Vancouver man dead after shooting himself during pistol contest

[fish_e_o]

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/vancouver-man-dead-after-shooting-himself-during-pistol-contest-1.3455715KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- A Vancouver man who fatally shot himself in the torso at a handgun competition appears to have dropped his weapon and it went off, says the president of a target sports association.
Cpl. Jodi Shelkie of the RCMP in Kamloops, B.C., said officers were called to an outdoor range Sunday afternoon after the 50-year-old man accidentally shot himself.
Witnesses immediately began providing first aid and the man was taken to hospital, but he died of his injuries soon after, Shelkie said.
Injuries are exceptionally rare in shooting competitions, said Jim Sloper, president of the Kamloops Target Sports Association.
"The end result was horrific, but it's just so rare," he said.
The competition was a two-day event involving about 120 people from across B.C. who fired at a number of targets for speed and accuracy, Sloper said.
A number of safety protocols were in place, including range officers who shadowed competitors to ensure safety, he added.
"It appears that he just fumbled his gun, it dropped, he tried to grab it and it went off."
Sloper said he has competed in shooting events around the world and has never heard of a similar incident.
"You just never hear of any problems," he said. "It's just something that doesn't happen. Really, really unfortunate."
The Kamloops shooting community is reeling from the death, he said.
"We're sad. We've lost somebody," Sloper said. "It's not a good time."

[58thecat]

Bad situation for all involved, freak accident no dought.

[gitrdun]

So sad to hear. May he rest in peace, and condolences to his family and friends. :(

[bb356]

rip ... and condolence's to the family .

[Ranets]

A sad reminder for all of us, no matter how much experience we have it only takes one simple mistake to end with catastrophic results so take that extra second everyone and stay safe. Sincerest condolences to family and friends.

[wolf308]

Rip

[Skytop B]

Terrible day for the IPSC family.

Condolences

[gloszz]

Terrible freak accident! As the Polish saying goes, " even a broom fires once a year" or kinda off topic but " a brick falls even in a wooden church"

[Rockman]

So sad! And definitely a freak occurrence.

[260 Rem]

Tragic. Condolences to all affected. Sounds like he was well known an respected in the firearms community.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Really sad to hear. Rest in peace, good sir.

[qwert]

I share the sorrow and condolences expressed by all the previous posters,

The Police have determined no crime, and have no further interest.
Regulators, antis and hoplophobes will add the event to their statistics, and use for propaganda purposes.

IMHO, as responsible shooters we also need to ask,

Exactly what actually happened?
What were the procedural errors in the accident chain?
What are the exact circumstances of increased hazard?
What procedures or training should we all implement or modify to avoid the identified hazards?

Good Luck, YMMV.

[Skytop B]

I share the sorrow and condolences expressed by all the previous posters,

The Police have determined no crime, and have no further interest.
Regulators, antis and hoplophobes will add the event to their statistics, and use for propaganda purposes.

IMHO, as responsible shooters we also need to ask,

Exactly what actually happened?
What were the procedural errors in the accident chain?
What are the exact circumstances of increased hazard?
What procedures or training should we all implement or modify to avoid the identified hazards?

Good Luck, YMMV.

From what I've heard he dropped his gun and tried to catch it and it went off. If you drop your pistol you are supposed to let it hit the ground, never try to catch it. This does not happen often. In several years of competition I have seen a dropped gun once. A dropped gun automatically gets you a match disqualification for unsafe gun handling. One of pages and pages of safety rules that are strictly enforced in competition.

[gitrdun]

I share the sorrow and condolences expressed by all the previous posters,

The Police have determined no crime, and have no further interest.
Regulators, antis and hoplophobes will add the event to their statistics, and use for propaganda purposes.

IMHO, as responsible shooters we also need to ask,

Exactly what actually happened?
What were the procedural errors in the accident chain?
What are the exact circumstances of increased hazard?
What procedures or training should we all implement or modify to avoid the identified hazards?

Good Luck, YMMV.

As much as I agree with most of what you say qwert, I don't think that it needs to be analyzed with a microscope. When you drop something, anything, it's human nature to react and reach for it to catch it. The poor guy has paid the ultimate price for what I would refer to as simple human programming. Regulators, antis and hoplophobes who add the event to their statistics, and use for propaganda purposes are nothing more than pigs at the trough or wolves on a carcass. Let the poor fellow rest in peace.

[catnthehat]

The guy was a Black badge certified IPSC competitor .
He drew his pistol and didn't have a proper grip on it
Pretty simple to figure out
RIP
There is no need to re-hash this terrible incident .
Cat