A bullet accidentally fired in Chesterton, Indiana, near Gary, passed through two adjoining apartments and narrowly missed a three-year old child. According to a police report, Samuel Duley, a 22-year old, was cleaning his rifle inside the apartment building when it went off.  He had removed the gun’s ammunition clip, but “he must have spaced out” and forgotten to check for a round in the chamber. According to the report, the man apologized and told police “I’m so stupid.”

His neighbor was watching television on her couch when she heard “a pop.”   The bullet had passed through an adjoining wall and into another apartment.  Her three-year old was standing less than 2-1/2 feet from the bullet’s trajectory when the incident occurred.

In Illinois, there is no requirement that guns have a “magazine safety disconnect,” a device that might have prevented the gun from firing with the magazine removed.

Source:

Amy Lavalley, “Chesterton Man, 22, Fired Gun into Adjoining Apartment: Police,” Chicago Tribune, (January 22, 2020).