Here is a very powerful, yet sad reminder to keep your concealed weapon…CONCEALED! This happened in the county right next to where we live and work. This broke my heart when I heard the news yesterday at church.
Matt at Lincoln Tactical.
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla – A pastor’s daughter was rushed to Bayfront Medical Center after she was accidentally shot in the head at church Sunday, said authorities. Church service had just let out at Grace Connection church in Saint Petersburg when three men gathered to look at a gun.
D. Bueller, 20, was looking to buy a gun for his 21st birthday that was coming up. He approached M. Zambrana, 48, a fellow member of the congregation who owned a Ruger 9mm. The two men walked into a closet located in the recreation room of the church to look at the gun in private.
They were joined by J. Penu, 19, who was also interested in learning about the fire arm. Zambrana had removed the gun’s magazine and was in the process of telling the two young men about fire arm safety when the gun went off. The bullet went through the closet wall and struck Hannah Kelly in the head. Kelly is the daughter of pastor Tim Kelly who oversees Grace Connection congregation. Kelly underwent emergency surgery. She is listed in critical condition. Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene just before 12:30 p.m. Deputies believe the shooting was accidental. Authorities say that Zambrana has a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
Wow..this is the second story i’ve read this week regarding a firearm discharging when they are simply “showing it to someone”
This is an aweful accident and I hope the best for the daughter and the families involved. Please, please, please!!! everyone just remember that a gun is never unloaded. Whenever I show anything to anyone, I usually show them the empty chamber first and never point the barrel anywhere but the ground.
Sad! But I feel that a Gun should NEVER be brought to a Church!
Why do you think a gun should never be brought to church? IF the person who had the firearm used common sense and chose a different place to let someone examine it. Church is a public place, and since there is money collected there, it is a potential target. Why shouldn’t someone who is legally allowed to carry concealed, do so at church?
I’m no longer against concealed weapons in churchs after this story from near St Louis – http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,506820,00.html
How many people would have died or been injured if his gun didn’t jam that day.
What’s up Tommy? Good to see you on here!
always treat a handgun as a loaded weapon, when I drop my mag I always clear it as well.
Dear God why DIDN’T HE clear the chamber !!!!!!!!!! Went off or the trigger was pulled ? I’m sorry but unless there was some freak failure of the gun, then the trigger was pulled without the chamber being cleared and someone needs to be charged ! No reason that child had to die ! This is the crap that kills me, just like the hunter who shoots at a bush because it ” sounded like a deer ” was behind it and kills someone and gets off with calling it an accident.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and the girl who was injured. This is very sad, and an example of what can happen when you don’t follow the four rules of firearm safety.
#1: All guns are always loaded.
#2: Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot.
#3: Be sure of your target and backstop.
#4: Don’t point your weapon at anything you don’t intend to destroy or kill.
In this case, the shooter broke all four rules and it may cost a child her life.
Yes this is a sad story. Just goes to show you, whenever you remove the mag, always double check the chamber as well.
My prayers to the little girl and her family.
This is horrible. I am OCD when it comes to clearing a firearm. Thoughts and prayers headed out.
Yes, I misread, too angry. She didn’t die and hopefully won’t.
Really really sad prayers for the girl and her family. Please folks always remember your gun safety!!
There is not much to say here. Tragic accident. Always, always check the gun twice before handing to someone.
This is One instance i have to say wrong place at the wrong time, its sad it happened my prayers and thoughts go out to the pastor kelly’s daughter, there is a place and a time and plase always make sure you remove the mags and clear the chamber before handling any weapon for show and tell . accidentsd can be prevented . (PLEASE GOD WATCH OVER THE KELLY’S)
This is a sad story. Hope that the daughter will make a full recovery. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends. Good point Don. Always show the empty chamber. That’s how you should hand a gun to someone and that’s how it should be returned.
I hope Hannah pulls through. A person should never pull their weapon out unless it is to be used for it’s intended purpose of self protection or target practice. It is not for show and tell and to do so were there are other people around is just plain irresponsibile. I am sorry if I offend anyone but this is why the anti-gun lobby gets so much attention. Church is not the place for weapons and to go into a closet to show off is wrong. Just because one has a concealed care permit does not mean one is permitted to display the weapon to anyone for show.
Always loaded period! I never have show and tell with my carry piece for this reason and others.
Tragic story. Gun safety is nothing to be lax about
We all need to pray for the quick and full recovery of Ms. Kelly. As has been stated above, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS treat any firearm as if it was loaded, I am sure this man will be haunted by this event for the rest of his life, as he should be.
This is a very sad story and it’s stories like this that give anti-gun activist ammunition to remove guns from law-abiding citizens. I am sure that all the men involved feel terrible about what happened and pray that Hannah will be okay as do we all. God be with Hannah and her family we will all be praying for them! Joe
I am mad and sad at same time. It saddens me for the situation that this ‘what seemed to be simple’ situation went south due to improper precautions/safety. Now the girl along with everyone involved has to deal with this for the rest of their lives. I am mad because the negative exposure this type of occurrence causes on the conceal community.
I cannot and dare not say that it will never happen to me, all I can say is that it is a stiff reminder that gun safety is first and foremost!! remember it people. and Pray for that little girl!
-A hemi
Please everyone teach your children gun safety.
Agreed ! Not Needed At Church ! Even if they were Discrete what ever happened to remove the Mag and rack to clear the chamber , even handing to a Person With Knowledge of Firearms You still want to make sure its Cleared !!
While it can be debated that bringing a gun to church is acceptable, it can never be debated that basic gun safety is necessary regardless of where an individual is located. I am sure this fellow Zambrana had no intentions of this happening, I find it curious that he was telling the other two fellows of gun safety. It makes me wonder what kind of training he had to have a concealed carry in the first place, and if he had correct training but merely had a duh! moment, then makes me wonder if he is even capable of having it since there is never room for duh! moments when handling firearms. My prayers go out to the child and I pray for a speedy recovery.
Wow this is tragic and another reason why I will not let any inexperienced person handle my firearms loaded or unloaded unless they are going to shoot it at a target on a range supervised. Even experianced shooters should always always check the chamber after you remove the mag and make sure it is empty before letting anyone handle it.
Wow…I hate to hear when this happens…just because you take out the magazine,does not mean it is safe…got to check that chamber…I hope for a full recovery…I will pray for the family….I carry my glock with me where ever I go and I don’t show it off…it’s not a toy….and if you are looking to buy a firearm…Great….go to a gun shop and look there…..please be safe with your firearms….
Wow, that’s rough. Always check and clear gun when showing.
Very Tragic! Prayers for all involved! Always properly clear your weapon when you hand it over to someone, and always clear a weapon when someone hands it over to you.
Sad and very tragic. Always clear the chamber and treat all guns as if they are loaded at all times. You can never be too safe when it comes to handling firearms.
Lives changed forever because of an accidental discharge.
~Josh Zimmerman~
Very sad…firearms safety is paramount.
I have many firearms and both my wife and I carry. We try to stress firearm safety at all times.
I would be devistated if the wrong person was injured from the discharge of my weapon.
Basic firearm safety rules can never be ignored. CC is CC and the location should not matter. I just don’t understand why a person with a CHL would decide to show off and unconceal the weapon while at church or anywhere else unless it was needed. It is a very sad trajedy and I pray that the whole family will recover.
It never seizes to amaze me how careless people can be with weapons.
horrible. same thing happened to a friend a few weeks ago. young girl shot teenage cousin and killed him. you cannot teach a child the dangers of guns today with all the video game carnage there is. i asked my uncle, a retired colonel in the army what he thought about modern warfare, etc…he said that all it does is teach kids to charge in. they know nothing about a good defensive position because the games teach that if you get shot, you’ll get right back up. and besides, if you keep a round in the chamber (illegal where i live) nothing good can come of it. spend that extra second to chamber a round if you ever need to; dont be responsible for a death because you wanted to be “tough” and carry locked and loaded.
I’ve never seen a gun just “go off”. In fact after two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, the only guns I’ve seen “accidently” go off have been: pulling trigger after you thought you properly cleared it, pressing down on a butterfly trigger by accident (using gun for a brace to jump in and out of a vehicle), picking a gun up by the handle/trigger and it going off, or horsing around with gun/showing off. I’ve never seen a guy just walking on patrol and “bam” gun goes off. The moral – keep your finger off the trigger period – until you are ready to launch a round down range. As for taking a gun to church – I bet them kids in Bezlan Russias parents thought “we should never take a gun to school,” until those terrorists took it over.
This is an eye opener for everyone…I hope. Even if this guy was a new CCW holder or an experienced one, I believe the following (from a school instructor) can sum it up. “It’s the everyday things that you get into a routine and that’s when mistakes occur.” Don’t make clearing a gun JUST a routine…or anything when handling a firearm. Harder said than done sometimes but that little voice that’s saying “double check that!!!” could make all the difference.
One of the reasons I ALWAYS check the chamber at least twice…
And NEVER assume it is safe…
At least this tragedy may open some eyes on gun safety.
very sad story
Very sad! Never should have round chambered and gun safety is always key!
My god..how awful! too many accidents nowadays! have to stop and take a sec folks to be sure it’s safe. This type of thing can and must be prevented.
sad news 😦
terrible – hope she is ok