One accidental shootings and plenty of gun loonery this week.
• March 19, 2014:
1- A Roane County man who’s been charged with reckless endangerment for shooting an SKS assault rifle at Tiger Haven large-cat sanctuary last year (and nearly hitting a police officer) has been denied his request to have a gun for protection before his upcoming trial. Guy sounds like a loon.
2- Someone shot up the windows of a Nashville area elementary school.
• March 18, 2014:
1- Jimmy Eugene Barker of Louisivlle, TN was shot and killed by Florida police when he allegedly pulled out a gun at a DUI checkpoint.
2- A drunken man caused a disturbance at a Madison Subway restaurant, dropping a glass bottle and then pulling out a gun and threatening to shoot a good samaritan who asked him if he was okay. All of this apparently happened back in November, but the man was just arrested in March. Don’t know what took so long.
• March 17, 2014:
1- An 18-year-old North Nashville teen is in critical condition after his friend accidentally shot him in the neck:
William Blackwell and Robert Goodner, both 18, were handling Goodner’s pistol while visiting a Woodridge Drive home, according to a statement from police. Goodner noticed the safety was off and asked to see the gun.
Goodner told police he mishandled the weapon when it fired, hitting Blackwell in the neck.
2- A 25-year-old Knox County school security officer pulled a Curry Todd, driving drunk with a loaded handgun. This one is even better than Todd’s, though:
A witness told police he followed Copeland after the suspect allegedly pointed a gun at a man on Jackson Avenue Saturday afternoon. When the witness saw a Knoxville police officer on the ramp from I-640 to Mall Road, he told the officer he thought Copeland was drunk.
The KPD officer then followed the suspect and pulled him over after seeing Copeland’s truck swerve over the yellow line on Millertown Pike at about 4 p.m.
According to court documents, the officer arrested Copeland after he failed his sobriety test. Officials said the school security officer also had a loaded handgun in his vehicle.
This is who the NRA and Tennessee Firearms Assn. wants protecting our kids from crazy people with guns. What could possibly go wrong?
• March 14, 2014:
1- A businessman in Maryville was convicted of selling firearms and ammo to a person he knew to be a convicted felon.
2- This one is odd:
KNOXVILLE (WATE) – Police say an East Knoxville man who was shot in both hands may have been the victim of random shooting.
Officers on patrol say they heard about five to seven gunshots around 2:02 p.m. Friday.
Moments later, officers located a 19-year-old man who said he had been shot in both hands.
The man was unable to give any suspect information, but said he was in the backyard of his home on Oakland Street when the shooting happened.
Officers could not find any witnesses and believe the shooting may have been random.
I dunno. Sounds a little too bizarre to me.
• March 13, 2014:
A Goodlettsville man who was repeatedly been cited for codes violations fired shots at a codes enforcement officer, and has been jailed.
• March 10, 2014:
A man pulled a gun on his coworker when they got in an argument in the parking lot of the restaurant where they worked.
