by Jeff Bergquist on Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:29 am
It happened Thursday evening during our Defensive Pistol League shoot. Our league had the main bays to ourselves while a few other people were using the police bay. We had completed a few strings of fire when Clay, who had been working the counter, came in and shouted for us to put down our guns and get out. Full volume yell; "PUT DOWN YOUR GUNS AND GET OUT!" We all filed out the east door into the lobby, some of us thinking one of us must have screwed up bigtime on a safety issue.
When I got to the lobby I saw Tom the manager behind the counter talking on the phone, while looking through the windows into the police bay. I still had my earplugs in and couldn't hear what he was saying, but I instantly felt that something really bad had happened in the police bay, and had a guess what it was. Turned out my guess was correct.
A little bit after Tom completed his call, We all were still milling about the lobby starting to speculate to each other when some of us saw movement of a head in the window of the door into the police bay. My first thought was that it was someone giving CPR, but Clay saw it as well and uttered a shocked expletive while hastily putting on some latex gloves and heading into the bay. A short time later the Police and EMTs arrived and we took seats and waited. Bits of conversation between us and the two other men who had been in the police bay confirmed our guesses, they had been in there going about their business when one noticed the third guy on the floor, "bleeding from his mouth and the back of his head." We also learned that his drivers license said that he was 25 years old, and that Clay had never seen him in there before.
We cleared passage and after a while the EMTs wheeled out the gurney, carrying a man very much alive and struggling and covered in blood. More waiting while the crime lab did their thing and police took our personal information and asked if any of us saw or knew anything about the incident. One of the witnesses who had been in the police bay asked Clay if they thought the shooting was accidental or on purpose. Clay said that he couldn't comment, but did say that the range's videotape clearly showed what happened. This left me with the impression that it had to have been on purpose, but I have no other proof of this. My guess is that he shot himself in the mouth, but shot low, missing the spinal cord and at least most of his brain. Lucky him I guess.
About an hour after the EMTs took the man away, we were allowed to pack up our gear and leave. We were filed past the door to the police bay where I saw that there was quite a mess; a smeary blood stained area about 6 feet or so across. In the lobby again with our gear, Clay apologized to us for the circumstances, even though it was obviously in no way the fault of them or Bill's Gun Range, thanked us for our cooperation, and gave us each a free range pass token and we left.
Last edited by
Jeff Bergquist on Sat Sep 29, 2007 7:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
The bold type giveth, the fine print taketh away.