Woman digging through purse at Walmart accidentally fires gun, Massachusetts cops say
A woman digging through her purse at Walmart accidentally fired her gun, Massachusetts police said.
The 31-year-old woman, of Worcester, was in the checkout line of the Northborough store when she said her 9mm handgun went off unintentionally while she was with her toddler on Nov. 15, Northborough police said in a news release provided to McClatchy News.
When officers arrived, the bullet was recovered from the floor and they determined no one was struck from the accidental shooting.
The woman was searching through her purse either for a wallet or apayment method when she said she believed her inhaler caught the gun’s trigger and set it off, Northborough Chief William Lyver told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
He added that her 9-month-old child was present at the time.
The woman voluntarily surrendered her weapon, ammunition, purse and license to carry (LTC) a firearm, police said in the release.
It is legal in the state to carry a firearm with an LTC or a firearm identification card, according to Massachusetts Firearms Laws.
“It was just very poor gun owner skills,” Lyver said.
“The gun was not in the holster which would have more than likely precluded this from happening,” he added. “If the safety had been on, it would have prevented it.”
“Clearly, this incident could have been a lot worse,” Northborough Police Lt. Brian Griffin told NBC Boston.
“The customers that were in there, when they heard the gun go off, they’re thinking panic, ‘What’s going on here?’” Griffin added.
Police said they notified the licensing authority “for purposes of review and possible revocation” of the woman’s handgun.
Additionally, since her child was there, the appropriate state agency was notified.
The woman is facing a charge of discharging a firearm within 500 feet of an occupied building.
Police are adding another charge against the woman of endangering a child, which is a misdemeanor and could result in a potential sentence of up to two and a half years, Lyver said, describing the incident as “totally unnecessary.”
“It didn’t have to happen if the gun owner had actually used some basic common sense gun safety.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 10:37 AM with the headline "Woman digging through purse at Walmart accidentally fires gun, Massachusetts cops say."
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