5 injured after firearms go off at Ohio, N.C., Indiana gun shows
Story highlights
NEW: A man shoots business partner with a gun he bought at an Ohio show, police say
A shotgun goes off as its owner unfastens its case at a N.C. gun show, wounding 3
1 man shoots himself with his semi-automatic in Indiana, police say
All three shootings are deemed accidental by authorities
At least five people – three in North Carolina, one in Indiana and one in Ohio – were injured after weapons went off at gun shows Saturday, officials said, at a time when there’s been renewed discussion about private gun sales at such shows.
The most casualties came at the Dixie Gun and Knife Show in Raleigh, North Carolina, where attendees bolted – with at least one woman wiping out in the frenetic scene – when gunfire rang out around 1 p.m., as seen on video captured by CNN affiliate WRAL.
Police later explained that a a 36-year-old man from Wilmington, North Carolina, was unfastening the case of his 12-gauge shotgun on a table near the show entrance when it accidentally discharged. The man planned to sell the shotgun at the show.
The bird shot ended up injuring three people. One was a sheriff’s deputy, who suffered a slight injury to his hand and was treated and released at a local hospital before returning immediately to work, said Joel Keith, chief of police of the North Carolina State Fair.
dnt tx armed teachers_00004801.jpg video
76-year-old retired college professor and first-time gun buyer Leo Tan purchases a .45 caliber Sig Sauer pistol for personal protection. Jim Roope/CNN video
U.S. President Barack Obama announces his administration's new gun law proposals in the Eisenhower Executive Office building January 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images videoA 54-year-old woman from Benson, North Carolina, was being treated for a wound to her right torso at a local hospital, and a 50-year-old man from Durham, North Carolina, was treated for an injured left hand, Keith told reporters.
“I want to emphasize that this is an accident,” Keith said.
That said, Wake County sheriff’s investigators and the local prosecutor will determine whether to file charges against the gun’s owner, authorities said.
Read more: Surprise! Mom packed you a nice gun
Sheriff Donnie Harrison said he was unsure whether it was legal to bring a loaded gun on state fairgrounds. However, when the state fair is held in October, it is illegal to bring a loaded gun to the fairground because of the large crowds, authorities said.
“This is state property. That’s something we’re looking into,” Harrison told reporters. “It’s early right now.”
The shooting prompted police to ban any private gun sales – in which visitors bring their firearms to sell at the gun show – for the remainder of the two-day show, which concludes Sunday, Keith said. He added there wouldn’t be any private gun sales on fairgrounds for the indefinite future.
The gun show was closed after the shooting and will reopen Sunday. At that point, show vendors can continue to sell firearms, which are already secured inside the show, Keith said.
“If we thought if it was a problem or a hazard, we wouldn’t have this show,” Keith said about private gun sales at the show. “I’m sure there isn’t anybody who hates this more than the guy who owned this weapon.”
Man shoots business partner with semi-automatic handgun
A person is in stable condition at a northern Ohio hospital after being shot by his business partner at a gun show run by Conrad and Dowdell Productions, said Medina police Chief Patrick Berarducci.
The original owner of the Taurus semi-automatic 9 mm handgun used in the shooting brought the firearm into the show fully loaded. This is despite the policy of searches to make sure all guns are not loaded and rendered safe before others can handle them.
The man who bought the gun told police that he took it out, then accidentally fired it, said Berarducci. A single bullet ended up going into the arm and thigh of this man’s business partner.
Authorities don’t know who brought the loaded firearm into the gun show and sold it, added the police chief. They’ll file a request with the federal ATF to track this person down.
The victim, meanwhile, is in good spirits with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Berarducci.
And in Indianapolis, a man walking out of the Indy 1500 Gun and Knife Show shot himself in the hand as he was loading his .45-caliber semi-automatic firearm, Indiana State Police said in a statement.
The 54-year-old Indianapolis man was sent to Wishard Hospital for treatment after being “slightly” injured.
“The investigation determined the shooting to be accidental, and no charges will be filed,” police said.
Read more: Newspaper removes controversial online database of gun permit holders
Shootings occur as gun debate rages
Reforming private gun sales – at shows or anywhere else – is among the changes that President Barack Obama is now seeking by requiring background checks.
The president has called for action in the wake of last month’s shooting at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, which left 27 people – 20 of them children age 7 or younger – dead. Gun control activists have likewise pushed for changes, while gun rights advocates have said restrictions on gun sales are unnecessary and in defiance of their Second Amendment rights.
Currently, federal law requires background checks on gun sales by federally licensed firearms dealers, who are often among the vendors at gun shows.
Saturday’s incidents occurred on ‘Gun Appreciation Day,” an event led by a gun rights group that urged Americans to “go to your local gun store, gun range or gun show with your Constitution, American flags and your ‘Hands off my Guns’ sign to send a loud and clear message.”
Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, last Sunday issued a statement predicting this event would drive up sales of things like “assault-style rifles,” which have already “skyrocketed” in the wake of the Newtown mass shooting.
Jabari Richards, a gun enthusiast, told WRAL at the Raleigh, North Carolina, show that he thought some reforms were wise.
“I think there should be background checks for everybody,” Richards said, “because then you know they … are capable of having a gun.”
But another man at the Raleigh show said it was useless for Washington to step in.
“The gun laws that they have on the books aren’t enforced, don’t do any good,” Al Galbraith said.
Read more: ‘Universal background check:’ What does it mean?
CNN’s Stefan Simons and Maggie Schneider contributed to this report.
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