Gun Fired in Adjacent Room Kills Hotel Guest

[03Lightningrocks]

Hotels bring up an interesting decision when it comes to "pointing your weapon in a safe direction" while loading / clearing / unloading.


It may not be safe to assume the floor or ceiling are "safe directions". We all know the walls aren't "safe". Unless the hotel is concrete construction, the ceilings probably aren't either and unless you're on the ground floor, the floor probably isn't.

What is "safe" then? Toilet, bathtub...???

I am thinking the least of all evils would be an outside wall, preferably the part of the wall with brick or concrete on the outside. Not the window. I will add that I have NEVER had any weapon go off because I was unloading it. (Let's try not to mention the Remington 700 fiasco from years ago. Never happened to me, but it was a problem.)

I agree - and check the area you will be sweeping through the window before proceeding. If there is a kindergarten field trip going on outside let it clear out first. Many bathtubs today are fiberglass, I wouldn't trust it to stop a bullet.

I’ve stayed in a lot of hotel rooms while armed, and never had to perform maintenance there. Just remove the holster with the gun and put it on the nightstand.

I don't carry with a round chambered so I have a habit of clearing weapon before I holster it. Just one of the checks I go through to make sure I know the status of the weapon. It's a pretty low risk operation but I assume some who carry chambered may have a reason to unload / reload in a motel room which could carry higher risk (XDS 45?).

I always carry with a round chambered. I have not removed the round from the chamber of my PM9 since the last time I went to the range. I simply put the gun in the cabinet it sleeps in..loaded. If I had kids in the house I would put it in the lock box or safe in the same manner...loaded. It won't go off unless I pull the trigger. Loading and unloading are actually higher risk than just leaving it loaded.

[Oldgringo]

Why would anyone unload and/or play with their gun in a hotel room? Hotel rooms are for sleeping and such, not gun cleaning.

[WildBill]

Why would anyone unload and/or play with their gun in a hotel room? Hotel rooms are for sleeping and such, not gun cleaning.

Maybe nothing good on the TV.

[Oldgringo]

Why would anyone unload and/or play with their gun in a hotel room? Hotel rooms are for sleeping and such, not gun cleaning.

Maybe nothing good on the TV.

Good point!

[saltydog452]

I don't get the distinction with negligent homicide and manslaughter. Neither, supposedly, is intentional, yet a death occuured for either charge.

salty

[WildBill]

I don't get the distinction with negligent homicide and manslaughter. Neither, supposedly, is intentional, yet a death occuured for either charge.

salty

I don't understand your question. Can you please elaborate?

[iom]

Why would anyone unload and/or play with their gun in a hotel room? Hotel rooms are for sleeping and such, not gun cleaning.

When flying, and taking my edc, I usually end up loading my gun in the hotel room. And subsequently unloading and securing it getting ready to go back to the airport. No playing.

Like others have stated, I look around for the safest place in the room to chamber a round.

[rbwhatever1]

I've cleaned guns in hotel rooms whenever they needed it. Usually from being rain soaked. I keep a Hoppes cleaning kit in my truck and use it whenever I need it. Not hard to clear a firearm pointing at the pillows / mattress or your favorite dog. Only a moron would pull the trigger on a loaded firearm without intending to shoot it. We've all read about them and even seen them in action on YouTube. Morons and Firearms don't mix wherever they are. That's the reason I have never been to any public shooting range nor will I ever.

Be safe out there!

[The Annoyed Man]

I don't carry with a round chambered so I have a habit of clearing weapon before I holster it. Just one of the checks I go through to make sure I know the status of the weapon. It's a pretty low risk operation but I assume some who carry chambered may have a reason to unload / reload in a motel room which could carry higher risk (XDS 45?).

Why load/unload the gun in the first place? Leave it loaded. Handle it accordingly. Then you never have to wonder if it is safe or not.

As I recall, pre-recall XDS pistols did not go off by themselves. They malfunctioned and fired either when the slide was being released into battery, or when the trigger pull yielded more than one round fired. Like any other gun, if you don't fool with it or deliberately fire it, it won't go off. That's why I keep every handgun I own loaded, and rarely ever unload/reload them. . . . . .and certainly not when I'm staying in a hotel room somewhere.

[03Lightningrocks]

I don't carry with a round chambered so I have a habit of clearing weapon before I holster it. Just one of the checks I go through to make sure I know the status of the weapon. It's a pretty low risk operation but I assume some who carry chambered may have a reason to unload / reload in a motel room which could carry higher risk (XDS 45?).

Why load/unload the gun in the first place? Leave it loaded. Handle it accordingly. Then you never have to wonder if it is safe or not.

As I recall, pre-recall XDS pistols did not go off by themselves. They malfunctioned and fired either when the slide was being released into battery, or when the trigger pull yielded more than one round fired. Like any other gun, if you don't fool with it or deliberately fire it, it won't go off. That's why I keep every handgun I own loaded, and rarely ever unload/reload them. . . . . .and certainly not when I'm staying in a hotel room somewhere.

Another reason would be to eliminate confusion if you own more than one gun for carry. leaving them all loaded, I have three I carry at different times depending on dress and occasion, I never have to wonder if a gun is loaded. I flat out know they are.

[RJGold]

I don't carry with a round chambered so I have a habit of clearing weapon before I holster it. Just one of the checks I go through to make sure I know the status of the weapon. It's a pretty low risk operation but I assume some who carry chambered may have a reason to unload / reload in a motel room which could carry higher risk (XDS 45?).

Why load/unload the gun in the first place? Leave it loaded. Handle it accordingly. Then you never have to wonder if it is safe or not.

As I recall, pre-recall XDS pistols did not go off by themselves. They malfunctioned and fired either when the slide was being released into battery, or when the trigger pull yielded more than one round fired. Like any other gun, if you don't fool with it or deliberately fire it, it won't go off. That's why I keep every handgun I own loaded, and rarely ever unload/reload them. . . . . .and certainly not when I'm staying in a hotel room somewhere.

There could be reasons some would load or unload their pistols in a motel room. If they flew to the location, maybe that's the first opportunity they have to load it (of course they'll need to unload it for the return trip). If they rode their motorcylce there and got rained on, it will need a wipe down. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, I'm just saying that anything you do with a pistol in a motel room requires extra care about where you point it. My understanding of the XDS issue was that it could fire as a round was being chambered (I suppose almost any SA weapon could have that malfunction at some point in it's life due to wear or damage). If you never unload your pistol, it's not an issue for you. If you do, it's something to consider.

[jmra]

Why would anyone unload and/or play with their gun in a hotel room? Hotel rooms are for sleeping and such, not gun cleaning.

The family of the woman killed was living at the motel - had been doing so for several weeks and were planning on staying there until they found a place to live. It sounds like this place is a cheap extended stay motel. It may be that the room was not just a motel room for the guy with the gun. It may have been more of a home.

[MotherBear]

Hotels bring up an interesting decision when it comes to "pointing your weapon in a safe direction" while loading / clearing / unloading.


It may not be safe to assume the floor or ceiling are "safe directions". We all know the walls aren't "safe". Unless the hotel is concrete construction, the ceilings probably aren't either and unless you're on the ground floor, the floor probably isn't.

What is "safe" then? Toilet, bathtub...???

I read a blog post on that a while back, on Cornered Cat: http://www.corneredcat.com/safe-direction/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Short version: ideally bring your own backstop (she recommends a specific product), but if that doesn't work, the safe(st) direction is probably the corners of the room along an outside wall, where the support beams come together (she has a picture) so you're more likely to hit solid wood than empty sheetrock. I don't know that it would be a sure thing as a backstop, but it seems like a better starting point than, say, the wall between two rooms.

[n5wd]

...The family of the woman killed was living at the motel - had been doing so for several weeks and were planning on staying there until they found a place to live. It sounds like this place is a cheap extended stay motel. It may be that the room was not just a motel room for the guy with the gun. It may have been more of a home.

Now, it's being said that the family checked in late Monday night, then the woman was shot early Tuesday morning. And I don't think a Microtel is advertised as a long-stay motel. May be used that way by some, but they're more tourist oriented, from what I remember (last time I stayed in one was a few years ago).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -room.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jmra]

...The family of the woman killed was living at the motel - had been doing so for several weeks and were planning on staying there until they found a place to live. It sounds like this place is a cheap extended stay motel. It may be that the room was not just a motel room for the guy with the gun. It may have been more of a home.

Now, it's being said that the family checked in late Monday night, then the woman was shot early Tuesday morning. And I don't think a Microtel is advertised as a long-stay motel. May be used that way by some, but they're more tourist oriented, from what I remember (last time I stayed in one was a few years ago).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -room.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yep, that's a UK website. The original link said this info came from the family:
"The family had been living at the motel for several weeks now; hoping to move into an apartment by Thanksgiving".