Man cleaning gun accidentally shoots himself, buddy in Spring Hill (FL)

[Hazcat]

Times staff
Posted: May 26, 2010 11:29 AM

SPRING HILL — A man cleaning his pistol Monday night accidentally fired a round that hit his own hand and then struck his friend in the foot.

The Hernando County Sheriff's Office gave this account:

Thomas Maffatone, 20, was in the living room of a house at 3798 Braemere Drive cleaning his Springfield XD45 semiautomatic pistol while his friends Michael King, 20, and Kyle Minderman, 20, sat on a couch.

King said he heard a loud bang and felt pain in his right foot. He looked down and yelled, "I've been shot.''

While removing his sneaker and sock, King said he saw Maffatone get up and wrap a cloth around his own left hand, which Minderman said was "spraying blood all over the place.''

Minderman drove both men to Spring Hill Regional Hospital, where Maffatone was treated for a wound to the middle finger of his left hand while King was treated for a wound to the middle toe of his right foot.

King told deputies that the shooting was an accident, as there had been no animosity between him and Maffatone.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/accidents/man-cleaning-gun-accidentally-shoots-himself-buddy-in-spring-hill/1097802

comments at link

[shooter32]

Keep your booger hook of the bang switch!!

[TAB]

Keep your booger hook of the bang switch!!

why was it loaded while cleaning?

[JC5123]

This never ceases to amaze me. I guess it's because I disassemble my weapons before cleaning. Foe one thing, it gets them cleaner, and for two, they can't fire when they are in pieces.

[shooter32]

Bet there was some horse play involved.

[Sponsor]

[fightingquaker13]

Nope, seen the same thing happen when I was in the room. Used to be, the old Glock boxes had a column in the center. One of the cool safety features of the Glock is that if you fire it on an empty chamber, the trigger locks bac. You can tell at a glance if its hot or not. However, to fit it into that old box, you had to depress the trigger. Anyway, my roomate was a DC cop. We were getting ready to watch a movie, got to talking and when he squeezed the trigger, BANG!. Dead silence. The bullet lodged in the wall, he was freaking out and we waited for sirens. More silence. I suggested nothing had happened, as he could have lost his badge over it. Still, there was a Glock box with a hole in it (odd how the new ones have a different design ), and two very chastened guys. It was a learning experience to put it mildly.
FQ13

[Ichiban]

Bet there was some horse play involved.

And maybe beer?  What's the drinking age in Florida?

[Solus]

Nope, seen the same thing happen when I was in the room. Used to be, the old Glock boxes had a column in the center. One of the cool safety features of the Glock is that if you fire it on an empty chamber, the trigger locks bac. You can tell at a glance if its hot or not. However, to fit it into that old box, you had to depress the trigger. Anyway, my roomate was a DC cop. We were getting ready to watch a movie, got to talking and when he squeezed the trigger, BANG!. Dead silence. The bullet lodged in the wall, he was freaking out and we waited for sirens. More silence. I suggested nothing had happened, as he could have lost his badge over it. Still, there was a Glock box with a hole in it (odd how the new ones have a different design ), and two very chastened guys. It was a learning experience to put it mildly.
FQ13

That brings back a sick feeling....

Shortly after I got my Glock 17, I was putting it in the box like that.  It was unloaded but it was cocked when I put it in.

It was also pointed at my belly and as I pushed it into the box over the post, the striker fell.   

It was a lucky way to have Rule 2 reinforced...

[ratcatcher55]

"SPRING HILL — A man cleaning his pistol Monday night accidentally fired a round that hit his own hand and then struck his friend in the foot."

In real life and IDPA: Shoot throughs count!

[SwoopSJ]

This never ceases to amaze me. I guess it's because I disassemble my weapons before cleaning.

+1