Looks like Darwin was at work again...eh? What a moron. A poster boy for gun control. Sheesh!
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http://www.therecord.com/topstory_02010384216.html
Woman loses arm in gun mishap
Thursday January 3, 2002
Liz Monteiro
RECORD STAFF
Waterloo regional police Sgt. Rudy Smith holds a muzzle-loading rifle similar to the weapon that exploded this week, causing a 36-year-old woman to lose her arm. The other weapons were confiscated from the owner of the gun that caused the injury.
A 36-year-old Cambridge woman had her left arm amputated just below the elbow after a rifle she was holding exploded in her hands Tuesday night.
The woman, whose name was not released by police yesterday, was holding a 150-year-old, muzzle-loading flintlock rifle when the gunpowder in it ignited and the gun exploded, sending shrapnel in all directions.
When Waterloo regional police arrived at the home -- east of Kitchener near Highway 7 and Shantz Station Road -- after 9 p.m., parts of her fingers were lying on the back porch. Shrapnel was found imbedded in the porch ceiling .
Paramedics bandaged her hand and took the woman to Grand River Hospital. She was later transferred to St. Joseph's Health Centre in London where doctors unsuccessfully attempted to save her arm.
Police removed about 20 rifles and ammunition from the home, owned by a 46-year-old man. Some of the firearms included a .22-calibre hunting rifle, handguns and an AR-15 semi-automatic military-style rifle.
The antique muzzle-loader was valued at about $3,000.
The man, who was also hurt but did not go to hospital, had bought the gun about five years ago and had never fired it.
Staff Sgt. Al Cassidy said the man had all the proper paperwork for the guns and had them stored in cases. But because of the accident, police removed the guns from the home.
The man could face charges of unsafe handling of a firearm.
The woman remains in hospital and has not been interviewed by police.
"I would describe this guy as a responsible owner,'' said Cassidy.
Cassidy said the man, who has known the woman for a few years, is in shock and doesn't know how the gun went off.
Sgt. Rudy Smith of Waterloo regional police said the woman was visiting the man for dinner when the pair began talking about three antique rifles on the fireplace mantle.
The man took one of the three from the mantelpiece and they both went outside onto the back porch.
The man, who is an avid hunter, is a member of a local gun club and shoots competitively. In his home are trophies of past successful hunts, such as a moose head and a stuffed fox.
The woman, who wore protective goggles, took the 4.5-kilogram (10-pound) firearm and held it while the man put some gunpowder in it.
"He was going to show her how it worked. She had never held a gun before,'' said Smith.
Cassidy said it's not unusual for firearm enthusiasts to have as many as 20 guns in their homes.
Police caution firearm owners not to allow inexperienced people to handle the guns.
"These type of guns should not be fired unless you're an expert,'' Cassidy said.
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Haiku: Stupidity kills. / Absolute stupidity / Kills absolutely.
- --WWW.DARWINAWARDS.COM