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Title: Texas teen fatally shoots himself while taking selfie[Darwin Award]
Source:
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URL Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-teen-fa ... -taking-selfie-153229881.html#
Published: Sep 3, 2015
Author: Jon Herskovitz
Post Date: 2015-09-03 18:32:55 by Justified
Keywords: None
Views: 5973
Comments: 33
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A 19-year-old Texas man who was posing with a gun for a social media selfie photo accidentally shot himself and died from the wounds, Houston police said on Wednesday. "A witness told police he was taking a selfie with a gun and the gun accidentally discharged," Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said. The identity of the man killed in the Tuesday incident in Houston has been withheld pending an investigation by the coroner. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. He had shot himself in the upper body, police said. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 26.
#10. To: Justified (#0)
You just gotta love it anytime the trash takes itself out.
Lots of kids drink and do stupid stuff with guns. I wouldn't celebrate it too much.
More on the Texas case: Get that young man a Darwin Award: A 19-year-old trying to take an Instagram selfie died Tuesday. The teen tried to take a picture of himself holding a gun to his head when the gun went off, according to the Houston Police Department. The victim’s uncle said he ran into the apartment in the 9800 block of Forum Park Drive and attempted to resuscitate his nephew but he had already died. The victim’s family said he leaves behind two young daughters and that he was a fun-loving person. Family members said the shooting was a complete accident and the victim never talking about suicide. There are few things dumber than pointing a gun at your own head. One of those dumber things is then pulling the trigger. * * * There are some sites and social media labeling this death as the “first fatal selfie,” but I don’t know of any empirical evidence supporting that claim. For that matter, it doesn’t appear even the first fatal selfie in the past month. A Milwaukee man fatally shot himself in the femoral artery less than two weeks ago while attempting to reholster a pistol after taking a selfie. And from the link: Timothy Phonisay (Facebook) A 22-year-old Milwaukee man accidentally shot himself in the femoral artery around 11:00 PM Friday evening while attempting to reholster a pistol. Despite the best efforts of the local hospital trauma units, Timothy Phonisay did not survive his wounds. According to the Medical Examiner’s report, Phonisay was apparently posing with a handgun and when he went to holster it, a round was fired and entered his right groin area. Phonisay sustained two penetrating wounds to the right thigh. There was no bullet recovered or found on x-ray, according to the Medical Examiner’s report. Authorities say Phonisay developed respiratory distress during surgery, at which time blood was found in the chest. A right-sided thoracotomy was performed and a significant amount of blood was removed through a chest tube. Doctors were unclear where this blood came from, as no other injuries were identified. The Medical Examiner’s report states that Phonisay’s cardiac status declined and staff was unable to keep up with the amount of blood loss. Phonisay was pronounced dead just before 1 a.m. His death was ruled an accident. Another news outlet, the Journal Sentinel, was able to provide a little more detail. Phonisay was apparently posing with his gun and it discharged when he went to holster it, firing a round into his right groin and striking the femoral artery, according to the medical examiner’s report. Phonisay purchased the Springfield .45-caliber handgun three months ago and had a concealed carry permit, according to the report. It’s horrible that young Mr. Phonisay lost his life from such a preventable mistake. Let’s see if we can piece together what went wrong, in hopes of preventing similar tragedies in the future. On Friday evening, Mr. Phonisay apparently decided that he wanted to talk a selfie with his handgun, described in the Journal Sentinel as a “Springfield .45 -caliber handgun.” While there is the possibility that Mr. Phonisay was carrying one of Springfield Armory’s 1911-style pistols, it is statistically more likely that he was carrying one of the company’s more popular polymer-framed, striker-fired pistols from the XD, XD(M), or XD(S) lines. The polymer frame Springfield pistols are less expensive, lighter, and more commonly sold than the 1911s, and are unfortunately more frequently associated with negligent discharges. Mr. Phonisay shot himself while reholstering his pistol, and the fact that he shot his femoral artery on the right side of his groin confirms he was attempting to reholster a gun carried in the appendix position. We do not know, and are likely to never know, is if Mr. Phonisay still had his finger inside the triggerguard of his pistol and accidentally depressed the trigger with his finger, or if the firearm’s trigger snagged on an article of clothing or the holster itself causing it to fire. What is known is that something depressed the trigger while he was reholstering, causing the gun to discharge. Mr. Phonisay had only owned this hand gun for three months. It is probable that he did not have much training beyond that mandated to obtain a concealed carry permit in Wisconsin, and he almost certainly had no formal instruction in how to use an appendix carry holster. Use of a proper appendix carry holster and proper technique ensures that you will not point the firearm at your femoral artery. Unfortunately, it is obvious that Mr. Phonisay didn’t follow correct technique, and the gun pointed towards his body, ensuring this negligent discharge would become a fatal one. AIWB is a wonderful carry position. It is very comfortable and secure, and fast to draw when needed. Like every carry technique, however, it requires some training and practice to do safely.
I honestly don't get that quick draw stuff. Dangerous and useless. Anytime you think you MIGHT need a gun,you should already have your hand on it,if not already have it out and held down at your side. If you really need it in a hurry,you have screwed up,but chances are if you have carried it long and in the same holster and same position,you can get it out in a hurry if you need to without all that dangerous practicing.
It wouldn't surprise me if amateurs who practice quick-draw have a much higher accidental shooting rate than gun owners in general. Years back, I knew a guy that shot himself in the ass this way. There are a lot of really dumb gun accidents every year, a number occur every single day. It seems a lot of them are some suburban slob in his little camo outfit, trying to re-enact his own version of Rambo or some (almost entirely mythical) quick-draw scenario from some old Western movie. Alcohol is often involved. IOW, a lot of idiots shoot themselves playing with guns like they're toys. Which brings us back to Mr. Darwin and this thread. There is something a little mean-spirited about these Darwin Awards. In coming years, anyone who is a family member or an old friend or acquaintance who happens to do a Google search on the victim's name, perhaps looking for stories about them, will come across dozens (or hundreds) of threads calling them Darwin Award winners. IOW: the human race is better off because this person died and the human gene pool is now less polluted as a result. If it was your son or nephew or grandson who died in an accident, would you like reading that he was a genetic throwback and the human race is better off now that he blew his head off by mugging for a selfie while pointing a gun at his (admittedly empty) head? I doubt it.
Yes, to my deceased relative that through his/her own stupidity, is now dead... good riddance. I can say it... but, I'm a little less sensitive than the average sheep.
#27. To: GrandIsland, sneakypete (#26)
(Edited)
I have a relative who died in a hunting accident, a favorite uncle who died when I was about 5. He and his best friend were out hunting deer about dawn. They saw one and he got out from the drivers seat just as his buddy got out and aimed his gun across the top of the roof of the pickup. He was shot in the back of the head by his dumbass best friend. My uncle was newly married and had no children yet. So should I consider a Darwin Award for him? Or is this just chickenshit humor people like to post online that they would never dare say to a grieving mother or father or grandparent or sibling at the award winner's funeral?
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#11. To: sneakypete (#10)
#12. To: All, Justified, sneakypete, GrandIsland, hondo68 (#11)
#17. To: TooConservative (#12)
#22. To: misterwhite (#17)
#25. To: sneakypete, GrandIsland (#22)
(Edited)
I honestly don't get that quick draw stuff. Dangerous and useless. Anytime you think you MIGHT need a gun,you should already have your hand on it,if not already have it out and held down at your side. If you really need it in a hurry,you have screwed up,but chances are if you have carried it long and in the same holster and same position,you can get it out in a hurry if you need to without all that dangerous practicing.
#26. To: TooConservative (#25)
If it was your son or nephew or grandson who died in an accident, would you like reading that he was a genetic throwback and the human race is better off now that he blew his head off by mugging for a selfie while pointing a gun at his (admittedly empty) head? I doubt it.
Replies to Comment # 26. Yes, to my deceased relative that through his/her own stupidity, is now dead... good riddance. I can say it... but, I'm a little less sensitive than the average sheep.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 26.
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