Man Killed When Machine Gun Discharges At Gun Show

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halik

Lifer
Oct 10, 2000
25,696
1
81
Originally posted by: soydios
Originally posted by: biggestmuff

ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.

ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.

Know your target and what is beyond.

an excellent of basic firearm safety
a.k.a.
don't be stupid

poor guy that got shot. and why the hell they didn't check that all the chambers were empty before mucking with the minigun beats me.

qfmft....
 

murphy55d

Lifer
Dec 26, 2000
11,542
5
81
10 minutes from my house, this happened. I didn't know the guy, but this is big news around here. :(
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
Originally posted by: PELarson
Originally posted by: upsciLLion
Originally posted by: ManyBeers
The guy was an expert in firearms. Hard to understand how something like that could happen to somebody with his knowledge of firearms.

He was an auxiliary officer. Not a tactical arms ninja. He probably was told how to write tickets and not shoot himself in the leg.

"Officials said Kurty was proficient in all types of firearms and conducted training for many local police departments." - second to last sentence in the article.

The next question is was he one of the people trying to clear the jam and if so then he doesn't sound as proficient as the article says he was.
you can be an expert firearms but when some retard picks up a gun and points it at you and pulls the trigger, no amount of experience or training is going to save you.

doesn't sound like he was working on it to me. sounds like the military was conducting the mini-gun demonstration and he was a bystander.
 

Felisity

Senior member
Sep 1, 2002
382
0
0
Originally posted by: murphy55d
10 minutes from my house, this happened. I didn't know the guy, but this is big news around here. :(

First non joking thing said in the whole thread so far.

I understand you guys are amused at the story, but that was someone's son, husband, father, brother, friend... etc. Have a little compassion would you? :(

 

Garet Jax

Diamond Member
Feb 21, 2000
6,369
0
71
Originally posted by: FoBoT
<note to self, don't stand in front of mini-gun when barrel is rotated>

<note to self, don't stand in front of mini-gun when barrel is rotated unless FoBoT is in front of me>
 

Mrvile

Lifer
Oct 16, 2004
14,066
1
0
Originally posted by: Kaelyn
Originally posted by: murphy55d
10 minutes from my house, this happened. I didn't know the guy, but this is big news around here. :(

First non joking thing said in the whole thread so far.

I understand you guys are amused at the story, but that was someone's son, husband, father, brother, friend... etc. Have a little compassion would you? :(

What the hell are you even talking about? There were plenty of serious posts in this thread already...
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
ugh. WTF?

why are they messing with it when its pointed at anyone? why is anyone in front of it while messing with it?

after shooting it on the range why didn't they make sure it was safe?


 

PELarson

Platinum Member
Mar 27, 2001
2,289
0
0
Originally posted by: pontifex
Originally posted by: PELarson
Originally posted by: upsciLLion
Originally posted by: ManyBeers
The guy was an expert in firearms. Hard to understand how something like that could happen to somebody with his knowledge of firearms.

He was an auxiliary officer. Not a tactical arms ninja. He probably was told how to write tickets and not shoot himself in the leg.

"Officials said Kurty was proficient in all types of firearms and conducted training for many local police departments." - second to last sentence in the article.

The next question is was he one of the people trying to clear the jam and if so then he doesn't sound as proficient as the article says he was.
you can be an expert firearms but when some retard picks up a gun and points it at you and pulls the trigger, no amount of experience or training is going to save you.

doesn't sound like he was working on it to me. sounds like the military was conducting the mini-gun demonstration and he was a bystander.


"Police said a Gatling mini-gun attached to a Humvee fired a few thousand rounds earlier in the evening before it discharged and released a fatal shot to Kurty's head.

""What appears to have happened is there was some sort of a jam and when they were trying to clear the jam is when the gun actually went off," said Pennsylvania State Police trooper Jeff Petucci."

From my read of the above two sentences from the article. The military or someone did a demo earlier in the evening and then a jam occurred and then the try at clearing and the accidental discharge. Hence my wondering if he was involved in the clearing of the jam or just in the wrong X amount of yards when the weapon discharged.
 
Aug 23, 2000
15,509
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Man, I can't begin to fathom the gruesomeness of that injury.

TallBill,
My understanding of how the Mini gun works is more like a revolver in reverse. The bullet is fired in the chamber and then propelled through the rotating barrel. Just rotating the barrel should cause the system to fire, as the mini guns of now are electric and the firing pin is actually controlled by and electronic servo. Pressing the trigger on it will cause the barrel to begin to spin and once at it's optimal spin rate is when the gun starts striking primers. This is more of an issue of someone had their finger on the trigger and there was still a live round in the chamber.
 

murphy55d

Lifer
Dec 26, 2000
11,542
5
81
This is from the local paper here:
http://www.altoonamirror.com/p.../id/15269.html?nav=742

FRANKSTOWN ? State police continue to investigate how a 36-year-old Hollidaysburg man was shot by a military-style Gatling minigun during a weapons exhibition Wednesday night.

Michael Duncan Kurty died after the Gatling gun, capable of firing thousands of rounds a minute, unintentionally went off at the Hollidaysburg Sportsmens Club, where attendees of a dinner and shoot, sponsored by Duncansville?s East Coast Gun Sales, were gathered.

Blair County Deputy Coroner Jeff Guyer said Kurty, who was shot through the right cheek, died instantly from the military-caliber bullet. The apparently accidental shooting took place in front of more than 100 people.

State police at Hollidaysburg spent Thursday at the scene with agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Army personnel from Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The ATF and Army were called in because of the unusual and complex nature of the electrically powered Gatling gun.

Trooper Matthew McCalpin had no further information about the cause of the shooting.

?We don?t know if the gun went off in error or if his actions caused it or what happened,? McCalpin said after the incident.

Kurty, an auxiliary officer at the Duncansville Police Department, was proficient in a myriad of guns and had performed training sessions for various local law enforcement agencies, including the Blair County Sheriff?s Department.

Sheriff Larry Field described Kurty as a good guy who went out of his way as the area?s law enforcement liaison with East Coast Gun Sales.

?He was just a super, super nice guy,? Field said Thursday, adding that Kurty?s death has been met with disbelief among area departments. Field said Kurty was more than a salesman, often going out of his way to make sure equipment ordered was right once in the hands of local officers and deputies.

Kurty had applied to be a deputy sheriff, a job that paid much less than his private sector job with East Coast. Field said Kurty had been instrumental in getting the shock belts used by the sheriff?s department when transporting prisoners at no charge and often went out of his way to help law enforcement.

?The members of law enforcement have lost a good friend,? Field said. ?He helped the guys whether it was something big or small.?

Kurty is survived by his wife and two children.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Sorge Funeral Home, Hollidaysburg, and friends will be received from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday. A full obituary will appear in Saturday?s Mirror.
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
?We don?t know if the gun went off in error or if his actions caused it or what happened,? McCalpin said after the incident."

that makes it sound like he was working on it or doing something with it.