Police released the identity of a pregnant woman accidentally shot to death Friday afternoon in Montgomery County by her husband, a state trooper.
JoAnne Miller, who was 22 weeks pregnant, was taken to Mercy Suburban Hospital with a gunshot wound to the upper body. She died soon after she was admitted. Doctors performed an unsuccessful emergency cesarean. "The baby never had its own breathing or heartbeat," said the Montgomery County coroner, Walter Hofman.
The shooting in the home on the 3000 block of Stony Creek Road in East Norriton occurred around 2:30 p.m. Friday, police said. The officer pulled the trigger while taking apart his .45-caliber handgun for cleaning but did not realize the gun was loaded, police said.
I am not going to make any snide remarks because this is truly a tragedy.
However it is instructional in showing that any gun introduced into a household is far likelier to put the inhabitants in danger than to protect them, even when the gun is in the hands of somebody trained to use it for protection.
This gun had a purpose, and that purpose is ostensibly to protect life, but in reality a gun is only good for one thing. And that is the taking of life.
In this case the life of a mother and her unborn child.
"The officer pulled the trigger while taking apart his .45-caliber handgun for cleaning but did not realize the gun was loaded, police said."
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Even if he thought the gun was unloaded, why in blue blazes would he pull the trigger?
I would like to think that a state trooper be aware of basic gun
safety.
And why was it pointed at his wife?
DeleteIf she had survived, and the fetus died, anyone wanna bet she would have been accused of trying to abort, and then been charged with murder? Wanna bet this cop is never charged with anything, and keeps his gun and his job?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think there are too many "accidental" shootings. Yes, there is the odd tragedy but, as far as I'm concerned, it has become a very convenient method of murder. A husband with a pregnant wife who ends up dead is almost a true crime cliche. Thanks to the NRA enabling murder all over the United States.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. Does anyone in this country get prosecuted for shooting people anymore? There are
Deleteindeed----too many "accidents" going on. Why can't these idiots be prosecuted for not handling deadly weapons with care?
Of course—if you are a minority woman who fires off a warning shot, completely misses the man that is threatening your life—a Florida prosecutor tries to put you in prison for sixty years. And yet a cop can't safely clean his own weapon without killing his wife and unborn child? I call bullshit.
If I were a member of that woman's family, I'd be suspicious of this story. It sounds weird. Cops give other cops the benefit of the doubt so that they can totally get away with murder.
ReplyDeleteNRA has awarded the husband a "Marksmanship" badge. Since the bullet also killed the fetus, the badge will have an oak leaf cluster.
ReplyDelete"Gun Safety" is an oxymoron.
ReplyDeleteSo sad for all involved.
What a sad, tragic event...
ReplyDeleteI feel sick at heart for that poor fellow and his family.
Here's some second amendment foreplay for you:
ReplyDeleteA man and woman in Decatur, Ala. both suffered gunshot wounds when a gun the man was dismantling while they were lying in bed accidentally discharged on Sunday, according to the Decatur Daily.
You can't make this stuff u[.
He killed her. My cop friend just told me that it's normal for cops to shoot their wives out of jealousy or other "difficulties" and not only do they understand each other, but are almost ALWAYS justified. I was outraged and I don't even want to talk to my cop friend again.
ReplyDeleteThere has to be more to this story. Cleaning the gun, yet pulling the trigger and the gun is high enough to hit his wife in the chest? Plus, this is someone who is supposed to know gun safety. I don't buy it. This is a homicide.
ReplyDeleteAgree with some here about this man's frame of mind. People know that when cleaning or dismantling a gun, it should never be facing people or a wall with a room behind it where people might be, or a ceiling or a basement where people might be.
ReplyDeleteEven if a person remembers removing all bullets, they still do not point a gun towards anyone. This is also part of gun safety; by never pointing a gun towards people, it creates a habit, so in the event of an unknown bullet in the chamber going off, it shoots away from humans.
Doesn't make sense. Too many 'ooops' shootings and too many who get away with murder.
I refuse to allow anyone in my home with a gun. I've asked people to leave if they have a gun on them. Lost a couple of friends because of this and didn't lose a minute of sleep. My house my rules. Also, if I know there is a gun in someone's home, I don't linger inside or I find reasons not to go in. Real simple....guns kill people. If I'm not around a gun I can't get shot...on purpose or by accident.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but this wasn't an accident. They don't come any "gooder", Mr La Pierre than our men and ladies in blue, so don't excuse this as an accident by a good man with a gun. First lesson of gun handling, don't ever point a weapon at any living being, unless you intend to kill.
ReplyDeleteI think the problem with cops and guns is that they're around them all the time and they become too easy, too familiar and the cop feels he/she "knows how to handle a gun properly". This man became numb/immune to the fact that guns kill. Is it less a tragedy because of this? I can't make that call. How does one live with something like this on their conscience?
I'm sick of hearing stories like this with the excuse it was an accident.
So what are you saying? Even cops can't be trusted with guns? Therefore nobody else should have them?
ReplyDeleteIF the reported version of events is true, this guy violated the #1 rule of gun handling. Always check to see if a gun is loaded when you pick it up or it's handed to you. And while you're doing that and ANYTIME you are handling a gun you keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, even if it's empty. Because you always treat a gun like it's loaded.
That being said, there is a good chance this guy got mad at his wife and shot her and is using the accident story for a cover. He's a cop and will get the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully this will be thoroughly investigated.
In any case, he should never be allowed to be a cop again.
So, I guess he didn't want to be married any more and certainly didn't want to be a Father.
ReplyDeleteIs this a "men in blue" divorce?