12 Oct 99
From my friend in the Philippines:
“Yup, that kind of thing happens here a lot too.
At the last gun show in Manila, folks were required to check their guns in prior to entry. Booths with sandbagged backstops were provided for this purpose. Qualified individuals were on hand to assist visitors in loading and unloading their pistols.
One elderly attendee adamantly refused the help of site personnel and said, ‘This is my gun, and I know it backwards and forwards.’ He then racked the slide of his Browning Hi-Power and, upon the slide reaching battery, the gun discharged. He, of course, had his finger on the trigger and had neglected to remove the magazine before racking the slide. Fortunately, the errant slug was caught in the sandbags and hurt no one. Unfortunately for him, the Chief of the Firearms Branch was standing a short distance away. The man’s license was revoked on the spot!
Shows have been averaging three ADs per event. It became such a problem at the 1998 Show that the mall management asked the firearms check section be moved to the parking lot!”
/John
