Tennessee Gun Report

Tennessee, along with other gun-friendly states, make up the top 10 for homicides, according to new FBI statistics. That just proves the need for more guns, amiright, people?

Then again, sometimes the only thing which can stop a bad guy is a good guy with a … bayonet.

Meanwhile, in the “are we safer” department, an entire pallet of AR-15s were stolen after they left the Colt factory in Hartford, CT and were en route to Louisiana. When the truck arrived in Shreveport, 63 of the weapons were discovered missing. Woopsies, nothing to see here, move along … considering this is the weapon used in the Aurora shooting, I’m surprised it didn’t make bigger news. Then again, a website somewhere was slow and that’s the worst tragedy evah.

Here’s this week’s round-up of Tennessee-related gun loonery. Stay safe, y’all!

• October 29, 2013:

A Metro Nashville police detective’s weapon accidentally discharged as he was making an arrest, striking the suspect:

A Metro police detective is on administrative leave after officials said an apparent accidental firearm discharge struck a person who was being arrested.

Police said Genaro Novarro Pascual, 25, was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in stable condition after he was shot in the ankle when Detective Charles McEachron’s AR-15 rifle accidentally discharged while he and two patrol officers struggled to bring him into custody.

An AR-15?? What the hell are Metro police officers doing carrying AR-15’s?

• October 28, 2013:

1- Another responsible gun owner either forgot or was too stupid to know that you don’t carry a loaded gun on an airplane:

Security officials found a loaded pistol in a carry-on bag Monday at Nashville International Airport.

The weapon, a Walther PPK 380, was the 43rd found in carry-on luggage at the airport so far this year, according to the Transportation Security Administration. The firearm had one round in the chamber and five rounds in the magazine, with an additional magazine also discovered, authorities said.

Firearms are prohibited in carry-on bags. They can be transported in checked bags if unloaded, properly packed and declared to the airline.

Criminal charges are possible for those who bring firearms to security checkpoints. Cases are referred from the TSA to local law enforcement. The TSA can also hand down fines up to $11,000.

That’s 43 “responsible gun owners” who “forgot” they were carrying weapons or don’t know the law. Dear TSA: please start actually fining these people who exhibit such irresponsible behavior.

Meanwhile, this morning (October 30) the crawl on our local CBS affiliate reported TSA found a second gun in someone’s carry-on at the Nashville airport this week. No link yet, unfortunately.

2- Tragedy in Elizabethton:

Melissa Griffin, 43, and Michael Griffin, 49, were found dead from apparent gunshot wounds when police arrived on the scene at 1:52 p.m. The deaths were discovered by a family friend who stopped by the residence and discovered the bodies.

[…]

Chief of Police Greg Workman said a weapon was found and all rounds were also found. He said there is no evidence of any other parties involved in the shootings and no missing pieces of evidence.

Murder-suicide? The couple had two teenaged children, who are now orphans. I just don’t get it.

• October 25, 2013:

1- A sheriff’s deputy accidentally shot a fellow cop at a gun range:

MURFREESBORO — A Rutherford County sheriff’s deputy who has been suspended at last twice during his 24-year career accidentally shot a fellow deputy at a gun range Wednesday, according to a news release.

[…]

“The incident happened when Deputy Emslie removed the magazine from his weapon and prepared to disassemble it to oil it and the weapon discharged,” the report states. “A bullet fragment grazed Lt. Harrison’s calf.”

His prior incidents are pretty alarming. Surprised he still has a job.

2- A 23-year-old man from Clarksville, TN was arrested at JFK airport for attempting to check five defaced guns and a shit-ton of ammo on a flight to Charlotte, NC. The serial numbers on several of the weapons had been painted over, which is a crime:

Keenan Draughon of Clarksville, Tennessee, was arrested after he checked two handguns, two defaced rifles and two unloaded high-capacity magazines, according to Port Authority spokesperson Joseph Pentangelo.

[…]

The two rifles were defaced, one with purple paint and the other with silver paint, covering the serial numbers, which is a crime, according to Pentangelo. One rifle was loaded.

Draughon, 23, was stopped and questioned at security before going through metal detectors while trying to board a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina. He had checked the weapons in gun cases at Terminal 8, according to Pentangelo.
Draughon also had a fifth weapon — a shotgun — that was legal to travel with, according to Pentangelo.

Whoa.

• October 24, 2013:

There was a shooting at a naval base in Millington, TN.

We are told the shooter had just been fired, left and returned with a gun.

Wonder if he had his gun in his car. Brilliant.

• October 22, 2013:

A Kingsport man was “playing” with his gun and accidentally shot his girlfriend in the ass. The couple then concocted a phony story about an attempted robbery as the girlfriend walked her dog. Both have now been arrested.