Cops: Dad Accidentally Kills Son at Gun Range Where Kids Shoot Free

Range has been described as 'possibly one of the safest ever'
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 4, 2016 11:42 AM CDT
Cops: Dad Accidentally Kills Son at Gun Range Where Kids Shoot Free
Stock image.   (Shutterstock)

Tragedy in Sarasota, Fla., where police say a father accidentally shot and killed his son at a shooting range Sunday afternoon, WFLA reports. William Brumby was firing in the last shooting lane at High Noon Gun Range, where there was a solid wall to his right, when a spent shell casing hit that wall and ricocheted into the back of Brumby's shirt. Brumby, who was holding the handgun he was using in his right hand, used that same hand to try and get the casing out, accidentally pointing the gun behind him and firing it while doing so. The bullet hit his 14-year-old son, Stephen, who was brought to a local hospital but could not be saved.

The Herald-Tribune notes that, in 2013, the newspaper described High Noon as "possibly ... one of the safest indoor shooting ranges ever designed," thanks to armored steel plates embedded in the dividers between lanes and sound-dampening panels that were designed to both make the range quieter than most other ranges and to prevent ricochets by absorbing stray rounds. According to the Bradenton Herald, High Noon's website states that shooters younger than 14 shoot for free as long as a parent is with them. No charges are currently pending against Brumby. (More accidental discharge stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X