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Old January 2, 2002, 10:52 AM   #1
Drizzt
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(IN) Shopper's gun discharges in Castleton Square

Shopper's gun discharges in Castleton Square

By Gina Barton

[email protected]

December 24, 2001

A crowd of holiday shoppers was stunned into silence after a .38-caliber handgun went off in the Castleton Square Mall food court about 3:30 p.m. Sunday. So was the gun's owner.

"It scared the hell out of me, because I thought somebody was shooting at us," said Charles Whitacre, whose weapon accidentally discharged.

Whitacre, 43, of Noblesville, said he and his 19-year-old daughter had just finished eating when his holster snagged on the chair and broke. The gun fell out and went off.

Whitacre said he felt the wind from the bullet as it flew past his head. The bullet lodged in the ceiling near Sakkio Japan restaurant, frightening the manager, Bobby Foo.

"Everybody in the whole mall was scared and quiet," Foo said. "It was very lucky nobody got hurt."

A female passer-by was startled when she kicked the weapon, Foo said. Then Whitacre retrieved it.

"He picked his derringer up and went on sauntering down the mall like it happens every day," said Sgt. George Martin of the Marion County Sheriff's Department.

Whitacre, who said he bought the gun for personal protection and is legally licensed, described Sunday's events as "a total accident."

"I just thank God nobody was wounded," he said.

After Whitacre picked up his gun, several officers followed him into a retail space occupied by Bath and Body Works and the White Barn Candle Co. Sheriff's deputies were already on the mall property, directing the busy traffic.

"I saw seven cops running by, and they ran into the store, and a crowd started gathering," said Oscar McClyde, who was working in the Colts Pro Shop kiosk near the candle shop.

"There were still customers in there," said Eric Myles, working in the Brookstone kiosk beside the Colts Pro Shop. "One guy was standing there looking at the candles. He was totally unfazed."

Whitacre said he got the permit 10 years ago, when he owned a restaurant. He now is a contractor. Deputies handcuffed Whitacre temporarily inside the store but released him after they discovered his permit.

The two stores were closed for 20 to 30 minutes after the incident, and mall security was stationed outside for about an hour.

"It really put a damper on our shopping," Whitacre said.

Whitacre's weapon and permit were temporarily confiscated, Martin said. They will be sent to the State Police for a hearing to determine whether Whitacre may continue to carry a weapon legally. Officers determined there was no reckless action or criminal intent, and the incident likely will not result in criminal charges.

Whitacre left the mall after his encounter with police and said he planned to finish his shopping today. "I think I'll be unarmed this time," he said.

Mall manager Michael D. Williams said Sunday's incident was "completely different" from a shooting that occurred at Castleton Square last month. On Nov. 30, James Barnett, 54, of Fishers shot himself at Galyan's Trading Co. with a store-owned gun, using a shell he had smuggled in. The store closed for the day while grief counselors met with employees who witnessed the suicide.

http://www.starnews.com/article.php?mall24.html
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Old January 2, 2002, 11:44 AM   #2
AugustWest
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Quote:
Officers determined there was no reckless action ...
Yah, an ND because we're not paying attention to where our gun is a true sign of caution and deliberation.
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Old January 2, 2002, 05:20 PM   #3
KSFreeman
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Someone PLEASE tell me why people carry those horrific little derringers. For some reason the GSCs all flock to them and the gunshops can't keep them in stock.
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Old January 2, 2002, 07:02 PM   #4
Jeff White
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People buy those little derringers cause they are cheap. I helped run a gunshop arounde here for awhile, and the big sellers were Jennings and Loricin autos and those little Davis derringers.

The same guy who would come in and order a nice Beretta shotgun would buy a Jennings .22 to keep on the night table for protection.

I'd be interested to see if the weapon wa defective or if he was carrying it with the hammer cocked or just what. Not enough details to judge what really happened.

I have a friend, full time officer on the department I work for had a truly accidental discharge with a SW 39 many years ago. He was carrying it in a pancake type holster with a thumb break strap over the hammer and when he bent over to pick something up, it fired. Forunately the holster was worn in a way that kept his backside from getting nicked, but the bullet hit the ground about 6 inches from my foot .

The bad thing is that very rare mechanical failure or not, the antis will use this to bash CCW.

Jeff
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Old January 2, 2002, 07:34 PM   #5
Thairlar
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Or at the very least it will make them bleat for Massachusetts style drop tests on everything.

If you carry, you need to be aware of things that your gun could snag on. If something happens to cause it to discharge, you're responsible. Luckily nobody was hurt, but if someone was, well I don't know about anyone else but I was taught that if your gun fires, you own that bullet.
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Old January 2, 2002, 08:35 PM   #6
KSFreeman
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Jeff, I sold a lot of Lorcins, Sundance and derringers when I sold guns in undergrad. We called them "Kalifornia Z guns", zinc, hence the Z. I do not understand why someone would trust their lives to $50.00.

This isn't the first time some GSC's Z gun has went haywire here. Remember Billy Martin? About ten years ago he was in a bar in Indianapolis when some GSC's Z gun got loud. The bullet missed his leg by a couple of feet. I think he was quoted as saying he couldn't wait to get back to NYC where things were safer. Well, at least in NYC if they shoot at you, you know they mean it.
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Old January 2, 2002, 10:19 PM   #7
Indy_SIG
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I live 5 minutes away from Castleton Square Mall. It is located in an affluent area on the Northside of Indianapolis and is the State's busiest and largest shopping mall. The food court described in the ad is very large and is almost always packed with people. As with any mall, it was undoubtedly packed with holiday shoppers when this idiot's gun discharged. It's statistically a miracle no one was hit.

I'm not much for "oops, sorry, didn't mean to do it" whiners. You have an accidental discharge...you lose your license. Period. No possible exceptions. Under Indiana law, he doesn't have to be charged with anything and he doesn't have to lose his license.

I couldn't disagree more.
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Old January 3, 2002, 01:30 AM   #8
croyance
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Assuming the guy could afford to live in this expensive neighborhood, it was irresponsible to buy something without a drop or transfer bar safety. I can certainly understand why somebody without the means would go with a less desirable model.
This is especially true when you will carry in public. His reaction seems difficult to justify to me. It shows a lack of contrition or remorse.
Thumbs down, pull his liscense.
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Old January 3, 2002, 10:53 AM   #9
KSFreeman
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Wow, getting tough there Indy SIG. Accident can imply a lack of liability. Punish someone even though they have no fault?

Pull his license for carrying a crappy pistol and a POS nylon holster? When I suggest carrying quality gear and getting an education, I'm denounced as a snob. Don't know how far that will get. People get upset when you even hint at elitism.

Besides, such a zero tolerance would get a lot of cops fired. A lot of cops' gun "accidently" go off. IPD offices have plenty of holes in ceilings. My favorite was 10-11 years ago when an IPD cop claimed a 9mm round fell to the floor and "went off." The bullet lodged in the ceiling (thank goodness).
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Old January 3, 2002, 11:04 AM   #10
USP45
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Its not price. People carry the derringers because they see folks like Gene Hackman using them in the movies ("Quick and the Dead").

Foolish.

~USP
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