Wyoming – Shattered – The Gun Accident Journal

Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Florida Mississippi North Carolina Ohio Ongoing Investigation Wyoming January 24, 2020February 19, 2020 by Gary Klein

FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2020

Of eight reports of accidental shootings today, involving a total of 11 shooting incidents, three occurred in Ohio, one each in Mississippi, Wyoming, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. None of …

SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 2020

In another fatal gun accident involving a child in Pataskala, Ohio, a town of less than 16,000 people near Columbus (see December 14, 2019), 15-year old Noah Bigham shot and killed his best friend, Hunter Cooper, a high school freshman, while attempting to distract him from playing a video game. Noah was using the laser sighting mechanism on a Smith & Wesson pistol by directing it at his friend’s eyes when the gun went off.

Noah was charged with reckless homicide, a third degree felony. According to Bigham’s lawyer, "[i]t is my understanding the juveniles were able to have … unfettered access to firearms [in Bigham’s home]. This is what happens when you have firearms accessible. It's just awful. What we know for sure is it's unintentional."

Source:

Michaela Summers, “Police: Pataskala Teen Shot 'Best Friend' While Trying to Distract Him from Video Game,” Lancaster Eagle Gazette (January 27, 2020).