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LAKELAND, Fla. — A Tampa couple and an Irish tourist were shot at a Lakeland gun range after a handgun accidentally fired.
Polk County sheriff's deputies say it's not entirely clear how many times Michael and Sherri Thourot's 9mm accidentally went off Saturday, or what caused the handgun to fire. The pistol was a Jennings make.
The man in an adjacent stall, 29-year-old Gary Flynn, of Ireland, was most seriously injured. He underwent surgery after being hit in the shoulder and throat, and was listed in stable condition.
Michael Thourot was shot in the left hand, and Sherri Thourot was hit in the left arm. Both were also listed in stable condition.
While I have a hard time understanding how the gun could go ape crazy and shoot these people without direction, I do know of a gun shop being sued because a Jennings they repaired fired when dropped and killed the owner. In that case, there was a pin that wears when the gun is fired often (like a rental?) and the owner had had it replaced at least twice before. He really liked the gun and so had it repaired a third time. I am told that the round count through this gun was over 5000. Note that none of my info is first hand.
I suspect that the rental gun was dropped and one or two rounds managed to do all this. Perhaps the surveillance video will make its way to youtube...
Sincerely,
Hobie
"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend." Robert Louis Stevenson
What a shame. No one ever wants to hear of people hurt with any tool, guns included. Gun accidents simply give the anti's more fodder to use on the weak-minded to help vote away our rights...
That's too bad. Detectives stated the gun fired three rounds after the man set it down facing his wife. Granted I don't know if they guy had any clue the piece was faulty, but hey, facing it towards his wife, obviously loaded. Come on. People handling firearms in an unsafe manner deserve what they get, but his wife and the other guy sure didn't.
I've always tried to buy quality and I can promise I never have and never will own a Jennings, Raven, etc....Take them off almost every banger, bad guy we deal with though.
That stinks.
I have an old S&W model 39 9 MM that used to double tap occasionally when I first got it, never fired out of the blue but I can conceive of it happening if someone set it down without clearing it or at least locking the slide back. Turned out to be a slightly bent hammer strut interfering with the works. Got it repaired by my smith & its been flawless since.
But on topic this guy did more than one thing wrong that helped turn this into a tragedy. The gun might be junk, but a little thought would have prevented everything that happened.
Just woundering if they were shooting reloads. I know if the primer isant set all the way in, when the slide slams forward it will fire again. (have done this on purpose to test the therey(sp)) This along with a defective gun might cause the extra rounds to be fired. Just a thought.
BlaineG wrote:Did ya forget? Guns don't...People do.... The junkiest, brokest Raven in the world won't shoot a person unless a people makes it happen.
Exactly, I'm not familiar with the gun in question. But decocking it, locking it open or clearing it before setting it down would have prevented everything.
A stuff gun, mis-handled, all traceable back to the shooter who doesn't think he's to blame.
As I said, I know of a lawsuit against a gun store owner (because Jennings no longer exists) because a Jennings owner dropped his shooting himself and dying. His family sees big bucks.
Sincerely,
Hobie
"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend." Robert Louis Stevenson
The rationalizations:"is it a normally reliable pistol?", and "It costs way less than......" , is what leads people to buy junk - as it sadly turned out this time, fatally dangerous junk.
Add unsafe gun handling to the mix, and it's a good place to be "from" - VERY far (away) from.
I have pretty much given up trying to dis-suade such folks, as I tire of banging my head against a wall.
I have the luxury of having a private range to shoot at, but even there, one must be constantly on the lookout for unsafe practices by others - whether other members or their guests.
The junkiest, brokest Raven in the world won't shoot a person unless a people makes it happen. 
