravely underscores Gopnik’s hypothesis of the South Florida wacko. A few samples:
Florida Man Stabs Wife Over Hamburger
Florida Man Busted For Performing Back Alley Butt Injections
Florida Man Arrested For Trying To Force Fiancé To Swallow Engagement Ring.
Florida Man Builds Mini Car For His Pet Parrot.
Florida Man Shoots Himself In Crotch With Flare Gun.
Florida Man Arrested For Giving Wedgies.

Seeking more answers, I asked some Floridians why their home state is so warped, and out came privatization, deregulation, severely high rates of AIDS and homicide, fraud, pervasive artificiality, white-collar corruption in the medical-services industry, a swamp without natives, and Rick Scott. “Florida blends country with gaudy neon lights and mouse ears to produce a streamlined but superficial self-image,” a college friend explained. There’s heat, warmth, and a proximity to water that brings together the reckless young with the arthritic elderly, the wellsprings of vigor and possibility alongside those whose fountains are drying up. He also explained that “the state education system is being gutted like a fish,” and spoke of a childhood acquaintance who allegedly smuggles human body parts between Dubai and Miami. Yet another friend mentioned the state’s startling diversity, the Southern specialty of firearm justice, and the peculiarity of manatees, before throwing up his hands. “You ask a tremendous question,” he wrote, “one that I have thought about ever since I attained self-awareness around sophomore year of high school and one that has refused to yield its secrets. Florida fever is a mystery so large I cannot see past it.”

[99th_Monkey]

45. My GF (twitter queen of the Pacific NW) turned me onto Florida Man

Last edited Tue Sep 9, 2014, 09:54 PM - Edit history (1)

I've never been there, and not sure I'd want to without an armed guard.

[Ilsa]

38. Listening to Thom Hartmann today. And the NRA and

GOPers don't want the CDC to collect data on victims of shootings, whether accidental or deliberate. The gun guest could only argue that people die from other stuff too. (WTF?)

[jmowreader]

40. Pistols should be carried in holsters, not pockets

[aikoaiko]

56. Agreed. I suspect a $15-30 pocket holster could have prevented this.

[ManiacJoe]

61. Exactly. A proper holster would have prevented this.

[lpbk2713]

41. "Ya want fries with that?"

OMFG

[Liberal_in_LA]

48. no one needed treatment?

[treestar]

57. agree makes no sense

is it possible to get shot and have the bullet not leave anything behind? And then just a superficial wound you can handle with a band-aid?

[stevenleser]

59. Article said they were hit with fragments. If I had to guess...

the gun was facing down in the dad's pocket. Junior pulled the trigger, the bullets hit the ground and shattered, and pieces hit various people standing by hard enough to cause serious welts/bruising, but not enough to deeply penetrate skin.

[treestar]

60. thanks!

I know so little about guns, didn't think of that.

[stevenleser]

63. You're welcome!

[ManiacJoe]

62. Exactly this.