Another "Didn't realize the gun was loaded" killing

[TxD]

Sailor says he didn’t know gun was loaded.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/02/a ... ng_021809/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Associated Press

MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin sailor told police in Virginia he didn’t realize his gun was loaded when he pointed it at his girlfriend’s head and pulled the trigger, killing the woman.

Darren Mackie is charged with second-degree murder in the death of fellow Navy sailor, 20-year-old Caitlin Trask.

A report in the Newport News Daily Press says the 22-year-old Mackie, from Chippewa Falls, told investigators he was playing with his gun at his Navy apartment in Newport News, Va. Thursday, walked up behind Trask, pointed the weapon at her head and pulled the trigger. A criminal complaint says Mackie then called 911.

Mackie is stationed aboard the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge. Trask, of North Andover, Mass., was stationed on the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower.

[Purplehood]

Sailor + Gun =

Sailor + Boat =

[JasonH]

Oh.. well there are no words for something so stupid. I can't come up with any, anyway.

[fickman]

He managed to break all four rules at once. . . now he gets to pay.

[Rex B]

Something like that happened to a kid that used to mow my yard back in the 1980s.
He was working for a contractor in Louisiana, staying at a motel in Shreveport. He entered his boss's room and the boss had a pistol out, playing with it. Pointed at the kid and pulled the trigger. It fired, hitting the kit in the throat.
Poor kid was paralyzed from the neck down. He "lived" on a respirator for several months, fully conscious, begging them to pull the plug. He was 19.

Be very very careful with your firearms. Those bullets cannot be called back.

[mr.72]

This is horrifying that anyone would be so stupid.

[03Lightningrocks]

With it being a guy with military training, I am somewhat suspicious of his story. I would not be surprised if he didn't kill her on purpose and then cook up the accident story to keep from getting the chair. I find it hard to believe he would be so stupid. If it were my daughter dead...that guy would never see the court room.

[Liberty]

With it being a guy with military training, I am somewhat suspicious of his story. I would not be surprised if he didn't kill her on purpose and then cook up the accident story to keep from getting the chair. I find it hard to believe he would be so stupid. If it were my daughter dead...that guy would never see the court room.

The guy being military, Navy specifically, doesn't mean he was highly trained in gun handling or in handgun safety.

[kd5zex]

With it being a guy with military training, I am somewhat suspicious of his story. I would not be surprised if he didn't kill her on purpose and then cook up the accident story to keep from getting the chair. I find it hard to believe he would be so stupid. If it were my daughter dead...that guy would never see the court room.

I'm torn, pointing firearms at people and pulling the trigger is just something you don't do. While I can see the angle Lightning has, he was young and apparently quite stupid. The brevity of the article is suspicious IMO as well. I am sure the truth will shake out during the investigation, only one person knows the truth and he is going to have to live with it for the rest of his life either way.

[roberts]

I believe "I didn't know it was loaded" as much as I believe the "shot himself while cleaning the gun" excuse.

[03Lightningrocks]

I dunno...I just can't fathom anyone being so stupid as to point a gun at someone intentionally and pulling the trigger. I really don't compare it to accidentally shooting a person while cleaning the gun...or accidentally sweeping someone with a gun. This guy claims he intentionally pointed it at her head and pulled the trigger. These kind of stories really bother me. I always think about my own daughter when I read this kind of stuff. Makes me want to hurt this guy.

[roberts]

When they say someone was killed cleaning the gun usually means it's suicide.

When they say they didn't know it was loaded I think that usually means murder.

[Fangs]

I believe "I didn't know it was loaded" as much as I believe the "shot himself while cleaning the gun" excuse.

Um... http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... 23&t=22644

Ironic how one moment of stupidity can ruin your life when so many before it didn't.