FRONT PAGE Gun Range Employee Cleaning Rifle Accidentally Shot And Killed Customer

[Morbid]

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HARRIS COUNTY, TX — A gun range employee was cleaning a rifle when he accidentally shot and killed a customer walking into the range.

An unnamed employee at the Hot Wells Shooting Range was cleaning a rifle in the range building when the weapon accidentally fired.

The bullet went through a wall and window before striking 36-year-old Joshua Luke Cummings in the head as he was in the range’s parking lot. Cummings, a married father of three, had just gotten out of his vehicle.

Cummings was rushed to a hospital in downtown Houston by a helicopter, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police believe the shooting was an accident, but homicide detectives are trying to determine whether the gun accidentally fired due to human error or a mechanical issue.

“Homicide will investigate all of the employees, witnesses and take control of the weapon. That weapon will be investigated also to find out if there’s anything wrong with it; if there was a malfunction, or if it was human error,” Senior Deputy Thomas Gilliland said.

Hot Wells Shooting Range released a brief statement that read:

“We simply do not have the words to express the sorrow in our hearts. For 44 years we have operated this facility accident free, yet today we are shaken by tragedy. There is an ongoing investigation into the circumstances that surround this accident, and until that investigation is complete we will have no comment on the accident details. We understand that this accident has, and will continue to affect the lives of many. We ask that our community joins us in prayer for the healing of all parties involved.”

Personally, I don’t think “mechanical issues” are to blame in cases like this. While I agree it was more than likely an accidental shooting, I also think it was 100 percent preventable if the most basic rules of firearm handling were being observed.


This article was written by Morbid for The Dreamin Demon - the Internet's self-appointed buzzkill.

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[Alf]

I also think it was 100 percent preventable if the most basic rules of firearm handling were being observed.

Yeah. It's a little hard to clean the bore and chamber if there is a round in the way.

--Al

 

[everjaded]

These are the stories that fuck me up the worst. So many tiny things could have happened differently in the victim’s day to prevent this from happening.

What utterly preposterous odds must it be for this stray bullet to have pierced through multiple items and traveled on outside to headshot the victim perfectly, right as he was getting out of his car.

If he'd gotten stopped at a red light on the way to the range, his head wouldn't have been there in the bullet's path at that second. If he'd taken an extra sip of coffee in the morning before leaving the house. If he'd let someone out in traffic, and arrived a few moments later than he did. If he'd stopped to retie his shoe. A million fucking tiny insignificant things could have happened that would have completely changed the outcome.

 

[Sejanus]

Gonna go out on a limb and say human error.
What with there being a live round in the weapon and all that during a cleaning.

These are the stories that fuck me up the worst. So many tiny things could have happened differently in the victim’s day to prevent this from happening.
...
A million fucking tiny insignificant things could have happened that would have completely changed the outcome.

Like, the gun being empty.
But I do see where you are going in the cosmic sense.