Yaminah Gilbert Injured in Largo, FL, Shooting Accident
Largo, FL -- February 10, 2017, Yaminah Gilbert was injured in an accident where a next-door gun store employee discharged a gun and shot her.
Officials from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Department released a report concerning the incident. They say it happened around 6:30 p.m. at R&R Firearms located at 9051 Starkey Road.
A man working at the gun store was reportedly handling a customer's gun at the time. The report specifies that when he was clearing the firearm, a .45 caliber handgun, he pulled the slide back and emptied the chambered round. When he let go and the slide went forward, another round from the magazine chambered and discharged.
The round penetrated the wall of the store and went into Dara' Nail Salon and Day Spa, which shared the wall with the gun shop. 19-year-old Gilbert, a customer at the nail salon, was struck in the back by the bullet.
EMS came to the scene and transported Gilbert to the hospital. Her injuries were said to be non-life-threatening. Police connected the two events after the gun store employee, 43-year-old Mark Smith, reported the discharge.
At this time, police have not reported any citations or charges. They say the incident is still being investigated.
Map of the Area
Commentary
This may come as a surprise to you, but guns are kind of a big deal here in the state of Texas. I'm fully in support of everyone's right to own a firearm, but the right requires that anyone owning or using a firearm practices proper gun safety and follows all the rules. Guns are dangerous when handled improperly, and this accident is the perfect example of that.
There are four rules of gun safety which must be followed at all times. In order for this accident to have happened, the gun store employee must have broken at least three of them. He treated the gun as if it were unloaded (there's no such thing as an unloaded gun), he pointed the gun at something he didn't intend to destroy, and he neglected to consider what was beyond the target (whether he meant it to be or not, he made the wall into his target).
When somebody breaks any of the rules of gun safety, they are putting lives at risk. It's as simple as that. It's incredibly fortunate this accident was not a fatality, but somebody was still hurt by the actions of someone's negligent behavior--a gun store clerk discharging a gun, no less. Negligently discharging a firearm is never something to be taken lightly. It is dangerous behavior that deserves consequences.
--Grossman Law Offices
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