A few years ago, a 17-year-old high school student, working staff member at a shooting club in Yueyang City, Hunan Province, named Du, tragically died due to a gun accident while supervising a customer named Liu. Recently, the Yueyang Tower District Government website in Hunan Province released the investigation report of this incident.
The report mentioned that on July 22, 2023, around 1 p.m., a shooting accident occurred at a shooting sports club in the Yueyang Tower District, resulting in one death. The direct economic loss was over 1.8 million yuan.
On that day around 1 p.m., Liu, Li, and Chen went to the shooting sports club to experience live ammunition shooting. At 1:41 p.m., the security guard Du was instructing Liu on shooting a revolver at target number 3. Du was engaged in a conversation with Liu, and as Liu tried to hear Du’s explanation clearly, he continued to hold the gun in one hand pointing forward, while he took off the ear protection on his ear with the other hand.
During the process of putting the ear protection back on, the revolver slipped out of his hand, rotating naturally 120 degrees backward and upward on its safety chain axis, accidentally firing and hitting Du in the head.
After the incident, Du was taken to Yueyang Central Hospital for treatment. Doctors diagnosed Du with cranial damage due to external injuries, rendering him ineligible for effective surgery. After completing the discharge procedures at around 11 a.m. on July 24, 2023, Du passed away on the same day.
The report concluded that Du’s unprofessional conduct led to the gun slipping and firing when Liu was putting on the ear protection, causing the accident. Moreover, the shooting sports club involved did not strictly adhere to the operational shooting range settings and safety precautions, resulting in the deviation from the specified norms regarding the locking and control angles of the firearms.
Two individuals from the shooting club have been taken into mandatory measures. Li, the legal entity of the shooting club, is suspected of a serious liability accident and is under investigation, currently on bail pending trial. Liu, the participant in the shooting experience, is also under investigation for suspected serious liability accidents and is on bail pending trial.
The incident attracted significant attention at that time. An article in “The Beijing News” at the time stated that gun accidents leading to death are rare in China. Industry insiders in live ammunition shooting believe that this accident was likely caused by human operational errors.
According to shooting coach Li Huaiyi’s speculation, the deceased Du in this accident likely failed to follow safety procedures to check and clear the chamber when there were still bullets inside, and for some unknown reason, the direction of the muzzle changed, resulting in the tragic incident.
Additionally, a shooting coach disclosed that hiring temporary workers to handle firearms is not uncommon in this industry.