UPDATE: Police response for gunfire reported as accidental

| Delridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

2:32 AM: Police are heading to an apartment building in the 7700 block of Delridge Way SW, after what was called in as “accidental” gunfire. According to the dispatch, the caller – who was described as having a concealed-pistol license – reported they dropped their gun and it fired. A resident in the apartment below theirs, meantime, reported hearing gunfire and then finding “a bullet in their ceiling.” No injuries reported, so far.

ADDED 2:25 PM: We just obtained the report narrative and are pasting it verbatim (names redacted by SPD). Note that it says the gun “fell” rather than “was dropped”:

The following call is recorded on the MDT:

1 MIN AGO, RP SAYS THEIR WPN ACCIDENTALLY DISCHARGED WHEN IT FELL, NO INJ IN UNIT, RP UNSURE IF ANYONE OUTSIDE OF UNIT WAS INJ

I arrived at 7XXX Delridge Way SW, Apt XXX, where I spoke with the reporting party and owner of the discharged firearm, identified as XXXX. According to XXXX, he had just returned home from work and placed his firearm, a XXXX (XXXX), on the side of the bed while retrieving a case for it from the closet. XXXX stated that the firearm fell off the bed and discharged into the ground.

I observed where the bullet penetrated the rug and the floor. Pictures were taken and uploaded as evidence. Responding officers spoke with the downstairs neighbors, identified as XXXX, who live directly below XXXX.

XXXX heard the firearm discharge and reported that the bullet came through her roof into one of her unoccupied rooms. The bullet struck a dresser and came to rest at floor level. XXXX lives with XXXX and XXXX, all of whom were home during this incident. No one was injured.

I seized XXXX firearm and entered it into evidence at the Southwest Precinct, along with the spent cartridge.

CarDriver May 16, 2025 (3:34 am)

While we rightfully call for/demand action and accountability for criminals who use guns to commit crimes shouldn’t we also call out legal gun owners who mishandle their weapon? Here in the real world you or a family member are not less dead or injured if it was a bullet from a legal gun owner.

Lauren May 16, 2025 (5:38 pm)

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Agreed. This should be grounds for confiscating the weapon.

Rhonda May 16, 2025 (3:58 am)

Modern pistols built in the past 40 years don’t fire when dropped. This was irresponsible gun handling.

BanUmDanO May 16, 2025 (3:11 pm)

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You betcha!
A spin on the tired falsehood,
“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”

But modern pistols do fire unintentionally even under supervision of the most experienced gun experts.

“The Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC) has banned the SIG Sauer P320 from all training facilities in the state due to safety concerns, including reports of unintentional discharges. This ban affects all police recruits and officers in Washington, including those in Seattle.”
Daniel May 16, 2025 (4:22 pm)

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I tend to agree. The majority of “I dropped it and it went off” cases in the last couple decades are imo just cover up for a negligent discharge. It probably does not help that e.g. Glock requires pulling the trigger to disassemble for cleaning.
Which leads to the next point: if you’re going to carry concealed, you really should be leaving the gun inside the holster (with trigger covered!), taking off the whole holster with the gun still in it, when storing in a safe.
Negligent discharge in an apartment building should absolutely have significant consequences, and today I don’t think it does

Just wondering May 16, 2025 (7:45 am)

I am not a gun person but can they go off when dropped? I know you treat them as if they might be loaded but I thought the trigger had to be pulled.

WSB May 16, 2025 (2:29 pm)

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The report narrative, which I just obtained, says the gun “fell” rather than “was dropped.”
k May 16, 2025 (7:40 pm)

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Some triggers are pretty tight, and others can fire if you breathe on them funny (also known as hair triggers). Some of the variation is specs at manufacture, some are changes that happen over years with use and storage (especially when they are harder to fire). Gunsmiths can actually lighten the trigger on individual weapons to help them fire with less pressure on the trigger. It’s helpful for people who have carpal tunnel, arthritis, or other hand issues that make squeezing the trigger difficult or painful, but still want to be able to shoot. Long answer, but yes it’s possible without any weapon modifications, and there is also a pretty routine thing you can do to triggers for other reasons that makes it more likely too.
- Jethro Marx May 16, 2025 (9:51 pm)
  
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  Are you a real human, k? Are you the same as K? Are you using AI to compose your comments or did this just sound like what one would get by prompting a garble machine to “…say some stuff about triggers going off accidentally; need not make sense.”

lucy May 16, 2025 (8:08 am)

There is no such thing as an “accidental discharge.” Negligent discharge is the proper term.

WSB May 16, 2025 (2:29 pm)

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“Accidental” is the term that the dispatcher and officers used, not mine. Also in the report, the narrative from which I have just added above.

helpermonkey May 16, 2025 (8:09 am)

Wow. Could have killed someone sleeping in the apartment below. Some people just shouldn’t have guns. Wildly irresponsible, completely stupid and completely preventable. I hope he gets his license taken away and kicked out of his apartment. This is why your average joe schmoe shouldn’t be carrying.

Pete May 16, 2025 (9:23 am)

Did this oaf suffer any consequences? Lose his licence? Maybe have to attend a mandatory safety course? Easily could’ve killed someone. Yay, guns!

Matthew May 16, 2025 (10:54 am)

Will the gun owner be charged with reckless endangerment? Can you lose your concealed carry license for this sort of negligence?

Daniel May 16, 2025 (6:26 pm)

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IIRC, there’s no state law on negligent or accidental discharges, and I don’t think there’s one in Seattle either besides the “can’t fire gun in the city” law.
SMC 12A.14.071 covers willful discharge in the city limits as a gross misdemeanor. But I don’t think there’s anything for cases like this.

Sanity Check May 16, 2025 (9:54 pm)

1. What is their place of work and why would they have a gun there?2. You mean the safety was off the entire time they were commuting home from work and walking through apartment bldg?Reckless endangerment seems to be well in order.