Fatal shooting at Shooters Choice in Columbia SC?
Jason Weaver
something about an employee and an assailant being killed at Shooters
Choice. He only cought bits and peices as he overheard the news report
on TV from another room. What he could surmise is that an employee was
shot twice and other store workers retured fire. Anyone know the
specifics? Who was involved, was it a botched robery or just a
attempted kiling spree? I have recently rediscovered this store/range
after a long stint of avoidance. They have just relaxed some range
rules and unprofesional range practices that had caused me to stop
shooting there. I spent about 3 hours (and 1 paycheck) there this
weekend after over a year of abstinance. From what i gather this
happened on monday. I would like to offer my condolences and support to
those affected by this but I dont want to just call and ask because I'm
sure they are quite upset over loosing a friend aswell as tired of
telling the story. Many of the guys that word there were good friends
of mine with whome I would spend my spare time chewing the fat and
"talking shop". Im realy quite taken aback by this and am anxsiouse to
know if I have lost a friend.
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Conwic
involved. The employee- Kenneth Shawn Streeter- was shooting a .50 cal
semi-auto pistol on the indoor range. On his second shot the bullet or a
fragment thereof apparently ricocheted from the backstop and struck him in the
head, killing him. How this could l happen, I do not know. Tragically, it did-
very tragically. Shawn was only 30 and will be missed by everyone who knew him.
The source of this information is the report of the incidnet in the Tuesday
edition of the local paper, The State.
Regards-conwic
Jason Weaver
find out it was a self-inflicted head shot with an on consignment DE
50AE. It has been ruled an accident with no foul play or suicide
suspected. The newspaper said that it was most likely a result of the
excesive recoil. I guess its posible for the pistol to have shifted in
his hand and for muzzle flip to twist his hands back into his face. It
is also possible that the twisting pressed his finger into the trigger
fireing another round. I cant think of a more unlikely set of
circumstances (Arcams Razor and all) but this is what the paper said is
most likely to have happened. They also said that it could have been a
malfunction or ricochette from the roof so it is safe to bet that a
thurough investigation hasnt taken place yet. Seeing as how they have
the gun, 5 witnesses, the victims body, and location available it
shouldnt be a major chore to piece together what happened. The victim
was Kenneth Shawn Streeter, 30 years old. I have been shooting there
forever but dont know most of the employees names. i dont remember
names well so even if they told me I would have probly forgoten.
However I do know, and regularly chat with, every one that works there.
So if anyone knows who Kenneth was i would really like to know. There
are about 4 guys that would fit the age but I dont know their names. I
would know them by their faces (or the gun they carried :-). Anyone
know who it was (what they looked like or their department)???
Jason
John
Kennth Shawn Streeter, an employee of Shooter's Choice, was killed while
firing a .50 cal. semi-auto handgun at the store's indoor pistol range.
He fired one round then fired a second which struck him in the head. SC
state police are investigating whether the gun malfunctioned or if the
second round richocheted.
Streeter was a member of Mid Carolina Rifle Club and IDPA. He was to be
married in July. Memorial services and funeral will be held tomorrow
and he will be buried in Lamar, SC.
Ronald Shin
Jason Weaver wrote:
# specifics? Who was involved, was it a botched robery or just a
# attempted kiling spree?
No. It was an accidental shooting, self-inflicted. I strongly doubt that
this was foul play or suicide, given that Shawn was set to be married next
month.
Supposedly, what happened was that when he fired the DE .50 AE, he didn't
expect that much recoil, and that he may have also not been gripping the gun
tightly enough. When the gun kicked back, somehow, the muzzle ended up
pointing at his head, and he ended up shooting himself in the head . Right
now, the SC Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is analyzing the DE to make sure
that it didn't accidentally fire two rounds with one pull of the trigger.
I'll post an update here once they finish the analysis.
Julius Chang
#Its astonishing how things get inadvertantly changed so easily. Come to
#find out it was a self-inflicted head shot with an on consignment DE
#50AE. It has been ruled an accident with no foul play or suicide
#suspected. The newspaper said that it was most likely a result of the
#excesive recoil. I guess its posible for the pistol to have shifted in
#his hand and for muzzle flip to twist his hands back into his face. It
#is also possible that the twisting pressed his finger into the trigger
#fireing another round. I cant think of a more unlikely set of
#circumstances (Arcams Razor and all) but this is what the paper said is
It's Occam's Razor.
Julius
Tim Darling
> ...
I had the unpleasant task of attending the funeral today. His fiancee.
Laura, works with our dept and is the SRO at the Gilbert Middle School.
I have the High School, so we work closely together. She was,needless to
say, extremely distraught.
I didn't know Shawn, but Laura was very excited about their upcoming
wedding. She is a very good officer, and an excellent SRO. The staff and
students at the Middle School think the world of her, as well as those
of us that work with her. I hope that she can work through the grief and
move on. I do know that she'll have lots of support.
It's turning out to have been a very tragic accident. Several things
apparently went wrong all at once. It was something that shouldn't have
happened, and it would be second guessing to say it was preventable. I
do know that from now on, I will be extra careful, especially when
shooting a gun that I'm not familiar with.
Tim
Tim Darling
> ...
I'll check with our firearms people and see if they hear anything
unofficial. SLED is frequently slow about getting official reports out.
Kinny
another local gunshop that deals heavily with law enforcement is the
following:
A fairly large guy (>230lbs) had stopped by the shooting range and was
considering purchasing the Desert Eagle 50AE which was at the range on
consignment. He bought a box of ammo, and after just a few rounds he
had decided that the gun was too much for him to enjoy, so he left the
remaining ammo with the range and left. Probably, like many of us
would, Streeter decided to take the opportunity to fire the 50, a
caliber he allegedly had no experience with.
After the first shot, he lost his grip, supposedly to the point of
dropping the gun. Instead of letting the gun drop to the floor
(especially since it was not his) he tried to catch it with the tragic
consequences.
I frequent Shooters Choice quite a bit, and have a yearly membership to
the indoor range. Being familiar with the layout of the range, I had a
really hard time accepting the initial stories that he was killed by a
ricochet. I suppose it is possible, after all anything is risky, but
the chances of that happening have got to be about 100 times less likely
than being hit by lightning.
Shawn was a great person to talk to, and was always quick to smile and
laugh. I know his family must be torn up about this, especially with
the freakish nature of this accident. Unfortunately probably the only
solace that there may be to offer is that he was doing something he
loved. If only we could all be so lucky when it is our time.
DARTORREY
#From: Kinny <ki...@earthlink.net>
#Date: 9 Jun 2000 09:15:41 -0400
#
#One other explination that I have heard on this from talking with
#another local gunshop that deals heavily with law enforcement is the
#following:
#
#A fairly large guy (>230lbs) had stopped by the shooting range and was
#considering purchasing the Desert Eagle 50AE which was at the range on
#consignment. He bought a box of ammo, and after just a few rounds he
#had decided that the gun was too much for him to enjoy, so he left the
#remaining ammo with the range and left. Probably, like many of us
#would, Streeter decided to take the opportunity to fire the 50, a
#caliber he allegedly had no experience with.
#
#After the first shot, he lost his grip, supposedly to the point of
#dropping the gun. Instead of letting the gun drop to the floor
#(especially since it was not his) he tried to catch it with the tragic
#consequences.
#
#I frequent Shooters Choice quite a bit, and have a yearly membership to
#the indoor range. Being familiar with the layout of the range, I had a
#really hard time accepting the initial stories that he was killed by a
#ricochet. I suppose it is possible, after all anything is risky, but
#the chances of that happening have got to be about 100 times less likely
#than being hit by lightning.
#
#Shawn was a great person to talk to, and was always quick to smile and
#laugh. I know his family must be torn up about this, especially with
#the freakish nature of this accident. Unfortunately probably the only
#solace that there may be to offer is that he was doing something he
#loved. If only we could all be so lucky when it is our time.
This incident is truly a tragedy, no question. My heart goes out to all of the
friends and family of Shawn.
The only point I would make is that when handling a firearm that you are
unfamiliar with is to use a little common sense. Everyone knows that a .50AE
will have recoil. Instead of loading up a full magazine, set your macho aside
and put ONE round in the magazine to get a feel for the gun. If your
comfortable after firing the one round then load up the magazine. I do this
with any new gun that I purchase whether it's a .22 or a .44 Magnum.
Unfortunately in this information is too late for Shawn, but all new firearm
owners who read this newsgroup should heed this advise.
Darrin
Larry Fishel
#
# One other explination that I have heard on this from talking with
# another local gunshop that deals heavily with law enforcement is the
# following:
#
# A fairly large guy (>230lbs) had stopped by the shooting range and was
# considering purchasing the Desert Eagle 50AE which was at the range on
# consignment. He bought a box of ammo, and after just a few rounds he
# had decided that the gun was too much for him to enjoy, so he left the
# remaining ammo with the range and left. Probably, like many of us
# would, Streeter decided to take the opportunity to fire the 50, a
# caliber he allegedly had no experience with.
#
# After the first shot, he lost his grip, supposedly to the point of
# dropping the gun. Instead of letting the gun drop to the floor
# (especially since it was not his) he tried to catch it with the tragic
# consequences.
<snip>
This is the first explanation I've heard that I believe.
The .50 kicks like bear, but I (5'10",160) have shot mine one-handed and
my girlfried (5'7",120) and one of my female co-workers have fired it
and never had the muzzle pointing at our heads after firing. My
girlfriend came close to getting hit in the head with it once when she
didn't have her arms locked well, but even then the muzzle was above her
head. The trigger is also pretty heavy and 100% reliable after 3-400
rounds. So, I was a little suspicious of a fairly experienced shooter
shooting himself in recoil (unless of course some home grown
modification by a previous owner had caused it to go FA).
But it does do this wierd twisting thing that could cause you to lose
your grip and drop it if you were're expecting it...
--
Larry D. Fishel
lfi...@gate.net
http://www.gate.net/~lfishel
FullAuto
#This incident is truly a tragedy, no question. My heart goes out to all of the
#friends and family of Shawn.
#
#The only point I would make is that when handling a firearm that you are
#unfamiliar with is to use a little common sense. Everyone knows that a .50AE
#will have recoil. Instead of loading up a full magazine, set your macho aside
#and put ONE round in the magazine to get a feel for the gun. If your
#comfortable after firing the one round then load up the magazine. I do this
#with any new gun that I purchase whether it's a .22 or a .44 Magnum.
#
#Unfortunately in this information is too late for Shawn, but all new firearm
#owners who read this newsgroup should heed this advise.
#
#Darrin
#
This is excellent advise, especially with ANY semi-auto. Any time I
take my semis out to shoot, I never load more than 5 rounds in the
first mag, just in case. With a new gun (or newly obtained gun), I
only load one round, then five before a full magazine.
Brian E Thorn
# then two (it doesn't try to go full-auto on me) then a full magazine.
Good advice. I'm on my way to the range in a couple of hours to
shoot a new gun. Glad I read this first. Thanks.
Tony
Lee DeRaud <lee.d...@boeing.com> wrote in message news:8i3u9a$1vl$1...@xring.cs.umd.edu...
> ...
Lee DeRaud
#please!
#
#Lee DeRaud <lee.d...@boeing.com> wrote in message news:8i3u9a$1vl$1...@xring.cs.umd.edu...
# > ...
Well, you're either commenting on something I said or requesting
something from me. Care to be a little less specific?
Lee