Man shot dead at gun show

[philw]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/man-shot-dead-at-gun-show/story-e6frf7jx-1225843419634

A MAN was accidentally shot in the chest at a gun show in Denver, Colorado, Saturday (local time) according local media reports.

The shooting happened at the monthly Tanner Gun Show about 2pm Saturday (7am Sunday AEDT) at the Denver Merchandise Mart, FOX 31 reported.

The victim is recovering at Denver Health Medical Center. A witness told FOX 31 he was shot in the chest.

"I heard the gunshot. Nobody panicked or anything, so I didn't think too much about it," said visitor Russ Huntley.

Signs outside the event clearly state, "Absolutely no loaded weapons allowed."

"Apparently, somebody was looking at the gun. That gun did discharge and one person was struck," said Sergeant Candi Baker of the Adams County Sheriff's Office.

The Tanner Gun Show bills itself as the state's largest gun show with 700 tables displaying guns, knives, ammunition, reloading equipment, military surplus and hunting and fishing gear.


The show, which drew fire in 1999 when three guns bought there were used by Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris in the Columbine High School shooting, has run in some form since 1964, The Denver Post reported.

It's not the first time there's been a shooting at or around the show - a 64-year-old Littleton man accidentally shot himself in the stomach with .38-caliber handgun in the parking lot in 2008

bit of a stretch with the headline on that one!!!


MB  or others in Colorado 

what is the actual story with this one

[philw]

I guess it was just the Aussie media  that have NFI

( I emailed them to point that out as well )


http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/22898655/detail.html

ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. -- One person was shot in the chest Saturday afternoon at the Tanner Gun Show in what witnesses are calling an accidental shooting.
The Adams County Sheriff Office confirmed the shooting at the gun show being held at the Denver Merchandise Mart on Interstate 25 and 58th Avenue.
The man was rushed to Denver Health for treatment. His condition is not known. Witnesses told 7NEWS that the man was unconscious after being shot.
Witnesses said the man picked up a gun from a vendor’s table and it went off.
"He picked up a gun and it was loaded and he shot the guy next to him," said Mark Cameron.
"I started hearing, 'Oh my god, he got shot. He got shot in the chest,' " gun enthusiast Ken Gibson told 7NEWS.
"It was just a dumb accident," Cameron said.
Authorities said they are still investigating and trying to determine what actually happened.
The Adams County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Candi Baker said it is illegal to have a loaded gun at a gun show.
The Tanner Gun Show states on its Web site that all guns brought into the gun show must be unloaded, including concealed weapons. All guns must be shown at the door and tied with a safety on the trigger.
Witnesses we talked to blamed the dealer, who they said should never have had a loaded gun on display. Other’s said the customer simply should have known better.
"Any gun you pick up off a table, you automatically assume its loaded," Cameron said. "It’s not a toy. It’s a gun."

[Solus]

It is the person who picks up the gun who is responsible for checking it is unloaded.  I know pointing it in a safe direction as you pick it up is almost impossible at a gun show, but anywhere but at someone's chest is a better choice.

The gun dealer should go to extremes to be certain the guns on display are unloaded but it is very likely a previous "customer" slipped a round in the chamber, cocked the weapon and left it.  So, the final responsibility lies with the person who pickup up the gun.

I can only shake my head at a new article with a headline that is contradicted to this degree in the body.  Are they that stupid or that biased?

[philw]

It is the person who picks up the gun who is responsible for checking it is unloaded.  I know pointing it in a safe direction as you pick it up is almost impossible at a gun show, but anywhere but at someone's chest is a better choice.

The gun dealer should go to extremes to be certain the guns on display are unloaded but it is very likely a previous "customer" slipped a round in the chamber, cocked the weapon and left it.  So, the final responsibility lies with the person who pickup up the gun.

that is what I would of thought

I can only shake my head at a new article with a headline that is contradicted to this degree in the body.  Are they that stupid or that biased?

bit of both I am guessing   

[shooter32]

From the local paper..

denver and the west
Man shot in apparent accident at Tanner Gun Show
By Jason Blevins
The Denver Post
Posted: 03/21/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT


A man was shot Saturday afternoon at a popular gun show in an apparent accident.

Adams County sheriff's deputies responded to the Tanner Gun Show at the Denver Merchandise Mart at Interstate 25 and East 58th Avenue about 2 p.m. after a man was shot in the upper torso.

The victim was transported to Denver Health Medical Center, where his condition was unknown.

Investigators interviewed "numerous witnesses," the gun's vendor and the "person holding the gun at the time of the discharge," Sgt. Candi Baker with the Adams County Sheriff's Office said.

"They were just looking at a gun," Baker said.

Russ Huntley, who was at the gun show Saturday, told 9News he had heard someone had been shot in the shoulder and "there was blood all over the floor."

The Tanner Gun Show bills itself as the state's largest gun show, with 700 tables displaying guns, knives, ammunition, reloading equipment, military surplus, and hunting and fishing gear. The show, which drew complaints in 1999 when three guns bought there were used by Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris in the Columbine High School shooting, has run in some form since 1964.

It's not the first time there's been a shooting at or around the show.

In March 2008, a 64-year-old Littleton man accidentally shot himself in the stomach with .38-caliber handgun in the mart's parking lot.

The show's website says it is illegal to have loaded guns inside the show. Security personnel disable most guns, looping zip ties through gun chambers.

Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374 or jblevins@denverpost.com



Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_14721704#ixzz0iux40pcg

[Sponsor]

[crusader rabbit]

I've only got about 45 years of gunshow history to draw on so I'm kinda new at this and don't have all the answers, but it's been pretty much SOP to have a cable tie run through any gun that comes into the gunshows I've been to.  And, while I would agree that anyone picking up a gun has the final responsibility for ensuring that it's unloaded, lots of ignorant nimrods go to gunshows.   So, were I to have guns on display, I think I would go the extra distance to be certain none of the nimrods would be picking up a loaded gun.  I mean, you start blowing away clients and customers, you're going to give yourself a black eye with the public.   Nothing good can come of that.

Though, I went to a gunshow yesterday and ran across a couple of idjits who coulda done with some .45 cal lead poisoning.  I'm just sayin... 

[WatchManUSA]

Before I comment I will point out that the stories don't tell us how this happened in order to better prevent future problems.

I went to a local gun show this weekend and it was packed to the point it was difficult to move around among the tables.  Over the years I gave gone to quite a few shows but none as crowded as this one.  The one thing that struck me at this most recent show was the proximity of ammo to guns.  There were so many people that it was virtually impossible for the table workers to keep their eyes on the tables.  While at the show I commented to the buddy with me that it would be easy for someone with malicious intent to palm some ammo from a table and slip it into a gun.  Just a thought, perhaps gun show organizers should consider a voluntary program segregating ammo tables from gun tables.

[fightingquaker13]

Watchman
The way I see it is this. Gunshows are like gun ownership in general. You trust folks to have some common sense because that's what we do in a free society. Yet inevitably two idiots (seller with the loaded gun, and customer who pulled the trigger without checking the chamber) are eventually going to find each other. In this case its a shame that an innocent bystander was the victim. On the whole though, I can think of few safer places to be than a gunshow.
FQ13

[ellis4538]

Might not have been the sellers fault!  I remember hearing an announcement at a GS I was at for everyone to check their guns...seems someone (or more) was going around putting live rounds into some guns!!!!!  That has led to most shows in the area requiring zip ties in all guns.

Richard

[Overload]

Here's what I've gathered from the media reports here in Colorado.
The gun was a dealer owned gun, not a attendee's gun, so the guys at the front door zip-tyeing guns as people entered weren't at fault.  There was/is no procedure to check the dealer's guns to make sure they're unloaded.