SEAL kills self, thinking gun unloaded

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BarryLee

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Navy SEAL Accidently Shoots Self

Wow, tragic, but a lesson for anyone handling firearms. A Navy SEAL was playing around with a gun which he apparently believed to be unloaded he pulled the trigger shooting himself in the head. At this point he is in the hospital on life support. The guy was apparently showing off to a girl he met at a bar and they had both been drinking. I suppose regardless of how proficient you are and how many thousands of rounds you’ve fired don’t forget the basic safety rules.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jan/05/navy-seal-shoots-kills-self-accidentally/
 
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kraigwy

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High quality training does not preclude STUPID.

Looks like only 4 of the 4 basice firearm safety rules were violated.

Stupid + booze + showing off to the ladies = a whole bunch of stupid.
 
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Alaska444

Moderator
Not an accident at all. Pointing a gun to your head and pulling the trigger is not an acceptable practice under any circumstances. Will wait for the real story if it ever comes out, but a Navy Seal should know better than that. That was a deliberate stupid act he will pay mightily for. Terrible mistake, but no accident.
 
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MLeake

New member
It only takes an instant of bad judgement.

From the article, a fair amount of alcohol had been involved; that can lead to more than an instant of bad judgement.

Alcohol and firearms are a very dangerous mix. For that matter, alcohol and testosterone (showing off for a woman) and firearms are possibly even more dangerous.

I hope he is able to recover and have a worthwhile life; I fear that may not be likely.
 
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Crazy88Fingers

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I used to work at a skydiving center. While there one of the instructors told me that 99% of skydiving accidents are the result of some stupid guy showing off for some stupid girl on the ground.

I suppose the principle applies elsewhere too.
 
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m.p.driver

New member
Saw a Captain in Honduras (Trying to impress some senoritas)try to quick draw a .45,it went off,burrowed down his leg and went out the bottom of his boot.All it takes is a second of stupidity.
 
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Don H

New member
The man insisted that it was safe and put a pistol that he believed was unloaded to his head. He pulled the trigger and fired a round into his head.
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Looks pretty intentional to me.
 
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ltc444

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A number of years ago I read a DOD study on acidental/self inflicted gunshot wounds. Suicides were not included in the study.

Special operations troops Special Forces, Seals and Force Recon, our highest trained and most competent combat troops, were the most likely to be wounded due to self inflicted acidental discharge.

No conclusions as to the reasons for this were given. Accident investigation reports were not attached.

My own conclusions, based on my discussions with these warriors, were that these men have an ethos which which leads to stupid mistakes when they are decompressing from their rigorous training or operational missions.
 
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603Country

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That goes along with one of my lifetime sayings: "it's hard to be cool all the time". It is so much easier to relax your discipline than it is to maintain it. In a moment of weakness as a teenager (honest to goodness I was showing off for girls) I put a 22 LR bullet between two of my right foot toes. My grandfather, when he was a kid, managed to shoot himself in the side with the pistol that he was sneaking out of his house to go do some plinking. My Dad accidently shot my mother's favorite automobile (that was truly ugly). About 6 months ago I almost killed myself while driving the tractor. Trust me. It was close. It only takes a second. And I'm a careful guy.
 
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Edward429451

Moderator
I can not fathom any circumstance to put a gun to my own head. It's not that hard to pick up girls, I mean come on...perhaps this was a breakdown of the mans training somehow? How could he be that stupid and still make the seal team? This is baffling to me and maybe sounds more like a hit.
 
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Tom Servo

Staff
Pointing a gun to your head and pulling the trigger is not an acceptable practice under any circumstances.
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Tell that to the three people I've had to kick off various ranges for doing it over the years. In each case, I got an argument. An argument! It truly gives me pause.

[O]ur highest trained and most competent combat troops, were the most likely to be wounded due to self inflicted acidental discharge.
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I've never found it in writing, but I've been told by several trustworthy folks (yeesh, how credible does that sound?) that the civilian demographic with the highest rate of negligent discharges is...wait for it...instructors. The reasons are the same: confidence leading to complacency, coupled with much more time in contract with firearms than the general population.

That said, it's likely that the situation was a suicide. It's very common to report suicides as accidents, particularly when the payout from a life insurance policy might hinge on the distinction.
 
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