Registered Gun Dealer to Plead Insanity in Fatal Bar Shooting

63-year-old Frank Hvizdak of Glenbeulah, Wisconsin plans to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect in the shooting death of Jason TenPas. Hvizdak, who has no prior criminal record, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide for allegedly firing four shots into TenPas during an argument at a bar in Sheboygan Falls. Witnesses say that Hvizdak and TenPas got into an argument. TenPas stood up and made a sweeping motion with his hand as if to push something away. At that point Hvizdak pulled out a small silver handgun and fired three times. TenPas fell to the floor and Hvizdak then fired a fourth shot into TenPas' head as he lay on the ground.
At the time of the shooting Hvizdak was a licensed federal firearms dealer. The trial is set for September.

Man indited for shooting 12-year-old boy calls it a "tragic accident"

56-year-old Michael Bishop said he was awakened from a deep sleep thinking someone was breaking into his house. So he grabbed his shotgun and stepped out onto his porch and just before 9 pm fired a shot at a group of young boys who were running away. 12-year-old Jacob Eberle was struck in the back.
Police said the boys were playing a game known as "Ding-Dong-Ditch", ringing doorbells and then running away, when the shooting occurred. Bishop's attorney told the court, "I don't believe Mr. Bishop intended to hurt anyone," and added, "He's going through a very difficult time right now, as is the boy's family." He also noted that Bishop was a law abiding citizen with no criminal record "We're talking about a man in his mid-50s who has never even had a speeding ticket in his entire life. And...this snapshot he's been arrested and charged with attempted murder."
But Jacob's uncle sees things differently. "This wasn't an accidental firing at Jacob," he told reporters, "We believe he was aimed at under the circumstances. The medical evaluation shows he has 92 pellets in his back alone and the shotgun was loaded with 200 pellets."
Bishop has been indited on charges of first-degree assault, first-degree wanton endangerment and tampering with physical evidence.

Quiet husband shoots wife as kids watch, then turns gun on himself

32-year-old Nathaniel Gordon of Winslow, Maine shot and killed his wife Sarah as their two children, an 8-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter watched. Neighbors said they never heard of saw any hint of trouble at the Gordon's home. And police report that while some family members said the Gordons argued often no paperwork was found indicating a divorce or separation and they had never been called to the home for a domestic violence dispute.
Nathaniel was a law abiding citizen with no criminal history. He was a warrant officer with the Maine Army National Guard and had served a tour of duty in Iraq. But a cousin said she noticed a change in Nathaniel when he returned from Iraq. "He went to war, and came back, and he was a little different, a little standoffish."
After shooting and killing his wife, Nathaniel lead police on a car chase that ended when spike mats were laid down that deflated at least one of the car's tires. Nathaniel then fired at least two shots inside his car before shooting and killing himself. The moving car struck the guardrail along the median where it came to a stop.

Lawmaker faces gun charges

State representative Frederick Wintle, from Garland, Maine was arrested after allegedly pointing a handgun at a man at point-blank range in a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot in Waterville, Maine. The 58-year-old Republican legislator is charged with felony criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.
Police reports indicate that Wintle approached a man in the parking lot and starting talking about an infant who had recently died and how he was looking for the mother's drug dealer. Wintle then pulled a .22-caliber handgun out of his pants and pointed it at the man. "I did not engage him in any way," said the victim, "All I knew was there was a loaded gun pointed at me from a couple feet away, pointed right at my midsection."
Wintle is a law abiding citizen with no criminal record. Since this incident occurred Wintle has been barred from entering the State House and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Maine man facing gun charges

In December, 2010 Michael DeMaria's, 43 of Parkman, Maine, wife obtained a restraining order against her husband after the two had an argument and a relative told her DeMaria had threatened to kill her and their son. DeMaria was ordered to turn over his firearms to police.
DeMaria agreed to show police where his guns were and consented to a search of his home. During the search police seized a loaded 12-gauge shotgun, four loaded handguns, thousands of rounds of ammunition, miscellaneous gun barrels, an improvised explosive device resembling an M-80, eight "grenade Fuzes," and a training hand grenade housing. DeMaria told police he had sold his other guns, including his AR-15s, but had no receipts nor names of the people he sold the guns to.
In a subsequent search of the house police discovered two guns in wall safes hidden in a bathroom. DeMaria was arrested for violation of the protection from abuse order and for failure to turn over the firearms.
Relatives told police DeMaria was obsessed with training to fight against the government, that he would rather die than give up his guns, and that he carried a gun on him at all times and even slept with a gun. It was also reported to police that DeMaria said he had buried "go bags" in strategic locations on his property containing firearms, food, and other equipment he might need to fight the government if they came to get him.
Until his arrest for violating the protection from abuse order, DeMaria had no criminal history.
DeMaria was arrested again on Tuesday when he went to attend a divorce hearing in Dover-Foxcroft District Court. The FBI supervisor said DeMaria was arrested based on a court-authorized warrant but decline to elaborate. Prosecutors have asked that DeMaria be held without bail because he poses a danger to the community and is a flight risk, among other reasons.

Man charged with reckless discharge over iPad sale gone bad

30-year-old Jesse Jay Cherrier of Cottage Grove, Minnesota had listed four iPads for sale on the Internet. He met a man who wanted to buy one of the iPads in the parking lot of a gas station around 11 o'clock at night in West St. Paul. The man took the iPad and ran away without paying for it. Cherrier chased him, but couldn't catch him so got into his SUV and tried to catch the man, shooting a gun in his direction.
Cherrier is a law abiding citizen and has a concealed weapons permit for the gun. He has been arrested and charged with reckless discharge of a firearm in a city. He was released after posting $5,000 bail.

Coroner confirms all three young children died from a single gunshot to the head

31-year-old Alan Atwater of Oak Harbor, Ohio called 911 telling them, "There's been a terrible accident at my house. My wife and three children are dead. Gunshot wound, and I'm getting ready to kill myself right now." Before hanging up, Atwater admitted that he was the one who had shot the four people. The police arrived minutes later, but Atwater had already turned a gun on himself.
Atwater, a law abiding citizen, with no criminal history shot his 30-year-old wife, Dawn and their three children, Ashley, age 4, Isaac, age 2, and Brady, age 1, once each in the head. Their bodies, along with that of Atwater, were found in the upstairs bedroom. Autopsies confirm that both a shotgun and a .22-caliber rifle were used.
"I can't believe this happened," said Atwater's grandmother, "We don't know what went on. He said they had marital problems, but we all have marital problems."

Man sentenced to three months in jail for snow rage incident

26-year-old Eddie Lee Simmons "snapped" when he looked out his Bensalem, Pennsylvania window last January and saw a snowblower operator burying his car under a pile of snow. Simmons, a law abiding citizen who had excelled at college and had no criminal record, had just moved from North Carolina and parked his car late the night before in a tow-away zone, making snow removal difficult. When he saw his car being covered with snow, he grabbed a handgun, ran outside and pointed it at the snowblower operator saying, "Somebody had better move this snow, or somebody's going to get shot."
Simmons recently pleaded guilty to eight misdemeanors, including simple assault, terroristic threats, possession of an instrument of crime and carrying a firearm without a license. He told the judge he was "very embarrassed and ashamed."

Highly intoxicated man arrested after firing shots at State Police

47-year-old Mark Markarian, of Somerset Township, Michigan, is in custody after a standoff with State Police. Police were called to Markarian's home on a report of a suicidal subject. Markarian fired three shots from inside the house and threatened to shoot any police who came near. During the standoff that followed Markarian fired three more shots before the Michigan State Police Emergency Support Team was able to convince him to come out of his house.
Police described Markarian as "highly intoxicated." He was taken into custody and charged with felonious assault, reckless discharge of firearm and possession of firearm while intoxicated. Because Markarian is a law abiding citizen with no prior criminal record bail was set at $5,000 with 10 percent allowed.
Police seized several firearms, ammunition and a knife from Markarian's home.

NRA member arrested for loaded handgun on school property

According to J.J. Burns of King City, California, "All of them [NRA members] have a guiding principle of being law-abiding citizens and believe our constitution is the law of the land. NRA members obey all the laws that regulate the use and ownership of guns; criminals don't."

NRA members like 47-year-old Christian Zaccagni of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Zaccagni is a student at Luzerne County Community College. On Monday he gave a Power Point presentation in one of his classes urging students to lobby against gun control and to join the NRA. On Tuesday, Zaccagni was arrested and charged with possessing a weapon on school property and with carrying a concealed weapon without a license.
An anatomy teacher had called campus security after Zaccagni displayed erratic behavior in the classroom. The teacher was alarmed when Zaccagni was using a scalpel to make gestures to his throat. Campus security discovered a loaded handgun in Zaccagni's coat pocket. And even though Zaccagni claimed he has been around firearms for most of his life he admitted he did not have a permit to carry the weapon.
"The permit application is sitting on my China cabinet at home," Zaccagni said. He told reporters he "forgot" he had the loaded gun in his pocket. "I'm very sorry. I'm going to get expelled," he said.