Navy SEAL Accidentally Shoots Himself in Head
A Navy SEAL who thought he was carrying an unloaded gun and accidentally shot himself in the head on Thursday at a San Diego, Ca. home, is currently battling for his life at a local hospital.
Geno Clayton, 22, was playing with his 9mm handgun, which he believed was unloaded, when he pulled the trigger, shooting himself straight in the head.
Authorities initially reported that Clayton had died of his wounds, but San Diego police have said that the recent graduate of the Navy SEAL’s program is on life support.
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The young SEAL was showing off his weapons to a woman he had met at a local bar. The two had been drinking earlier in the evening and the shooting occurred at around 2 a.m. in the Pacific Beach neighborhood of the picturesque Southern California city.
“If you follow basic safety rules, you don’t have accidents. In other words, you don’t point the weapon someplace you don’t intent to shoot it and you always assume it’s loaded,” retired Marine David Miller told 10News.
“On behalf of the entire Naval Special Warfare community, we are deeply saddened by this unfortunate incident and extend both our hearts and prayers to our teammate’s family during this very difficult time,” Commander of Naval Special Warfare Group One, Commodore Collin P. Green said in a statement regarding the incident.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has launched an investigation into the accident.
Accidental shootings have long been a subject of heated debate among Americans continuing to discuss the merits of our current gun laws.
Statistics show that the majority of gun-related deaths are associated with suicide, however, every year hundreds of men, women, and children are killed or wounded by unintentional shootings.
The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control found that 18,610 people were wounded in unintentional shootings during 2009.
