Man Kills Himself At Mall Gun Range

#1 07-31-2007, 02:43 PM

Quote:

MAN KILLS HIMSELF AT MALL GUN RANGE

A man shot and killed himself last night at the Wild West Shooting Centre at West Edmonton Mall, police said.

Cops closed the gun range and were investigating.

The fatal shooting, which occurred around 8:30 p.m., comes three weeks after a man apparently shot himself in the jaw at the popular shooting range.

On the afternoon of July 6, a man who was taking target practice suffered a jaw injury when he shot himself with a gun. The unidentified victim was taken to hospital. He was expected to recover.

Police seized the weapon involved.

Wild West owner Ken Kupsch told Sun Media at the time that the shooting was "definitely self-inflicted."

It was the first time in the range's seven-year history that it has encountered an incident such as this, he added.

Full-time staff watch over 14 positions to ensure everyone is safe at the range where customers use real guns and bullets, Kupsch explained.

"We have all of our safety measures in place," Kupsch said, adding thousands of people had safely used the range in the past.

wow 2 in 3 weeks, one worked? some people trying to take the easy way out? makes me sick. Sad tragety.

Walleyes · #2 07-31-2007, 02:48 PM

This is not going to look very good... I can hear the anti's getting ready to spiel their bull....

ABwhitetail · #3 07-31-2007, 02:51 PM

I wonder if it was that (suicide attempt) or the old story of the semi-auto tradgity where from the recoil the shooter bends his arms at the elbow and the barrel of the pistol points towards the shooter and then inadvertently the shooter pulls the trigger again?

I seem to remember a small kid and his dad being killed at a range in the states this way? The dad was standing directly behind the kid bent over checking his aim when it happened???

Vindalbakken · #4 07-31-2007, 02:59 PM

There was an incident right here in Alberta with a small kid shooting a large revolver with the dad standing over him. Not sure now if it was the kid or the dad who died on the second shot.

.270fan · #5 07-31-2007, 03:37 PM

Any way you look at it...it adds fuel to the fire for the Anti's.....

Tragic for all those involved as well. My heart goes out to the people who were there when it happened.

slipbobber · #6 07-31-2007, 04:41 PM

If I remember correctly the Alberta case involved a family from Consort. Can't recall the outcome of the event.

jjht65 · #7 07-31-2007, 06:02 PM

Dreadful... Suicide is a phenomenon that transcends all barriers. I feel sorry for everyone affected by it: The person committing suicide, the family left behind and all the folks who had to witness or dealt with the aftermath of this tragic event.

Let us keep them Firearms Safety Rules in effect.

RandyBoBandy · #8 07-31-2007, 07:50 PM

JEEBUS murphy!! I didn't hear squat about this?? WOW!! and my condolences!

WCTHEMI · #9 07-31-2007, 09:24 PM

Its very sad, no doubt about it. Very hard on friends and family, takes a long time to get over the pain of it, sometimes you can't.

Pikebreath · #10 08-01-2007, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slipbobber

If I remember correctly the Alberta case involved a family from Consort. Can't recall the outcome of the event.

Yeah, it was in Consort quite few years ago now ,,,, the boy was killed, the dad took a bullet in the shoulder. I knew the dad (and his boy) well as I was living there then. Tragic accident that should never have happened,,,First off the kid was way too small to be shooting a large pistol and secondly, it should never have been loaded with more than one bullet.

Jamie · #11 08-01-2007, 11:28 PM

This could end up having big repercussions. I sense big changes at AHEIA's gun club here in calgary.....
God.. way to many rules already

Jamie

brownbomber · #12 08-02-2007, 12:37 AM

well i hope i can still go there as part of my stag in september. why shut it down just because some troubled sould chose a very public way to end his life. so would it be a issue if he say went to the waterpark and the same mall and didn't go down the waterslide but jumped over the railing???? stupid stupid stupid if this evokes rule changes. i mean the guys are leaning over you already and it would be pretty tough to hurt anyone other than yourself and it would have to be on purpose.

gunner83 · #13 08-02-2007, 05:46 PM

this is actually not that uncommon i have heard.

clarki · #14 08-02-2007, 08:53 PM

this has nothing to do with hunting so why worry about "the anti's"?? why do we need indoor gun ranges at malls anyway?? we dont. just asking for trouble. when i first heard of this place opening I said to a buddy something like this would happen. the anti gun people have every right to go after this place, there's no room for such places. guns belong in the field not at the mall.

M

#15 08-02-2007, 09:05 PM

Quote:

this has nothing to do with hunting so why worry about "the anti's"?? why do we need indoor gun ranges at malls anyway?? we dont. just asking for trouble. when i first heard of this place opening I said to a buddy something like this would happen. the anti gun people have every right to go after this place, there's no room for such places. guns belong in the field not at the mall.

How old are you clark just just asking your statement is like saying one forum of hunting is better then the next .I think not hunting is hunting shooting at a range is just that just shooting .
Just because of one lost soul no one shouldnt "HAVE " the right to shoot at a range in a mall or where every.I guess as long as its not in your back yard.

clarki · #16 08-02-2007, 09:17 PM

all im saying is that I dont think we need indoor gun ranges at malls. nothing to do with hunting and my age has nothing to do with it either. not saying that 1 'form" of hunting is better than another. im saying an indoor gun range at a mall has nothing to do with hunting

M

#17 08-02-2007, 09:21 PM

OK CLARKI i see your just looking for a ****ing match good luck with that .

How old did you say you were ????

clarki · #18 08-02-2007, 09:28 PM

not looking for a ****ing match at all. just voicing my opinion. i see you dont have much to say about the topic. again, what does my age have to do with this???

M

#19 08-02-2007, 09:57 PM

Quote:

i see you dont have much to say about the topic. again, what does my age have to do with this???

i think your acting like a azz here you are all mighty somebody

saying one forum of shooting is good next to the other why should it matter if its in a mall or else where

i think you cant answer that but hey if you want to be a smart AZZZ about it goe ahead shoe the good folks your true colour.

Let me ask you this is there one forum of shooting better then the next ( WHAT I MEAN )Is is long rifle shooting More important then hang gun shooting Please explain .I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THIS.

#20 08-02-2007, 10:24 PM

What the heck does his age have to do with it? He obviously doesnt hang out at the mall like you. How old are you ... to disagree?

clarki · #21 08-02-2007, 10:32 PM

one last time..... all i am saying is that IN MY OPINION we dont NEED shooting ranges at the mall. nothing to do wiht one "forum' of shooting being better than another. i dont care what the guy was shooting whether it be a hand gun or a rifle or a frickin bazooka. I dont think it belongs in the mall.

M

Bushrat · #22 08-03-2007, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clarki

one last time..... all i am saying is that IN MY OPINION we dont NEED shooting ranges at the mall. nothing to do wiht one "forum' of shooting being better than another. i dont care what the guy was shooting whether it be a hand gun or a rifle or a frickin bazooka. I dont think it belongs in the mall.

M

Why not? We have grocery stores, drug stores, furniture shops, clothing stores, bowling alleys, why not a shooting range. It's a great place to have a shooting range, gets people who are never around guns and have no exposure to them a chance that they might develope an interest. You go around hiding gunshops and ranges and whisper quietly about them in public like they're some sort of disease then you are part of the problem. The public needs to be educated and familiarized to guns, when they are familiar to them they loose their fear of them, you hide guns away from people like they are the plague it just reinforces their feelings of fear of them, once people are introduced to guns they are not so scary, we have nothing to hide.

Dick284 · #23 08-03-2007, 07:40 AM

Amen to that Bushrat.

Okotokian · #24 08-03-2007, 09:26 AM

The suicide really doesn't bother me a huge amount. You just can't always control things like that.

I'm actually more concerned about the jaw shot from the previous week. Guns are serious and deadly objects. We have all taken time to learn to use them safely, to take courses and become licenced. I'm not sure that just because someone has a twenty dollar bill to throw down on the counter that they should be allowed to use weapons in a way that is a danger to themselves or others. The owner said they were adequately supervised. Obviously adequate supervision is not effective. At least when you take your kid out into the field, it's one-on-one supervision, from an experienced person who cares.

The Mall location is a BIT of a concern. I hope to god that the next person who decides to commit suicide there doesn't think it might be a good idea to run out into the crowded mall and take a few people with him.

Dick284 · #25 08-03-2007, 09:35 AM

OKO:
Have you ever been to the Wild west range?
Until you do your thoughts about how it is run, are not meeting with much validity.

They have a RSO on the line all the time, when new persons come in to try the range out they will have a RSO directly supervising no more than 2 or 3 people at best. at least that's my experience when I took a buddy and his fiance there. They ask you your knowledge of shooting prior to proceeding, put you through a condensed safety course, explaining the firearms, range procedures etc.
By talking to and assessing the personds behavior in the traing session, I would think the RSO and mangement can do a pretty good job of weeding out the bad ones or ones who they think might do something grossly wrong. We do not know if the person in question who comitted suicide was a member or a visitor, and that makes quite a diffrence.

ABwhitetail · #26 08-03-2007, 10:44 AM

Has it been confirmed the last guy commited Suicide??? Or was it another accisdent?

jjht65 · #27 08-03-2007, 11:24 AM

Both incidents were the result of suicidal ideation with the latest one being carried out Successfully.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/st...-suicides.html

The focus for these particular events has nothing to do with firearms but rather mental health issues; the fact that these two individuals chose to utilize this particular place of bussiness in the same month for the same purpose... Should raise questions about procedures & perhaps a more indepth screening for prospective customers... But that should be it, I think the folks at this place of bussiness have done a good job of introducing people to firearms, while generating employment a tax base for seven years. The location of their place of bussiness should be no issue as it is within their right to operate a lawfull venue where they see fit.

Of course we all know that antis will create a wagon for people to get on board & turn these tragic events into something that fits their agenda.

Okotokian · #28 08-03-2007, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dick284

OKO:
Have you ever been to the Wild west range?
Until you do your thoughts about how it is run, are not meeting with much validity.

They have a RSO on the line all the time, when new persons come in to try the range out they will have a RSO directly supervising no more than 2 or 3 people at best. at least that's my experience when I took a buddy and his fiance there. They ask you your knowledge of shooting prior to proceeding, put you through a condensed safety course, explaining the firearms, range procedures etc.
By talking to and assessing the personds behavior in the traing session, I would think the RSO and mangement can do a pretty good job of weeding out the bad ones or ones who they think might do something grossly wrong. We do not know if the person in question who comitted suicide was a member or a visitor, and that makes quite a diffrence.

No, I've never been to that particular range. And I'm sure everything you say is true. My point is that it was not effective, was it?

Dick284 · #29 08-03-2007, 11:45 AM

A person hell bent on an evil taks is unstoppable at best.
To suggest more restrictions to our already overly regulated world of shooting and hunting is shere folly.
It makes you sound like Windy Wendy.

Okotokian · #30 08-03-2007, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dick284

A person hell bent on an evil taks is unstoppable at best.
To suggest more restrictions to our already overly regulated world of shooting and hunting is shere folly.
It makes you sound like Windy Wendy.

I'm not sure the person who shot himself in the jaw was hell bent on an evil task. And I'll decline getting into a name calling contest. Thanks.