A spent shell casing is apparently to blame for unleashing a series of actions that culminated in a tragic accident at a gun range in Sarasota, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, when William Brumby, 64, shot and killed Stephen Brumby, 14. It seems Brumby had taken three of his kids on a family outing to the High Noon Guns range, which was once described by a local newspaper as “one of the safest indoor shooting ranges ever designed.” Brumby was with his son Stephen in the last shooting lane against a wall. After firing a round, the spent shell casing struck the wall and somehow went inside Brumby’s shirt.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office describes what happened next:
Brumby then used his right hand, which was holding the handgun, in an attempt to remove the casing. While doing so, he inadvertently pointed the firearm directly behind him and accidently fired. The round struck his 14-year-old son, Stephen.
Stephen was rushed to the hospital, where he died from his injuries. Authorities have not charged Brumby as detectives determined the shooting was accidental after reviewing video footage from inside the range and talking to witnesses. Brumby’s 24-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter were also at the shooting range at the time of the accident and were uninjured.
“No matter how calm you try to stay, there’s no way to wipe the images away from your mind of your little brother bleeding out in your arms,” David Brumby, the older brother who was at the gun range told a local ABC affiliate. According to a GoFundMe campaign that was set up on Monday, Stephen Brumby was the fourth of seven children.
The co-owner of the gun range said all the shop’s safety protocols were working properly when the 14-year-old was killed. “There was a freak breakdown in the personal safety of owning and operating a firearm that never should’ve happened. I’m not trying to blame anybody, won’t place blame on anybody. All I can say is it was a freak thing, and our thoughts are with the family,” said John Buchan, co-owner of High Noon Gun Shop.
