The Last Gun (37 page)

Homicide: Los Angeles, California. Marco Antonio Gonzalez, twenty, was shot and killed in his car after a dispute with another driver. Authorities said the dispute appeared to be gang-related.
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Unintentional nonfatal shooting: Thonotosassa, Florida. Oscar Thayer Dean, forty-three, was allegedly mishandling a .357 Magnum revolver that he thought was unloaded when he shot his wife in the stomach. When police responded to the emergency call, they observed that the “residence was heavily infested with insects and there was very little food” and concluded that
the home was unfit for the couple's six-year-old daughter. Dean was arrested on a charge of child neglect.
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Murder-suicide: Farmington Hills, Michigan. Lisa Mazzola, fifty-two, shot and killed her husband, Robert Mazzola, fifty-three, with a handgun, then shot herself to death. The couple were divorcing.
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Nonfatal shooting: Buffalo, New York. Darnell Mobley, twenty-four, was shot in the stomach when he ran away from a man with a black revolver who was attempting to hold him up. Mobley was hospitalized and listed in fair condition after the shooting.
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Homicide (police legal intervention): Chester, Pennsylvania. Daniel Simms, twenty-one, ran away from a police officer who was attempting to stop him during a routine patrol. When the officer gave chase on foot, Simms pointed a loaded handgun at the officer. The officer fatally shot Simms, and was later cleared of wrongdoing.
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Murder, attempted suicide: Englewood, Florida. Frank Olms, sixty-six, shot his wife, Nancy Olms, forty-eight, and then shot himself. Nancy Olms died, but Frank Olms survived and was later charged with first-degree murder.
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Suicide: Prospect Heights, Illinois. An unnamed sixteen-year-old boy shot himself to death with his father's 45 caliber pistol.
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Nonfatal shooting: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lataya Anthony, thirty-one, suffered a gunshot wound to the stomach. Ms. Anthony would not cooperate with police, who had no suspect for the shooting.
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Homicide, nonfatal shooting: Oakland, California. Lashawna Candies, twenty-five, was killed and her thirty-four-year-old aunt was wounded when they accidentally drove into the middle of a shootout between rival groups.
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Murder-suicide: Lincoln, Nebraska. Jerry Crook, fifty-seven, shot and killed Sueann Bedlion, forty-seven, then killed himself
with the same gun. Bedlion's twenty-year-old daughter was present and fled the apartment.
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Homicide: Bradenton, Florida. Roman Hall, forty-three, was found shot to death outside the backdoor of his residence.
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Homicide: Fort Worth, Texas. Larry Lampkin, eighteen, was found dead in a breezeway of the apartment complex in which he lived. He had been shot multiple times. Police later arrested one juvenile and were seeking another for the shooting, which apparently was the result of an argument.
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Homicide and nonfatal shooting: Petersburg, Virginia. Corey M. Lewis Jr., sixteen, was shot to death. An unnamed twenty-eight-year-old man was also found shot near by. Police later arrested five suspects, including two juveniles, in connection with the shootings.
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Suicide: New Port Richey, Florida. Christos Marangos, thirty, shot himself in the head after exchanging gunfire at his residence with Pasco County sheriff's deputies. Authorities had come to the home to question Marangos, who had a criminal record, about several burglaries. He opened fire when the deputies entered the mobile home.
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Homicide: Jersey City, New Jersey. Rakim Priester, twenty-one, was cut down in a hail of more than two dozen bullets. The single bullet that struck Priester out of the many fired at him inflicted a fatal wound. Police later arrested Aziz R. Wright, nineteen, and Donelle L. Golden, twenty-one, in connection with the murder.
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Homicide: New Brunswick, New Jersey. Jesse Simons, sixty-one, a hospital worker, was found on a street, mortally wounded by gunshot. He later died in the hospital. No suspects were arrested.
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Homicide: Chester, Pennsylvania. After responding to a report of shots fired, police found a thirty-seven-year-old man lying on the ground mortally wounded by gunfire. The man died shortly later. He was not identified.
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Nonfatal shooting, homicide of police officer, homicide (police legal intervention): El Cajon and San Diego, California. Dejon
White, twenty-three, approached Martin Hana, twenty-three, who was in his car at an El Cajon In-N-Out Burger. White fired one round with a shotgun, hitting Hana in the face. Hana survived his wounds but required intensive surgery and care. White sped away and shortly afterward pulled up beside a San Diego police car and fired another round through his passenger-side window, killing officer Jeremy Henwood, thirty-six. Investigators tracked White's car to his home address. When they arrived, a shootout ensued, and White was killed by police gunfire. White may have intended so-called suicide by cop.
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Homicide, nonfatal shooting: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Yavonne Burch, twenty-two, was shot to death, and another woman in her early twenties was injured by gunfire in front of a residence. Authorities later arrested Vincent “Huddy” Leach, twenty-six, in connection with the shootings.
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Homicide, nonfatal shooting: Chicago, Illinois. Six-year-old Arianna Gibson was shot dead and two teenagers were wounded when a gunman opened fire through the living room window. Arianna was sleeping on a couch. Authorities believe one of the teenagers was the intended target of the shooter.
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Homicide (mass shooting), nonfatal injury, homicide (police intervention): Copley Township, Ohio. Armed with two handguns, Michael Hance, fifty-one, went on a ten-minute rampage through the neighborhood in which he and his girlfriend lived. Hance shot seven people to death and critically wounded his girlfriend. The gunman apparently stalked specific targets, including an eleven-year-old and two teenagers, while allowing others to escape. Hance was shot to death by responding police.
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Nonfatal shooting (self-defense): St. Petersburg, Florida. Would-be robber Anthony Lawrence Hauser, seventeen, was shot four times by Raven Smith, thirty-four, when he attempted to hold up Smith's girlfriend in the parking lot of an Applebee's
restaurant. Smith had a concealed-carry permit and police ruled the shooting self-defense.
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Homicide: Houston, Texas. Salem Saif Al Mazroui and his father, Saif Bin Musallam Al Mazroui, were confronted by two men as they were unloading their vehicle in front of the father's apartment. One of the men opened fire with a pistol when the father and son attempted to flee. The son was fatally injured. He had been visiting his father from the United Arab Emirates. Two suspects were later arrested and charged with capital murder.
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Nonfatal shooting: Fort Lauderdale, Florida. James McIvery, seventy-nine, fired two bullets at the ground, one of which struck twelve-year-old Traves Neal in the stomach. McIvery asserted that he did not mean to shoot anyone and merely intended to scare off a group of youths who had been repeatedly pestering him and his disabled daughter.
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Attempted murder-suicide: Lake Villa Township, Illinois. After a domestic argument, Gordon D. Olsen, fifty-two, shot his forty-nine-year-old wife in the head and chest, then shot himself. Olsen died. His wife, who was not named in news reports, survived and was expected to make a full recovery from her injuries.
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Unintentional nonfatal shooting: Warren, Rhode Island. An unnamed twenty-six-year-old man was shot in the abdomen and buttocks when a firearm accidentally discharged. He recovered. A twenty-four-year-old man was taken into custody on the misdemeanor charge of firing in a compact area.
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Homicide, nonfatal shooting: Boston, Massachusetts. Elvis Sanchez, seventeen, and his mother, Elvira Pimentel, forty-three, were shot dead in their home, and another unnamed male was wounded.
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Murder-suicide: Buena Park, California. William Schilling, fifty-three, fatally shot his wife, Susan, forty-eight, in the head in the couple's bedroom. He then fatally shot himself in the head. Schilling had recently inherited from his father the 30-06 rifle he used.
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Murder-suicide, New Port Richey, Florida. Stephen Michael Searce, fifty-eight, fatally shot to death his wife, Penny Lynn Searce, forty-eight. He then shot himself and died.
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Homicide, nonfatal shooting: New Orleans, Louisiana. Jamaal Stewart, twenty-eight, was found shot to death in his vehicle. About an hour later, an unnamed seventeen-year-old boy was shot in the back, thigh, and buttocks while riding his bicycle.
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Murder-suicide (family annihilation): Brooklyn Park, Maryland. Kelly Brian Thompson, thirty-three, shot and killed his wife, Nina Thompson, thirty-four, and her fifteen-year-old twin children, Taishawn Pugh and Treshawn Pugh. He fatally shot himself when police arrived.
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The following are representative incidents involving Glock handguns that were reported in U.S. news media between May 1, 2011, and April 30, 2012, based on searches of the
Nexis.com
database. Because the news media typically underreport such incidents, the following are anecdotal only and should not be regarded as the complete universe nor as a random sample. Given restrictions on the release of more detailed government data, however, news reports often represent the best available source of examples of the use of guns in America. (This appendix includes some incidents that were reported in the news media during the period of the search but which occurred earlier.)

May 9, 2011—DeBary, Florida. Louis Vasquez, twenty-seven, suspicious of his wife, Linda, twenty-two, tracked her down to his mother's home and shot her to death with a 40 caliber Glock 22 pistol. Vasquez, whose mother described him as a real “Mommy's boy” in a 911 call, then committed suicide with the same gun.
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May 16, 2011—Gilbert, Arizona. The Maricopa County Attorney's office reported that it would not press charges against Matthew Jon Bohls, twenty-three. On April 9, Bohls shot to death Mitchell Shane Fickes, fifty-six, after an apparent incident of road rage. Bohls told Gilbert police that Fickes got out of his vehicle and threatened him with a 45 caliber Glock handgun. Bohls leaned out of his pickup with his own 9mm Glock pistol, fired, and inflicted fatal wounds on Fickes.
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June 13, 2011—Marysville, California. Devin Brendan Parker and Anthony Andrew Oliver were sentenced after pleading guilty to shooting at a car in a gang-related incident on March 9. The judge ordered that the Glock 10mm pistol used in the shooting be destroyed.
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June 16, 2011—New Bern, North Carolina. Stan Dale Williams was sentenced to a maximum of twenty-eight years in prison after pleading guilty to the murder of nineteen-year-old Cameron Jamar Gatling in February 2009. Williams shot Gatling with a Glock handgun in a nightclub parking lot after an incident inside the club.
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June 28, 2011—Volusia County, Florida. Marcus White, twenty, was arrested and charged with manslaughter after authorities determined that he had lied to them about the circumstances of his unintentional fatal shooting with a 40 caliber Glock pistol of his sleeping father, Douglas White, fifty, on June 7.
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July 1, 2011—Miami, Florida. Manuel A. Guarch, twenty-six, a Florida assistant state attorney, discharged his Glock handgun three times inside the parking garage of his condominium building after a night of drinking. Guarch later resigned his post, and his girlfriend, also an assistant state attorney, was demoted for her involvement.
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July 5, 2011—Plantation, Florida. Joseph Santy, a Plantation police officer, was off duty, cleaning his police-issued Glock 9mm pistol at his home while listening to his iPod. According to an internal investigation, he “apparently became distracted and failed to remove a round of ammunition from the chamber of the firearm.” He pulled the trigger, and shot himself in the abdomen. He survived the shooting and was ordered to undergo further gun training.
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July 13, 2011—Dixon, Missouri. Gary Ball, thirty, shot Theron Parlin, thirty-two, seventeen times in the face—emptying a high-capacity magazine—before reloading his 9mm Glock pistol and turning the gun on himself. The incident apparently involved a domestic dispute.
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August 1, 2011—Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Jeffrey Rogers, fifty-eight, a former Bethlehem police officer, filed a lawsuit contending that he was discriminated against when he was suspended and forced to retire on disability after improperly discharging his handgun. According to court papers filed by Rogers, he became woozy while in the police headquarters bathroom on December 31, 2010. His 40 caliber Glock pistol was discharged into the ceiling. In explaining why he failed to report the incident until later in the day, Rogers said that he was disoriented and deafened.
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