Fatal Accidental Shooting at NY USPSA Match

[JoshIronshaft]

https://www.democratandchronicle.com...ny/6203971002/



UPDATE: Monroe County sheriff's deputies on Tuesday released the name of the man fatally shot Saturday morning at a Penfield gun club.

John Koziol, 67, of Greece, died following an accidental discharge at the Genesee Conservation League, 1570 Old Penfield Road, said sheriff's spokeswoman Amy Young.

....

A man died after the "accidental discharge of a firearm" at a Penfield gun club Saturday morning, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office announced.

Deputies and emergency medical services were called to the Genesee Conservation League, 1570 Old Penfield Road, at 9:30 a.m. for the reported shooting.

Sgt. Ken Weber said the location is a club with an indoor range, which is where the incident occurred.

A 67-year-old man was struck and pronounced dead at the scene, Weber said. Weber didn't reveal the circumstances of the shooting or how it occurred.

Deputies didn't release the man's identity.

The man was member of the club and a certified range officer, according to a statement from Wayne Cichetti, the Genesee Conversation League's board president.

Cichetti said the victim was serving as a safety officer in a United States Practical Shooting Association competition and was struck with an accidental discharge from a competitor's firearm.

"Since the League's formation in 1925, safety has always been our most important priority," Cichetti said. "This is an extremely unfortunate accident and we are grieving the loss of a devoted member and friend."



Very unfortunate incident. It makes me quite sad to hear someone has died while participating in a shooting sport, even more so that it was someone acting as a volunteer RO.

Someone I know up in that region who is an active USPSA competitor told me that the man shot was acting as the RO on the range and gave the command to make ready. The competitor dropped a CZ firearm while attempting to holster it loaded, and the firearm discharged when it hit the concrete floor, striking the RO in the chest.

The competitor who dropped the firearm has a lot of USPSA experience. He is not a newbie.

Everyone involved is devastated.

I was not aware that new firearms could not be drop safe. I don't know why I thought they all have to be drop safe. I'm now interested to know more about which firearms are not drop safe.

This is an unwanted reminder to stay vigilant in regards to safety. Always look the gun into the holster in a competition environment. Always move with intent and purpose. Always have your mind on task.

I don't know if it would've made any difference in this instance, but this is why anyone who engages in the use of firearms needs to get medical training (stop the bleed, etc), get quality medical gear, and keep it close at hand.

[Hodgie]

https://www.democratandchronicle.com...ny/6203971002/



UPDATE: Monroe County sheriff's deputies on Tuesday released the name of the man fatally shot Saturday morning at a Penfield gun club.

John Koziol, 67, of Greece, died following an accidental discharge at the Genesee Conservation League, 1570 Old Penfield Road, said sheriff's spokeswoman Amy Young.

....

A man died after the "accidental discharge of a firearm" at a Penfield gun club Saturday morning, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office announced.

Deputies and emergency medical services were called to the Genesee Conservation League, 1570 Old Penfield Road, at 9:30 a.m. for the reported shooting.

Sgt. Ken Weber said the location is a club with an indoor range, which is where the incident occurred.

A 67-year-old man was struck and pronounced dead at the scene, Weber said. Weber didn't reveal the circumstances of the shooting or how it occurred.

Deputies didn't release the man's identity.

The man was member of the club and a certified range officer, according to a statement from Wayne Cichetti, the Genesee Conversation League's board president.

Cichetti said the victim was serving as a safety officer in a United States Practical Shooting Association competition and was struck with an accidental discharge from a competitor's firearm.

"Since the League's formation in 1925, safety has always been our most important priority," Cichetti said. "This is an extremely unfortunate accident and we are grieving the loss of a devoted member and friend."



Very unfortunate incident. It makes me quite sad to hear someone has died while participating in a shooting sport, even more so that it was someone acting as a volunteer RO.

Someone I know up in that region who is an active USPSA competitor told me that the man shot was acting as the RO on the range and gave the command to make ready. The competitor dropped a CZ firearm while attempting to holster it loaded, and the firearm discharged when it hit the concrete floor, striking the RO in the chest.

The competitor who dropped the firearm has a lot of USPSA experience. He is not a newbie.

Everyone involved is devastated.

I was not aware that new firearms could not be drop safe. I don't know why I thought they all have to be drop safe. I'm now interested to know more about which firearms are not drop safe.

This is an unwanted reminder to stay vigilant in regards to safety. Always look the gun into the holster in a competition environment. Always move with intent and purpose. Always have your mind on task.

I don't know if it would've made any difference in this instance, but this is why anyone who engages in the use of firearms needs to get medical training (stop the bleed, etc), get quality medical gear, and keep it close at hand.

There's a small chance the pistol left the factory with a defect, but there's a huge chance that the internals were screwed with so much by the owner Trying to make it as gamer as possible that is made the pistol unsafe.

[R L Suehr]

There's a small chance the pistol left the factory with a defect, but there's a huge chance that the internals were screwed with so much by the owner Trying to make it as gamer as possible that is made the pistol unsafe.

^^^this^^^

The half cock notch should have caught the hammer if it fell that way. It also "should" have an internal safety similar to a series 80 1911. Meaning the hammer shouldn't be able to contact the firing pin unless the trigger is held to the rear.

[TooBigToFit]

^^^this^^^

The half cock notch should have caught the hammer if it fell that way. It also "should" have an internal safety similar to a series 80 1911. Meaning the hammer shouldn't be able to contact the firing pin unless the trigger is held to the rear.

This is probably similar to the P320 drop issue. Since most hammer fired guns and the P320 don't have trigger safeties, the trigger can move to the rear when dropped. Especially since the trigger pull on hammer fired guns, and especially competition guns, is so light, there's not much to overcome. Since the trigger is being "pulled" to the rear, any FPB safety is defeated.

[NathanB]

The hammer was down.
The gun landed on the hammer
It was a shadow 2
There is no firing pin block
There’s very little chance the gun was stock

Every time I’ve read something on this everyone starts talking about the gun. How about the guy who didn’t bother to holster properly. And no it wasn’t a race holster if that was any better.

[Hodgie]

The hammer was down.
The gun landed on the hammer
It was a shadow 2
There is no firing pin block
There’s very little chance the gun was stock

Every time I’ve read something on this everyone starts talking about the gun. How about the guy who didn’t bother to holster properly. And no it wasn’t a race holster if that was any better.

The user is ultimately responsible for the handling and the modifying of the firearm if any was done.

Dangerous things are dangerous and humans will screw up from time to time, that’s just life. It’s unfortunate that a man was killed during it.

[JoshIronshaft]

I'm with you. I view the root cause of this tragedy to be improper firearm handling. There is no criminality involved, just an unfortunate accident (given the limited information available).

Whether a firearm is drop safe or not does not change my aversion to dropping it. I have the same desire to not drop any loaded firearm. I was just interested in knowing more as I am an RO at a USPSA match regularly.

[NathanB]

The user is ultimately responsible for the handling and the modifying of the firearm if any was done.

Dangerous things are dangerous and humans will screw up from time to time, that’s just life. It’s unfortunate that a man was killed during it.

I wholeheartedly agree. It still comes back to the bolstering for me. You’re standing stock still. The timer hasn’t started. There is no reason to be in a hurry or to not ensure the gun is holstered properly.

[MARINE DIVISION TWO]

JMO,But Accidental I think not ! Negligent . not adhereing to saftey rules not adhering to custom embellishments and Just not being focused on what the hell you are doing !

[jthrelf]

The hierarchy of safety controls are, in order: eliminate/substitute the hazard, engineering controls, procedural controls and finally PPE.

We like guns and don't want to use airsoft so substitution/elimination is out. Engineering controls are design features like trigger safeties and firing pin blocks. Procedural controls in this situation (besides the standard gun handling rules) are to be careful not to drop a loaded gun. PPE in this situation is body armor I suppose.

Anyway, my point is that engineering controls are typically more reliable than procedural controls. Engineering controls don't rely on the human element nearly as much.

I was not aware the Shadow 2 didn't have a FP block... I would imagine the lack of this feature will end up as one of the root causes of this unfortunate accident.

But also I'm not sure why the hammer was down. The Shadow should normally be carried cocked and locked. Did the competitor lower the hammer on a live round?