Accidental discharges involving gun owners are becoming a frequent and concerning occurrence. In a recent incident, an Ohio man mistakenly shot himself while selling a gun. The gunshot sound attracted witnesses who then called the police to the scene.
When the police arrived at the hotel, they found the man with a wound to his leg, prompting medical attention. The gun owner informed the authorities that the accident happened in the process of showing the gun to his brother-in-law, to whom he was selling the gun.
Although both men were legally permitted to own a gun, the injured man was charged with the illegal discharge of a weapon, Cleveland reports. The news caught the attention of social media users who wasted no time in sharing their opinions. One user joked that the injured man was only marketing the firearm. “He was demonstrating how well it works,” mocked the internet user.
A second person added, “That’s one way to demonstrate the gun works.” A third observer commented, “Sounds like he was doing the right thing, trying to get rid of it.” While many found the humor in the accidental discharge, others pointed out how there are more cases of unintentional discharges among firearm owners.
“Never all that surprising. Gun lovers always brush off the statistics about a gun being in the picture, or even just having one at home in general, making it way more likely to have an accident happen, but they are very real and concerning stats.”
The netizen continued, “People are way too overconfident in their gun ‘skills’/safety, and that absolutely includes even people who are trained in them/military/etc. Accidents still happen plenty enough with those folks too.”
It would appear that the netizen’s observations are not far-fetched, as less than two weeks ago, another gun owner suffered a self-inflicted gunshot in Florida. As TNS reported, the shooting occurred in the 163rd Street branch of Walmart, where some customers were shopping when a loud gunshot rang out.
Authorities were quickly alerted, and in no time, police officers arrived at the scene, even closing off a section of the store. An onlooker, identified as Myra, detailed the event that led to the shooting. According to her, the man accidentally dropped his firearm, which subsequently discharged, injuring him in the process.
Although the body part where the man was shot was not disclosed, paramedics revealed it was not a life-threatening injury.
Undoubtedly, immediate measures are necessary to prevent similar incidents from occurring.