Two news stories we heard about recently made us shake our heads. The first was that a woman was shot in the back inside a spa in Pinellas, Florida. The second was that a man’s firearm went off inside a Dunkin’ Donuts in South Florida. I’m sure it’s just coincidence that these both took place in Florida…
The woman in the spa was 19 years old and was at a nail salon getting a pedicure when she suffered a serious injury after a bullet went through her back. There’s a gun shop next door, and 43-year-old Mark Smith, an employee at the R&R Firearms, was unloading a customer’s .45 caliber handgun when it went off. Smith told police that he was clearing the loaded firearm when he pulled the slide back and emptied the chamber. But there was a magazine with ammunition still in the gun, so when he slid it forward it went off. The bullet went through the nail salon wall. There was no information available about whether Smith would face any charges. Read our article about safe behavior in a gun shop if you have any doubts about what you and the clerk should do if you’re in a gun shop with a gun.
In the second incident, Randy Barroso, 38, was in a Dunkin’ Donuts shop in Broward County when his gun went off at 8:30 am and injured a 55-year-old woman. The gun fell from his clothing, he says, and accidentally went off. He fled the scene, then later turned himself in. Folks, if you can’t trust your gun to stay in its holster, you’re wearing the wrong holster! (Read “5 Things to Consider When Choosing an Everyday Holster”.)
