Man dies after accidental shooting

[TheeBadOne]

Herriman man dies after accidental shooting in Rush Valley

By Lindsay Whitehurst
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 06/08/2008 03:15:24 PM MDT


Posted: 2:35 PM- A Herriman man is dead after an acquaintance accidently shot him in the back Saturday, police said.
About 9:30 p.m., four men were working on a yard in Rush Valley for an upcoming wedding when the conversation turned to guns, Tooele County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Jason Sparks said.
The homeowner has an extensive gun collection, Sparks said, and he brought out a .45-caliber Springfield model 1911 handgun. A 66-year-old guest from out of state slid the rack back as he looked at the weapon.
The guest, who holds a concealed weapons permit, checked if the gun was loaded, Sparks said, but did not see a bullet in the magazine.
Sliding the rack raised the hammer, and to drop it, the man had to pull the trigger. When he did, the bullet shot from the gun and hit the 41-year-old Herriman man in the back. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police did not release the name of either man, and are investigating to decide whether charges should be filed. The two men knew each other, Sparks said. Their children are friends.
Rush Valley is located about 10 miles south of Tooele.

http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_9522682

[deputysykes]

Sad...EVERY gun is loaded all the time, right? Never point a weapon at something you don't intend to kill. An instruction we have been told so many times before.

[CTR man]

Ditto, I don't know how many times my father drilled that into me. Countless times.

[Frankenstein]

Sliding the rack raised the hammer, and to drop it, the man had to pull the trigger.

I'm not that familiar with 1911 style handguns, but I was under the impression that if the weapon was cocked you could hold the hammer with your thumb, pull the trigger, and let the hammer down slowly instead of letting it fall on a (hopefully) empty chamber.

[jcsdscott]

I'm not that familiar with 1911 style handguns, but I was under the impression that if the weapon was cocked you could hold the hammer with your thumb, pull the trigger, and let the hammer down slowly instead of letting it fall on a (hopefully) empty chamber.

You can but that obviously didn't happen here. Reminds me of the first gun I bought, a 70s series Colt 1911 (I didn't know it didn't fit policy when I bought it). Well the retired officer showing it to me removed mag and chambered round, handed it to me, I handed it back, showed me a reload, racked in a round, ejected the mag but forgot about the new chambered round. He pulled the trigger and put a hole in his wall, we both fell on the couch out of shock. Thank God no one was standing in front of that wall.