A Connecticut community is mourning the accidental shooting death of a 22-year-old former West Point football player, whose life story, friends say, was extraordinary. Marcus Dixon was once a homeless young teenager who made a "180-degree turn" when a family in Stamford, Conn., adopted him at age 17, the Connecticut Post reported. He went on to become the football captain at Stamford High School -- where he graduated from in 2009 -- before making it to West Point. Dixon died shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday when he accidentally shot himself in the head with his .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, according to local reports. Dixon was showing his gun to two friends at an apartment in Stamford at the time of the incident. He had removed the magazine from the pistol and, thinking it was empty, tried to show the gun was safe by pointing it toward his head and pulling the trigger, the newspaper reported. One round was hidden in the gun's chamber.
Hidden? Lol! So sad... Let's get this straight. He didn't clear the weapon, then put it to his head, and went "click." bsam, I like you, but this guy had ZERO business handling a weapon. He had zero training, and obviously knew zero about making sure a weapon is UNLOADED. are u kidding me????!!!!???? This is a training problem, and moreover, a parental problem!!! My Son may now surf with sharks in the ocean, but he's at least been trained how to clear a firearm before doing anything else with it. And yes, if he were to ever pull some shit like putting even a cleared weapon to his head, he'd have his hide tanned by me- his Dad. This is called parenting. Not politically correct in 2012, but guns haven't changed. People have. What is your solution for things like this? Again, I usually agree with you, but when it comes to a firearm, we have different views. It's about common sense, and America hasn't seen common sense in many moons...
Darwinism at it's finest. I wish I could meet the ignorant dumb fuck journalist who wrote that line just so I could bitch slap their stupid ass. I guess now there will be cries to ban rounds hidden in chambers.
Oh man. I had the chance to teach some firearms handling to a 14 year old this summer and the biggest thing I drilled into his head was to assume at all times the gun being handled is loaded no matter what state of disassembly the gun was in. If I ever saw a kid point a weapon towards his head for a dry fire I would tan his hide right there on the spot.
The Journalist who wrote the "hidden" line was most likely doing so because there are so many reading who would not understand that there is still a bullet in the chamber despite removing the clip. Not sure you can blame the journalist for the stupid sheep that read the rag he/she writes for. Simplistic firearm rules for the dumb: 1. Always assume a weapon is loaded, even when you just cleared it. 2. Never point a weapon at anything unless you are alright shooting that "thing". 3. Never place your finger on the trigger of any weapon (whether loaded or not - see #1) unless you intend to fire that weapon.
Absolutely right! Anyone who has had weapons training would NEVER put a weapon they were even sure was unloaded to their head and pull the trigger. And to not check the chamber??!! Even though the guy attended West Point I don't believe he had much if any weapons training. Sad. I've had friends who have shot holes in their bedroom walls, one shot a hole in his foot, another practicing 'quck draw' shot himself in the leg, another shot himself in the thigh in his car, I've seen hunters almost shoot their dogs, their buddies, their cars and just about everything else because they don't know how to handle a weapon safely. Weapons training should be taught in school. We would be a better nation if it were. But the liberals would never go for that.
Agreed. I've always told others never point a weapon at anything you don't intend to destroy. Anyone who dry fires a gun while pointing it at their head, I just can't feel sorry for.