Chicago woman suffers lethal gunshot wound while sorting clothes in thrift store

[HarveyDarkey]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by X_Digger (a host of the General Discussion forum).

By David Ferguson
Saturday, March 8, 2014 10:29 EST

Chicago woman died after a gun fell from a pile of clothing she and a coworker were sorting and discharged, striking her in the chest.

According to NBC Chicago, 54-year-old Maria Carmen Dominguez and a fellow employee of the Unique Thrift Shop were sorting through donated items when a .22-caliber pistol fell out of a sock. Dominguez’ coworker reportedly tried to catch the gun before it could strike the floor, but hooked the trigger instead, causing it to fire.

“It’s tragic,” Dominguez’s husband, Victor Campos, said to NBC. “We don’t know what we are going to do.”

“I can’t believe it,” Campos continued. “We have a 17-year-old daughter. She’s in high school, and she doesn’t know what is going on.”

Chicago police and labor officials said are treating the shooting as a workplace accident. No charges have been filed.

[hat-tip to TPM]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/08/chicago-woman-suffers-lethal-gunshot-wound-while-sorting-clothes-in-thrift-store/

[shenmue]

1. Mercy

[PumpkinAle]

2. It really is tragic

and the police and labor officials are treating the shooting as a workplace accident. No charges have been filed.

May be if it was weed they would try to find out the donor.......

http://www.wral.com/bag-of-pot-found-in-pants-donated-to-pa-charity/13416424/

[valerief]

4. Or if the woman was pregnant, they'd make an effort. As it is, she's only a woman, just

another second class citizen in the U.S.

[Niceguy1]

9. it's better for the family

if it's treated as the workplace accident because the benefits to the employee will be better. And Iless hassle for the family to get them

[pnwmom]

11. good point

[former9thward]

15. I would wonder what kind of benefits are going to be got from some small thrift store.

[Niceguy1]

16. state workmanship comp

And their wc insurance carrier...

[former9thward]

17. If they had any.

Yes, I know it is the law but many marginal businesses ignore it.

[Jenoch]

21. It's not "some small thrift store".

It's part of an international chain of thrift stores.

http://www.savers.com/the-savers-thrift-store-legacy.aspx

[valerief]

3. More guns, more gun accidents. Only stands to reason. Sad incident. Appalling lack of regulations

that fosters a culture which produces such an incident.

[etherealtruth]

7. Without doubt

[NM_Birder]

10. If socks were banned, this would not have happened.

[Lizzie Poppet]

22. But the National Sock Association owns Congress!

Rat bastards...

[NM_Birder]

23. National Sock Association.........

N.S.A. ........... coincidence ? I think not.

[passiveporcupine]

12. I'm not sure anything could have prevented this from happening

It's possible the gun's owner recently passed away and all his/her clothes were donated to the thrift shop. If it was an older person, I'm not surprised they hid their gun in a sock. And grabbing a whole drawer full of clothes in one swoop, might be enough to not feel the weight of the gun.

I do hope the workplace will help them with this. Working for a thrift shop may not come with benefits, but maybe all businesses have to be insured for work place injuries. I'm not a business owner, so am not sure if that's how it works.

I am no fan of guns, and I'm not trying to excuse anything here. I just see this as most likely just being a total accident all the way around.

[Crunchy Frog]

14. A culture in which there is little to no accountability

And few repercussions except for the unfortunates who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[rocktivity]

5. You don't get rid of a gun by donating it to charity (accidentally or otherwise)

The least the cops can do is run a trace on the weapon -- it may have been used in a crime, and I think it's a safe bet that its owner didn't intend to get rid of it that way. Surely a voluntary manslaughter charge is in order.


rocktivity

[rdharma]

6. “I can’t believe it,”

I can't believe it either. Literally.

[geckosfeet]

8. Tragic. For future reference though.

When a gun is dropped, DO NOT try to catch it. Let it fall.

Sadly it is possible these folks did not even realize what it was until it was too late.

[Crunchy Frog]

13. An "accident". "No charges filed".

Guns don't kill people, do they. I guess this woman was shot and killed by God.

No crime was committed. A legal an responsible gun owner simply left a loaded firearm in a pile of clothing donated to a thrift shop. Obviously no malfeasance there worthy of going after. Some unfortunate soul has lost his gun, but he or she surely has plenty more, or can always get a new one.

Another human sacrifice has been made to the god of gun freedom. I hope you all think it's worth it.

[obxhead]

18. A gift from a responsible gun owner.

[Aristus]

19. Which law-abiding gun owner dropped a loaded piece off with the donated items?

When the NRA says they want guns everywhere, they sure aren't kidding.

[Electric Monk]

20. If only she had been carrying her own gun too, she could have defended herself

Yes, I know how stupid that is. That's why I repeated the NRA talking point here.