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| Oh, and don't shoot yourself in the head. |
A 50-year-old man shot and killed himself during a gun-safety class at a Bellevue gun range.
Brian J. Parry is believed to have shot himself in the head with a pistol Sunday during a class at West Coat Armory, a gun range and dealer with outlets in Bellevue and Issaquah.
Bellevue police spokeswoman Carla Iafrate confirmed that police are investigating the shooting but refused to release details.
She said the investigation into Parry’s death is ongoing. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office earlier this week ruled Parry’s death a suicide. He died of a contact gunshot wound to the head.
In an email, a man describing himself as a witness to the shooting said the dead man – identified by the Medical Examiner’s Office as Parry – stood in front of more than a dozen people participating in the class and ended his life.
Several children saw the shooting, which occurred at West Coast Armory’s indoor range at 13216 S.E. 32nd St. in Bellevue.
Not to be too flip but I have to assume that this would count as a failure to pass the class.
Nothing at all funny about a room full of children having to witness this however.
I think it is just lucky for all concerned that he chose to end his own life and not turn it on the others in the class with him.
What am I saying? With so many "good guys" with guns in the room how could this one person possibly pose a danger?
How much worse could it have turned, if he aimed elsewhere before offing himself?
ReplyDeleteI can't possibly assume strangers with guns are going to be sane, safe or have any of that famous common sense Sarah Palin's always talking about.
Will the NRA start issuing "Good Guy With a Gun" patches for their members so the public can identify them as not a threat to public safety?
I wonder how the parents of the children attending the demonstration intend to explain that.
ReplyDeleteI feel for the people who witnessed this.
ReplyDeleteThey got an extra credit lesson on what a bullet does to the human head.
"They got an extra credit lesson on what a bullet does to the human head."
DeleteAm not up on the plethora of badges boy scouts can earn but pretty sure gun play of sorts is one of them considering who is lurking behind the curtain in the administrative offices of the org.
The kids attending this class in gun suicide will be wearing and boasting about the event then one day, one - or a few of them - will be using it as a defense to avoid conviction during their murder trial.
This was just a bad good guy with a gun. Nothing more. What we really need are lots of good good guys with guns. You know, like Bruce Willis in "Die Hard."
ReplyDeleteYep, it's just as stupid when you write it down as when you say it.
Interested in hearing more about this - was he a gun-control advocate who was planning on killing himself anyway and decided to kill two birds with one stone (err, you know...). Was he an arrogant gun owner who thought he knew his weapon better than he did? Did he think the safety was on? I do feel for the children who had to witness this, but - a good lesson. Guns aren't fun.
ReplyDeleteAs to the children, I believe this is in the same category as the films we used to be shown in shop class back when there was such a thing. Nothing really drives home the idea that you can hack your fingers off like seeing someone hack their fingers off. This guy sacrificed himself to the better good. We need more brave souls like him at gun ranges everywhere.
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed. May they all sacrifice themselves to the better good.
DeleteAn armed society is a polite society. A gun safety class instructor has every right to assume that no class member is mentally unstable. In a class with children in it, all people committing suicide carefully check that there won't be collateral damage to the children.
ReplyDeleteThese are the "facts" taught in GUN FUN for IDIOTS 101.
Am so glad Gryphen grabbed this horrific incident and put it up on the blog
ReplyDeleteHaving read various news reports on this very public lesson Mr. Parry taught his fellow students this was found:
"Parry reportedly used a pistol provided to participants to end his life in front of about a dozen people"
Am curious as to why live ammunition was needed during a safety lesson instead of the less destructive type of ammo normally used for target shooting. Yes, am aware that even blanks can cause death under certain circumstances but all the same, LIVE ammo in "Guns 101" class with KIDS participating?
Besides the gut wrenching reaction to witnessing a skull turn into mist, the stench of splattered brains will be memorable & indescribable to all who witnessed it... that smell alone has no adjective to give it justice & unforgettable no matter how much time has elapsed.
To the developing mind of a child who experienced this. . .danger now lurks within them.
Carry on.
I should have clarified and will reply to my own post:
DeleteThe reports say the dozen or so people were in gun lesson 101 during the specific teaching moments of how to load the weapon.
If in fact you are teaching a group of strangers.... AND CHILDREN how to load a gun... is it a stretch to think the weapon they are passing around to a room full of strangers & kids has a trigger that has been made dysfunctional in some way or at least have a trigger locking device since gun lesson 101 obviously is set up for the clueless?
Mr. Parry may not have owned a gun to do what he chose to do killing himself so he paid the $75 for the class and was handed a loaded weapon to accomplish it.
Wait and watch, there will be others to tap into that $75 bargain idea vs the waiting period & cost of purchasing a gun.
Man Shot Dead Pushing Kids In Stroller... 74-Year-Old Woman Shot Dead Answering Front Door... Panhandler Shot Dead By Cafe Owner... Man Shoots Self Dead During Gun Safety Class... Mother And Son Shot Dead At Home... Man Shoots Friend Dead While Cleaning Guns
ReplyDeletehttp://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130304/NEWS/130309856/1005
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?id=9013337
http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/21518720/sixteen-year-old-killed-on-carr-avenue
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/03/06/74-year-old-woman-shot-after-answering-front-door/
http://claremont-laverne.patch.com/articles/man-is-shot-and-killed-while-pushing-children-in-strollers
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/15/wayne-lapierre-cpac-speech-2013_n_2865007.html
For some strange reason the big hero of plaid flannel shirt ilk's trophy hunting TV star who was loud proud NRA blabber mouth that was shot dead by the husband of a woman gun mfg staffer the trophy hunter was visiting . . got lost behind the news that the bible bong on the Vatican roof toked white smoke having elected a priest who protected and supported a blood lusting dictatorship in Argentina that killed tens of thousands.
DeleteThe shot dead self described "rifle man" was also editor of Guns & Ammo and other guns are great 'zines and had TV shows bragging about the 21 countries he killed innocent animals to stuff & hang on his wall.
This trophy hunter shot dead by an angry husband . . left the headlines under a puff of white smoke.
Uh oh, if the finger had a gun to defend itself against an adulterer ... no regulations in PA to remove weapons from domestically violent homes?
ReplyDeleteA federal prison guard has been charged with shooting his own finger in a drunken attempt to remove his wedding ring during an argument with his wife at their northwestern Pennsylvania home
Police have been called to the Malespini residence a "couple times" previously for domestic disputes
Malespini "had been drinking quite heavily throughout the day and he and his wife had been arguing throughout the day about an affair he had had.."
http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Cops-Pa-guard-shot-finger-trying-to-remove-ring-4357211.php#ixzz2NdEOHCcj
'least he didn't take a dozen others with him - cruel enough though that kids had to witness it
ReplyDeleteThere is SO MUCH ignorance when it comes to firearms. It's just pathetic. Get educated people.
ReplyDeleteShooting range suicides are not that uncommon. It's a relatively easy way for a suicidal person to gain access to a firearm for their farewell.
In fact, many ranges require you to bring a friend along before you can rent a firearm - if you don't already have your own firearm. The reason being that suicidal people won't involve their family or friends in the suicide process.
Also, if you are concerned that someone will go nuts in a shooting range or class, know that essentially EVERYONE at the range is armed. The employees are usually armed at all times anyway.
Utah Senate approves concealed carry without a license <---cheered on at Texas Hunting Forum site where they trophy hunters' wall displays of victims "the best slumber party ever"
ReplyDeleteThe forum also provides handy guide for "How to Counter the Buy Back Gun Program in your Community" because that would ruin the best slumber parties ever?
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/55998233-90/bill-herbert-utah-gun.html.csp
I'm surprised that some "good guy" with a gun didn't shoot him before he could shoot himself.
ReplyDeleteIn my best Romney voice: "The order isn't "Suicide-Murder, it's Murder-Suicide, Murder-Suicide, Murder-Suicide"
ReplyDeleteNot to bright, using a loaded weapon as a teaching aid for beginners. Even driver's ed classes start with visual aids before progressing to the real deal.
It's important to treat all guns as loaded. Use a US approved firearms safety device on the gun, such as a trigger lock or cable lock, so it cannot be fired. Take a look at this: http://on.fb.me/YezBds for 40% discounts on safes.
ReplyDelete