Woman shot in the leg at Pennsylvania gun show
A woman was shot in the leg Saturday at a gun show in central Pennsylvania, police say, after a gun accidentally went off during a vendor's demonstration.
The incident took place at the Eagle Arms Gun Show at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds, The Associated Press reports. Vendor Geoffrey Hawk, 44, was running a booth for his company, In Case of Emergency Enterprises. Hawk told police he believed the gun was unloaded when he showed a 25-year-old woman how to use a concealed-carry wallet holster. The woman was hit and treated for a wound to her thigh, and has since been released from a local hospital.
Hawk told police he had gone through 20 different demonstrations before the shooting without incident, and thought that perhaps when he went to conduct background checks someone could have come up to the unattended gun on display and loaded it.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The show's organizer, Joel Koehler, said that his staff checks all guns to make sure they are not loaded before they can enter. There was a large sign on display that said "No Loaded Weapons," and Koehler said it was the first time a shooting had happened at one of his shows.
The Columbia County district attorney's office will soon decide whether or not Hawk will face charges in relation to the shooting.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
2024: The year of conspiracy theories
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Global strife and domestic electoral tensions made this year a bonanza for outlandish worldviews and self-justifying explanations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Five medical breakthroughs of 2024
The Explainer The year's new discoveries for health conditions that affect millions
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Top films coming out in 2025
The Week Recommends Pick up some popcorn and settle in for a cinematic treat
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Titan submersible inquiry reveals safety lessons for the future
In the Spotlight The submersible imploded in June 2023, killing all five people aboard
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published