In this job, I’ve seen people shoot themselves more times than I care to count. I’ve written a number of stories about people doing it and most of the time, it’s not difficult to ascertain just what happened. Often, it’s the result of not using a holster. At least one time was a case of someone reholstering a firearm and their shirt getting caught, so when they tried to pull the shirt, they pulled the trigger.
But thankfully, the victims in all of those incidents recovered and likely learned a valuable lesson regarding firearm safety.
Unfortunately, for one Florida man, that’s not an option.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said deputies found Harvey Lee Brady lying on the kitchen floor of a home with a gunshot wound to his lower stomach.
Deputies performed lifesaving measures and Brady was taken to Orlando Health South Lake Hospital, where he later died, sheriff’s officials said.
An investigation and interviews of witnesses showed that Brady grabbed his gun from the kitchen counter and accidently shot himself while “placing the firearm back into his shorts,” according to deputies.
“This was an isolated event and, according to the investigation, accidental in nature,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Of course, this report leaves a lot to be desired. Yes, it’s an interesting story, but there are questions aplenty remaining.
Now, an autopsy will be performed, but that’s likely to just tell them what they already know, though I suspect if there was anything like alcohol or drugs in his bloodstream, that will be discovered then.
Based on the wording here, it sounds like he literally stuck the gun in his shorts. That’s a bad thing.
See, cloth is flexible, as we all know. It’s why we can walk in a pair of pants without it being cut and put together with articulation like a medieval suit of armor. That flexibility, however, means that the fabric can get into places you don’t really need it. We’ve probably all had our underwear ride up when we’d really rather it stay put.
That’s just annoying.
But if the fabric gets into the trigger guard, it can get caught on the trigger. Then it can tug at the trigger and discharge.
People like to think of leg wounds as not particularly fatal, but if the femoral artery gets hit, you have a very, very short time to treat the injury or else the victim will bleed out. Guys what article of clothing would cover the part of the body where the femoral artery runs?
If you said “shorts,” then give yourself a cookie.
Now, I don’t know if that’s what happened, but if it is, it’s not the first time I’ve seen it happen.
Folks, use a holster. You want to do the whole “pants on, gun on?” Great! Use a freaking holster.
Don’t really want to? Well, let me ask you this, would you rather use a holster or would you rather your spouse or children find you dead in a puddle of your own blood because you didn’t want to put a holster on?
If this man used a holster, though–and that is possible–then I want more details so we can evaluate it and make sure it never happens again.
Read the full article here