As news reports show every week, simply being a "law-abiding gun owner" is not sufficient to being a competent gun owner.

Further, as this tragic example shows, all too often a gun kept "for protection" is instead used to injure or kill the owner, instead.

From WLNS CBS-6 (Lansing):

... But this was no robbery. Police say Subjoined Singh accidentally shot himself. He was working the late night shift and police say at around 2 A.M. Singh pulled out his gun and started playing with it in front of several customers when it went off. Police have security video showing how it all unfolded.

Lt. Aaron Kantor, Jackson Police Department: "Attempting to show to customers mistakenly thought it was unloaded when it was loaded, it was obviously very shocking to the people there at the time."

Inderjit Singh says his brother brought the gun as protection.

Inderjit Singh, brother of victim: "A lot of crime in this city, he bought it so no one messed with him."

In the end that gun took his brother's life. Singh says the family is dealing with the death the best they can and they're hoping their loss is a lesson for others.

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A $34 million Stupid Gun Trick.

Coverage by KMPH FOX-26 (Fresno):

The worse [sic] is over for Mariposa County residents. The Telegraph Fire is expected to be a blaze of the past on Monday.

As of Sunday, the fire is 95% percent contained after destroying dozens of buildings and 34,000 acres; residents are overjoyed and ready to start a new.

It took more than 3,000 firefighters from all over the nation to get the flames under control.

[more]

And McClatchy Newspapers:

...The couple returned home to find their mobile home destroyed by fire. They also noticed that someone had toppled several large pine trees on their property on Whitlock Road, a few miles north of Mariposa.

"Some of these trees were a thousand years old," Darlene Arebalo said. "What burns me is that the trees were healthy. They cut them without even asking us."

Miles away, firefighters dug in to fight the remaining northern flank of the blaze near Jenkins Hill that has so far scarred 34,034 acres, or 53 square miles, and destroyed 21 homes.

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And the Fresno Bee:

... A person who was target shooting has been blamed for accidentally sparking the wildfire. It started on the afternoon of July 25 about 30 miles west of Yosemite Valley in the area of Telegraph and Sherlock roads, burning heavy vegetation along the steep canyon of the Merced River.

By the next day, the fire had grown to 16,000 acres, or 25 square miles, and it kept growing as the week went by.

By Saturday, with the cost of fighting the blaze approaching $30 million, the fire had burned 34,034 acres, or 53 square miles, and had destroyed 21 homes and 33 outbuildings.

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In the Tampa Tribune:

A man accidentally shot himself in the head with a gun he thought didn't work, but is expected to recover, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office reported.

Dale Roberts, 20, was with his girlfriend, Amber Howell, 20, in his apartment, 107 145th Ave., at about 2:45 a.m. today, deputies said. The two had been drinking and Roberts jokingly aimed the .25-caliber handgun at his head. Thinking it wasn't working, he pulled the trigger, the gun fired and the bullet lodged in his skull, according to the report.

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Maybe this "law-abiding gun owner" shouldn't be allowed to keep a gun for a while....

This "law-abiding gun owner" apparently flew under police radar, right up to the point when he shot his yard equipment.

Thanks to Diana Hartman at Blogcritics:

Keith Walendowski was charged after Milwaukee law enforcement responded to a call about a man shooting his lawn mower. Angry that his mower wouldn't start Wednesday morning, Walendowski told police, “I can do that, it's my lawn mower and my yard so I can shoot it if I want." He has been charged with felony possession of a short-barreled shotgun or rifle and misdemeanor disorderly conduct while armed.

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USA Today helps explain the Richard Pryor reference:

... In 1978, he famously shot up fourth wife Deboragh McGuire's Buick with his .357 Magnum as she tried to leave him. On New Year's Eve, from Wanted/Richard Pryor — Live in Concert, he joked about how he got in trouble for "killing a car" with his .357 Magnum, but confesses that he quietly went into the house when the cops showed up.

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Update: Ed Brayton got there long before we did...

Just thinking out loud here, but maybe Mr. Wright should leave guns alone for a while.

According to this report, his son, who was not shot, may have been more traumatized than the elder Wright was.

In the Gaston Gazette:

A South Carolina man accidentally shot himself in the leg Wednesday night.

Police say Michael Wright, 39, of Jefferson, S.C., was in the backseat of his car, which was being driven by his son when he accidentally shot himself in his left leg.

Gastonia Police Sgt. V.G. Johnson said Wright picked up the gun to check to see if the safety was on. When he picked it up, the gun went off.

His son, pulled into the Pizza Hut at 2328 S. New Hope Road to get help.

"His little boy was frantic, thinking his dad was going to die," said Brittney Young, who was working in the restaurant when the man's children arrived.

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