Witness to Bass Pro Shop gun discharge calls it a “crazy experience”
PEARL, MS (Mississippi News Now) – Gunfire erupted inside the Bass Pro Shop in Pearl Monday. The employee was injured but not shot when he was handling a weapon without knowing it was loaded.
Company officials tell us their safety procedures prevented the incident from being worse.
Songwriter Fordie Hays was meeting a friend inside Bass Pro Shop in Pearl when about a foot away from him a handgun discharged.
He says an employee was checking a small automatic 380 pistol in a ballistics safety tube to see if it was loaded. A bullet was in the chamber.
“I think the guy at first thought he had shot his hand because it just beat it up pretty good,” said Hays. “It was just blood and he kinda turned pale white.”
The 27-year-old said tragedy was avoided because of the safety precautions the worker took.
“He did all that and the slide on the gun when he cocked it back the slide when it did go off cause there was still a bullet in it,” said the shocked witness. “And when it did go off that parts what cut his hand real bad.”
Bass Pro shop General Manager Pat Renegar said a customer brought in a firearm to be fitted with a laser and while the Greeter was going through the safety procedure the incident happened.
Chalk this one up to careless gun owner trying to be tacticool.
First off, if you don’t know enough to check the chamber and making sure it is empty before handing off to a store clerk, perhaps you shouldn’t be getting a laser sight on your handgun.
Maybe spend a few more days at the range improving your shot naturally, but also learning to load and unload you handgun safely and effectively.
It is a good thing Bass Pro Shop takes the extra precaution of placing firearms in ballistic safety tube, or this poor store employee could have lost a hand or much worse.
Remember folks, there are only a few rules to gun safety and most of them boil down to being cautious and not irresponsible.
It is not rocket science, in fact the rules to gun safety are very simple.
Fortunately for the gun owner, the police are not pressing any charges and ruling this an accidental discharge.
