Alaska:

Seward police say that a bystander was injured when they fatally shot a bear roaming through the town.

Police say that a shotgun round pierced the black bear Thursday night, but ricocheted and hit a bystander in the abdomen.

“I think it went through his ear and maybe out one side of his head. And then, like I say, it ricocheted off something and then hit the bystander,” City Manager Phillip Oates said.

Oates added the person was merely bruise

The bystander was about 125 feet from the bear at the time. Lucky.

Cop’s Gun Goes Off In Squad Car

A Dallas Police Officer faces questioning over an incident that happened in a squad car overnight near Gaston and Abrams in the Lakewood area. The officer apparently called a fellow officer to come pick her up because she said she’d been drinking. During the ride, the officer’s gun went off in the squad car, so more officer were called in. No one was struck by the bullet, and police are now interviewing the officer.

Emphasis Murdoc’s.

This seems unbelievable to me:

A Montana superintendent of schools said his replica black powder muzzleloader accidentally fired off a round while he was showing the weapon to a class.

The superintendent was giving a demonstration with a replica of a Civil War era gun. how on earth do you forget you loaded that sort of thing?

Then there’s this from the story:

The administrator said he dismissed the class after the students calmed down and immediately called the school board and the parents of the students to explain and apologize for the incident.

“None of them were upset with me,” he said of the parents. He said one father laughed until he cried during their phone conversation.

If you call me to tell me that you negligently discharged a firearm in my kid’s class, I’m not going to laugh.

Last month I noted this: Dog steps on shotgun left lying on ground and wounds two hunters in Perthshire, Scotland

Now Uncle notes this: San Carlos Park woman shot when dog knocks gun to floor

Just what are the dogs up to?

Yes, both incidents could have easily been prevented by proper firearms handling. But maybe that’s the new MO for the rebel dogs: wait until the humans leave them an opening.

But if the dogs are rising, then what about this: Pet Dog Fights Cougar to Save Boy

Are there two opposing dog factions? One loyal to humanity and one trying to overthrow it?

Falling Bullet Kills 4-Year-Old Boy

A 4-year-old boy was killed by a falling bullet from celebratory gunfire while attending a New Year’s Eve church service in Decatur…DeKalb police spokesman Jason Gagnon said it appears the bullet came through the church’s roof and struck the child in the head.

Seems incredible but this is obviously tragic. I can’t even begin to imagine.

Police are looking into the incident.

Don’t shoot into the air.

How often can you get shot by a .45-70 and call yourself a lucky guy?

Pictures are a bit, um, rough.

If you have a gun and you aren’t being safe, you’re being dangerous. So cut it out.

I think I found this via Say Uncle. I flagged it a while back to post and am just getting to it now.

West Virginia:

The veteran officer was using a Glock 21 .45 caliber pistol with out of country ammunition at a shooting range outside of Moundsville, [Chief Deputy Kevin] Cecil said.

It’s believed the ammunition was bad, causing the receiver to blow apart in the sergeant’s hand.

Ouch. Link sent by a reader.

Dog steps on shotgun left lying on ground and wounds two hunters in Perthshire, Scotland

Coming Soon: Stupid Warning Labels on Baseball Bats for Stupid People Thanks to Stupid Lawyers and a Stupid Jury

The parents of a boy killed in baseball game win $850,000 because the bat didn’t have a label warning that it could hit baseballs hard.

It doesn’t fit the narrative, so you aren’t going to hear much about it. But Rob has a fancy graph worth checking out.

For what it’s worth, I personally think that it’s as important as ever to remain vigilant about firearms safety. A lot of new shooters are entering the club, and not all of them have had the upbringing that lifetime shooters from families of lifetime shooters have. And even among the lifetime shooters, complacency can bring trouble.