Gun in pocket of 74-year-old substitute teacher discharges in 1st-grade Alabama classroom.

[Cattledog]

By Carol Robinson | [e-mail]

A 74-year-old substitute teacher is behind bars after a gun in his pocket discharged inside a first-grade classroom Friday.

The incident happened midday at Blountsville Elementary School, said Blount County Sheriff Mark Moon. Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey said one student was struck by a fragment and checked out by the school nurse.

Moon said the teacher - Henry Rex Weaver – had the gun in his pocket when it discharged. There were students in the classroom at the time.

https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2019/03/gun-in-pocket-of-72-year-old-substitute-teacher-discharges-in-1st-grade-alabama-classroom.html?fbclid=IwAR310AIaw-rRxhaiqS3V9I9v6L5SRVU_20Nfs9z6FLq1Gs4GYI2Y1vY0DiY

[Throck]

1. 74 and still working?

Is social security that bad?

[delisen]

2. Yes

[3Hotdogs]

8. Yes, and no. I am 77 and I still work, mostly part time.

I am a retired school teacher and I don't need the money. Net family income is $110k.

A job gets me out of the house and I meet people. It is a different use of the day than sitting in front of the computer screen and trying to think of what else to do.

This summer, I am taking a job as a paid docent at a state park. I did intern paid work at that park and (I hope) the job will be fun.

O.T.O.H., I am sure there are many people who collect S.S. and need the money.

[Voltaire2]

3. Nobody could have anticipated this.

[delisen]

4. careless gun carrying teachers not uncommon

Here is one where the teacher/shooter is presumably much younger and pointed his gun at the ceiling when it discharged and a student was injured


https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/14/us/california-teacher-fires-gun/index.html


A teacher accidentally discharged a firearm while teaching a public safety class, injuring one student at a Northern California school on Tuesday, police said.

Dennis Alexander, who is Seaside City's mayor pro tem and a reserve officer with the Sand City Police Department, was teaching a lesson at Seaside High School in Seaside when he pointed his gun into the ceiling and accidentally fired it, said Abdul Pridgen, the city's police chief.
A 17-year-old student was injured by a bullet fragment or by debris that fell from the ceiling, Pridgen said.
The injuries appeared superficial, police said.

[gejohnston]

11. something that minor makes national news,

means it is very uncommon. dog bites man isn't news, but man bites dog is.

[delisen]

12. possibly I could have said"happens elsewhere" or "not unique"

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Guns do not belong in schools.

[Kurt V.]

6. bc 1st graders are so dangerous.

[IronLionZion]

7. The first graders should have guns to defend themselves

Regardless of the question, the answer is always more guns.

[wasupaloopa]

9. How do guns accidentally discharge? The trigger has to move correct? Just carrying a gun is

dangerous if they can accidentally discharge.

Having a gun in the house is dangerous if they can accidentally discharge.

My guess is the "accidental discharge" idea is there so the gun owner doesn't have to take responsibility. If they did accidentally discharge why aren't gun manufacturers sued?

[sarisataka]

10. 99.999% of the time

Or more, a gun discharges because the person holding it pulled the trigger.

Recall the video of the dancing FBI agent whose gun fell out. It hit the floor and nothing happened. It did not go off until he snatched it, putting his finger on the trigger.

I have been around and used firearms for over three decades and only twice have I seen a gun fire without a finger on the trigger. Even in those two cases the firing still could be traced to a human action.

[Hangingon]

15. Yep! Poor trigger discipline. I don't like guns carried in pockets.

[sarisataka]

20. Pocket carry is not my preferred method

But sometimes it is the only viable option.
In that case I have the little .38 in a proper pocket holster that fully protects the trigger.

[spin]

21. I found that I often would leave my handgun behind in the safe when I was ...

leaving the house on a short trip because I didn’t want to take the time to put a holster on my belt.

I finally decided to buy a S&W Model 642 38+p snub nosed revolver. This particular handgun is great for pocket carry as it lacks an external hammer and it only weighs 14.5oz loaded. The drawbacks are: (1) the reviolver is double action only (2) because the weapon is light the recoil can be intimidating (3) the short sight radius makes shooing accurately at longer ranges more difficult.

Now when I leave the house I just grab my snubby and its holster, slip both into a pocket and I am out the door.

[Alea]

22. This is true

and 99.999999999 percent of those people claim "it just went off and I didn't touch the trigger". They never admit to screwing up

[ManiacJoe]

13. Modern guns only accidentally discharge when they are physically broken.

Otherwise, the negligent discharge is due to the user pulling the trigger when he did not mean to, or he allowed another object into the trigger guard which resulted in the trigger being pulled by mistake. Either way, it is user error.

According to reports, in this case, the small revolver was being carried in a pocket without an actual holster. A pocket knife or other object in the same pocket got into the trigger guard resulting in the trigger being pulled.

[spin]

14. Smart honest citizens carry their handguns in a holster. ...

If you chose to carry a small revolver in a pocket (as I often do) you put it in a pocket holster.

[Hangingon]

16. Here many people carry small automatics in their pants pockets.

The standard Spring/Summer/Fall men’s wear here is fishing or golf shorts. That makes concealed carry difficult. We had a group who watched for any sign of printing and called police. Now with open carry, you can tuck your EDC in an inside waist band holster. Safer and you don’t have to carry one of the small automatics. But force of habit, many stay with pocket guns.

[spin]

17. I live in Florida. ...

There are a only couple of months when you wear a light jacket here. A high percentage of people in the state pocket carry.

[Hangingon]

18. Curse of the tropics?

[spin]

19. When it is 95 degrees outside you look suspicious if you are wearing a jacket. ...

I normally wear cargo shorts and a t-shirt. I do know a couple businessmen who use a belt holster under their suit jacket and a guy who always wears medical scrubs but has no training in the medical field.

The advantage of pocket carry is you can put your hand in your pocket on your handgun if something looks suspicious and not appear as threatening as you would with your hand on a handgun in a belt holster.

The drawback is that you are limited to smaller light weight handguns which often means either a “mouse gun” or something like a S&W .357 Magnum snub nosed revolver which has a nasty recoil. I usually carry a S&W Model 642 .38+P which is a compromise. Smaller larger caliber revolvers are usually no fun to practice with.

I would like to carry my S&W Model 60 3” .357 Magnum revolver but it is simply too large and heavy for pocket carry. I do carry it on rare cold days in the winter in a belt holster under a jacket.