You’re Responsible for Every Round you Fire

On the weekly Concealed Carry Podcast, we cover defensive gun use stories about once a month. Sometimes we include stories of things you should not do. Occasionally, these stories involve people who use guns to defend themselves, and one of more of the fired rounds misses the threat. The fired bullets go somewhere, sometimes striking a person.

I recently came across this story from Texarkana, Texas, in which a stray bullet struck an 18-year-old boy who was playing in a college baseball game.

Here is what the police say happened.

Texas College Baseball Player Struck by Stray Bullet During Game—

On April 29th around 5:30PM, they received 911 calls about “some type of altercation” taking place on Lynda Street, which resulted in gunshots being fired.

At the same time, the police also received 911 calls from people at George Dobson Field at Spring Lake Park, regarding a baseball player who appeared to have a gunshot wound to his chest.

Lynda Street is in a neighborhood just west of George Dobson Field at Spring Lake Park, so the police suspected a possible connection between the incidents.

Paramedics took the young, 18-year-old player to the hospital where he underwent emergency surgery and is in stable condition.

The Police say the altercation on Lynda street escalated, and someone fired a gun. “One of those errant rounds traveled about 400 yards and struck the innocent victim at the ball field.”

Police made several arrests on Lydia Street and identified others who they believed were involved in the shooting incident.

Lessons Learned—

Now I understand this incident doesn’t appear to involve the legal use of a firearm, but I don’t think that matters. Because the point I’m trying to make is that regardless of or reason, we need to consider the importance of accuracy when shooting, especially in a highly populated area. I’m not saying you shouldn’t use a firearm to defend yourself in a populated area, just that it must be something you factor into your decision-making process.

If accuracy is important, it is prudent for someone carrying a firearm to work to become as accurate with their firearm as possible. Because every incident is different, it’s impossible to predict what level of accuracy is necessary in every situation. But a good rule of thumb is you can’t ever be too accurate. So someone who carries a gun should desire competency.

Here is a post that explains some of the skills I think every concealed carrier should work at, as well as some standards you can use for help to determine your skill set.

Additionally, this story is an example of how unpredictable the world is. We can’t predict the day we’ll have to use our firearm in self defense. Similarly, we can’t predict when we may need to intervene in a medical emergency.

Do you have any training on how to stop major bleeding from a traumatic injury? If not, why not? Here is a great online course you can access today.

If you have the skills, do you have the gear? Is it accessible? If your plan is to improvise, you’re simply not prepared and someone may die. Belts as tourniquets, cellophane from a cigarette pack for a chest seal is great if that’s the only thing you have, but the failure rate is really high. You know what is even better? An actual TQ or chest seal.

Mountain Man Medical trauma kits include the necessary gear and are affordable.

Guardian Nation—

If you like online classes, consider checking out Guardian Nation. In addition to other perks, a membership to Guardian Nation gives you access to hundreds of hours of diverse self-defensive training.