Gunshot causes commotion at Costco store

Texasdoc · #1

I got this to night and thought I would share it with y'all

By Associated Press SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Shoppers began fleeing a Costco store Thursday after a man in a restroom stall dropped his pistol, accidentally firing a bullet into the wall, a Spokane County sheriff's spokesman said.

The 59-year-old man, who was not identified by the sheriff's office, was released after deputies determined he had a valid concealed weapon permit and hadn't broken any laws.

Deputies said the man was carrying the .357-caliber semiautomatic pistol in a shoulder holster, but it fell out while he was in a restroom stall around noon on Thursday, Sgt. Dave Reagan said in a statement.

Another patron in the restroom alerted store employees after looking over the stall to find the gun owner fumbling with the pistol. Costco workers began evacuating the building, and deputies were called to the scene.

Authorities said the pistol was designed not to misfire when dropped, and deputies suggested the owner have it checked for defects.

They also said the ammunition was several years old, and the bullet that was fired did not manage to penetrate the restroom wall.

300shooter

longtooth · #2

How

Glad they did not charge him.

flintknapper · #3

I'd be willing to bet it didn't "fire" as a result of being dropped.

More likely he tried to catch it, or touched it off "fumbling" around with it after the first bounce.

#4

flintknapper wrote:I'd be willing to bet it didn't "fire" as a result of being dropped.

More likely he tried to catch it, or touched it off "fumbling" around with it after the first bounce.

or he was PLAYING with gun. I known several LEO that have done the very exact thing.

#5

A (at most) three-foot drop from a shoulder holster while he, er, wiped, shouldn't have caused a discharge in a modern firearm.

Another patron in the restroom alerted store employees after looking over the stall to find the gun owner fumbling with the pistol.

I'm glad I'm not a judge...

Venus Pax · #6

Poor guy. I'm glad no one was hurt. And I'm glad he isn't going to face any charges.

AV8R · #7

Venus Pax wrote:Poor guy. I'm glad no one was hurt. And I'm glad he isn't going to face any charges.

Highly agreed, and let's hope he gets a better holster with a thumb-break strap.

Lucky45 · #8

This also brings up a reminder about rotating out your carry ammo to keep them effective.

lrb111 · #9

I wonder how long it took for the power level to drop off on the gunpowder. The article says "several years", any guesses from the reloaders?

KBCraig · #10

Obviously a false story. Costco bans concealed carry, so there was no way he really had a gun, right?

flintknapper · #11

lrb111 wrote:I wonder how long it took for the power level to drop off on the gunpowder. The article says "several years", any guesses from the reloaders?

I read that part with complete dismissal. Even propellants from yester-year (wartime surplus ammo from many decades ago) are still viable if the cartridges have been stored properly.

Modern propellants degrade very little (if any) if not contaminated. I think the way the account was written suggests that he had "old" impotent ammo. What probably happened is that the bullet struck the tile floor of the bathroom expending most of its energy and then went on to strike the wall (no doubt also tile) and predictably didn't penetrate it.

We are not told all the details, so that is speculation on my part, but I don't think we can assume "weak" ammo with any certainty either.

Reporter's! Sheeeeesh.

lrb111 · #12

flintknapper wrote:
lrb111 wrote:I wonder how long it took for the power level to drop off on the gunpowder. The article says "several years", any guesses from the reloaders?

I read that part with complete dismissal. Even propellants from yester-year (wartime surplus ammo from many decades ago) are still viable if the cartridges have been stored properly.

Modern propellants degrade very little (if any) if not contaminated. I think the way the account was written suggests that he had "old" impotent ammo. What probably happened is that the bullet struck the tile floor of the bathroom expending most of its energy and then went on to strike the wall (no doubt also tile) and predictably didn't penetrate it.

We are not told all the details, so that is speculation on my part, but I don't think we can assume "weak" ammo with any certainty either.

Reporter's! Sheeeeesh.

Kinda along the same lines as my thoughts.
I found a box of CCI Stingers in a drawer, that I know had to have been there over 10 years. No probs, and no apparent loss of energy.

DaveT · #13

Wonder if he bought new underwear while he was there at the store ??

TX Rancher · #14

I tend to shoot pistol ammo before it gets too old (<3 years), so I can't be any help there, but I have fired many 10-15 year old rounds out of my rifles, and they all went bang. The ones I've chrono'd registered very peppy readings. Modern primers/powder just don't break down very fast...

Greybeard · #15

I also noticed the reference to penetrating wall - or lack of. Methinks that may have been in reference to perimeter sheetrock wall. Ther toilet "stall walls" may well have been constructed of a quite dense particleboard type material with a layer of sheet metal on both sides ... Methinks that combination of materials would have had much more effect than the age of the ammo. Besides, .357Sig ain't been around all that many years ...