Winter Springs man killed himself on second trip to gun range

[Hazcat]

CASSELBERRY - Jason Kevin McCarthy, 26, was at Shoot Straight on U.S. Highway 17-92 about 11 a.m. Monday and asked about renting a gun, Casselberry police Officer Joseph Nas said in a report that has just been released. McCarthy was handed paperwork to fill out, "but he stated he had something to do first and left the store," Nas wrote.

He came back about 5:40 p.m. and that time he filled out the paperwork and rented a 9mm handgun.

No one saw McCarthy shoot himself, but the suicide was verified by a surveillance video, police said. Employee Adam Schulman told police he instructed McCarthy on how to safely use the gun and watched him shoot at his target on a monitor for about five minutes before turning to wait on a customer.

He said he realized something was wrong when another customer pounded on the glass and told him McCarthy had shot himself.

That was William McNeely of Longwood, the only other person on the range at the time.

McNeely said he noticed a pair of safety glasses on the range and when he looked back he saw McCarthy on the ground bleeding. After pounding on the glass to get the attention of employees, McNeely unloaded his weapon and left the range, he told officers.

Katrine Zorn, the first Casselberry officer on the scene, entered with Lt. Dennis Stewart and found McCarthy with the gun still in his right hand. He was disarmed and paramedics were called. Although rescue workers said McCarthy had a weak pulse when they first arrived, his injuries "were not conducive to sustaining life," Zorn said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-bk-shoot-straight-gun-range-042809,0,126589.story

[Hazcat]

Related to above story

Gun range where two committed suicide wants background checks, state says no

A gun range near Orlando has stopped renting firearms after a second customer committed suicide with one of its guns, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Shoot Straight wants to require customers to undergo the same background checks on gun renters that state law requires them to conduct on buyers, but the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said it was not allowed under state law. The FDLE conducts the checks.

Shoot Straight already asks rental applicants whether they have been found mentally incompetent, are taking medication, have committed domestic violence or are a convicted felon, but there's no way to confirm whether the responses are correct, store attorney Joerg Jaeger said.

So the range won't rent any more guns until it can conduct background checks.

It's unclear whether such a check would have prevented Jason Kevin McCarthy, 26, of Winter Springs from renting a gun. Police arrived at Shoot Straight shortly after 5:40 p.m. Monday and found McCarthy with a massive wound to the head, caused by a single gunshot from a rented gun.

On April 5, Marie Moore, 44, of Altamonte Springs used a rented gun to shoot her son Mitchell Moore, 20, and then turned the gun on herself.

http://blogs.tampabay.com/bizarre/page/2/

[Steyr M40A1]

Man, I heard about that as I live in Port Orange.
The range is now closed and they say they will be increasing there Insurance as well as a longer rental agreement.
They want to do background check but FDLE said no.

When my wife saw the evening news and commented, why? I told her it was easy access to a gun that normally he could not buy do to his dishonorable discharge.

[Timothy]

That happened up here a few times in the last ten years.  The City of Worcester ended up suspending the ranges lisence for renting to unlicensed shooters and put them out of business.  Urban legend has it that the last women to shoot herself had a note and a few hundred bucks on her to clean up the mess she made.

Unlicensed shooters are allowed by state law to shoot with a lisenced person present but the Municipal PD make their own interpretation of the laws.  The COP in Worcester said (I'm paraphrasing) "Under MY interpretation of the law" or some such stupid comment and shut them down.

People that are determined to kill themselves always find a way!

[Teresa Heilevang]

The people who are going to shoot themselves with a rented gun would probably pass a back ground check..
I get so worn out by all the .. take it away syndrome" and it won't happen again theory.

He wanted to shoot himself.. ( and call attention to it ) and he did!
The % that don't shoot themselves should be the deciding factor.

I am not hard hearted about suicides. They are horrible selfish acts but to punish thousands over a mentality unbalanced person is nuts!

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

Japan has NO firearms for civilians, only Police, Military, and criminals. But with a population half that of the US they have about the SAME number of suicides, in other words, double the rate of the US.

[tt11758]

Are Florida people just nuts, or what?  Isn't that the same range where the mother shot her son in the back of the head and then ate her pistol?

[tombogan03884]

Are Florida people just nuts, or what?  Isn't that the same range where the mother shot her son in the back of the head and then ate her pistol?

Yes.

[brosometal]

Are Florida people just nuts, or what?  Isn't that the same range where the mother shot her son in the back of the head and then ate her pistol?

I'm not sure where she was originally from, but I blame it on folks from up North coming down here to steal our sunshine. (Native Floridian).  Florida is an aggrigation area (all kinds of stuff settles here), but if you read Fark.com on a regular basis, we have our own story tag (http://www.fark.com/).

I would have to say that this seems to be a copy-cat deal.  Same MO etc. He saw the attention the wackado mother got and figured he could do the same.

[Hazcat]

Are Florida people just nuts, or what?  Isn't that the same range where the mother shot her son in the back of the head and then ate her pistol?

YES!  Remember that next time you think about pi--ing me off!!