'Negligently Discharged' Gun Sends Gun Show Attendee To Hospital
DENVER (CBS4) - According to the Adams County Sheriff's Office, one man was shot while attending the Tanner Gun Show Saturday.
Witnesses told CBS4's Dillon Thomas the man was shot by another attendee, unintentionally.
"There was a bang, and then a gentleman screamed," one witness, who wished not to be identified, said. "I saw a man bleeding from the lower right leg."
The witness CBS4 spoke with rushed to the scene of where the shot was fired, in order to help. It was then, when they realized what happened.
"Someone negligently discharged a firearm, and it struck another person in the leg," they said. "There had been somebody that already applied a belt, as a makeshift tourniquet. It was ineffective. I applied a tourniquet that someone handed me."
Emergency responders arrived within minutes, according to the witness. The male victim was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.
A witness told CBS4 the entire incident was preventable, especially among a crowd of people who commonly handle firearms.
"The word 'accident' implies it was impossible to prevent, that nobody is at blame," a witness said. "'Negligence' implies this could have been prevented."
Some said this was a prime example of why it is important to carry first aid kits wherever someone goes. They added, this was an example of how human error is usually the blame for gun-related injuries, not the firearm itself.
"Proper gun safety, and handling the firearm, would have prevented this," a witness said.
Dillon Thomas is a reporter at CBS4 and a Colorado native. He believes everyone has a story, and would love to share yours! You can find more of his stories by following him on Twitter, @DillonMThomas.
