Students find loaded gun on floor of Tillamook movie theater
TILLAMOOK, Ore. - A loaded gun was found in a Tillamook movie theater by a couple of junior high school students who were there to see the new 'Hobbit' movie as part of a class trip.
They found the gun, an older Beretta 9 millimeter, Wednesday morning at the Coliseum Theater. The firearm had one bullet in the chamber and the safety was off.
One of the students who found the weapon informed an adult who was with the class and police were called to the theater.
"I was pretty scared," said Kolten McKinney, one of the kids who found the gun. "It could have been a concealed weapon that was dropped or it could have been from a crime scene."
"It was in the seat and when he sat down it fell out," said Levi Crabtree, another student. "It was pointed toward his and mine ankle."
Once officers removed the gun and searched the theater, the students were allowed back inside so they could finish watching the film. Some law enforcement officers did remain in the theater during the movie as a precaution.
Several hours after the incident, the gun's owner did come forward. He returned to the theater to try to pick up the weapon but ran into Tillamook's police chief, who was not happy about the situation.
It turned out that the gun owner does have a license to carry a concealed weapon but he could still face charges of reckless endangerment.
What? a CWP holder? We should outlaw CWPs!
Â
Same logic applies to the idiot analogy about drunk driving....there are ALWAYS exceptions to the rules.
I agree with his c.w.p. being revoked, and a negligence charge, He did'nt show the responsibility or respect a gun owner should display.  It is unfortunate of the past weks events, Its also unfortunate that "guns" are getting a bad name. You never hear of knfe control, they are right up there with firearms. I am a vet, and in my experience, We all have in our own homes, products of death. Its up to all of us to be responsible in how we use them. Place the responsibility where it belongs, Its not the fault of N.R.A. (they shut down comm lines due to wrongful blame), nor is it the fault of every weapons owner in America. God bless, and hold dear all who have been effected with thie past weeks events, and God bless those of us who choose responsibility and respect
 @ghost rider Exactly - there was the guy who stabbed a bunch of kids over in China. If a person wants to hurt a lot of people and guns are banned, either they go get an illegal gun or they find another way (knives, swords, bomb, etc.). If you're going to kill people, you don't care about a smaller felony for gun possession.Â
Â
I don't blame all weapons owners in the U.S., although some need to look at themselves and see if they are indeed being responsible. Are their guns secured? Or can a friend steal it and go shoot up a mall? I also think the NRA should look at themselves and see what they can do. I think it's going to take all of us to change to a conversation of being responsible gun owners and what that means. Does it mean that certain guns are only for police and military? Does it mean keeping guns secured so they can't be stolen? Does it mean ensuring those who are mentally unstable can't use loopholes in background check laws? It's a conversation we badly need to have. We have to stop pointing the finger at each other and instead come together and have a conversation and take action.
 @Jenni S.  @ghost rider How many times are people going to mention the China incident? That incident reflects the problem facing our country. No one died in the incident in China because knives are far less lethal than firearms. The ready availability of guns (i.e., if you can't buy one legally, just buy from a gun show or steal from someone you know) instantly escalates the seriousness of situations, compared to the same situation without guns.Â
Â
Crazy person in China wants to wreak havoc? The most dangerous, readily available weapon is a knife.
In the US it's a rifle capable of shooting dozens of rounds per minute of high velocity bullets that can shoot 30 rounds without reloading, and can be reloaded in seconds.Â
Â
Guy in Switzerland gets in a bar fight with someone? A fistfight ensues, because the firearm issued by the state is kept in a secure armory.
In the US, it turns into a gun battle. Â
Â
Road rage in Japan? Lots of honking, in rare cases someone might get their car beat up with a baseball bat. Road rage in US? Gunshots. Â
Â
Domestic dispute in England? Pots and pans thrown, maybe some defensive knife wounds.Domestic dispute in the US? Angry husband offs his entire family.
Â
Workplace dispute? ...You get the picture. Â
Â
Our gun death rates are 50 times higher than gun deaths in other industrialized, culturally very similar to us but with less guns.
Â
I would hope that we all agree that guns are at least a part of the problem in this country. The question is what should we do about it. Â
 @KH  @Jenni S.  @ghost rider There have been 7 knife attacks at Chinese schools in the last 2 years.  90 injured, 21 dead.
Â
So yes, knife attacks can result in quite a few fatalities, and the injuries tend to be very horrific.
Â
So there is a good reason to keep mentioning this story. Â It adds credence to the argument that a crazy person will find a weapons and seek to inflict maximum pain on innocents for the sake of headlines. No scary black rifle available? Â Hunting rifle will do. Â No rifle? Knife, gasoline, explosives...
Â
If the Aurora shooter hadn't had access to a rifle, chance are he would have blown up the theatre and killed far more people. Â Look at what he did to his apartment. Â It took SWAT/EOD 2 days to disable and clear the explosive traps, which they described as "sophisticated".
@KH @Jenni S. @ghost rider Good gracious your an idiot. Are all car owners setting off car bombs? Do you really think outlawing guns will change anything? Do you not think that if someone wanted to commit a heinous crime they would need a gun? What if the teachers had CCLs? Do you think it would be different? Honest law abiding citizens armed are the answer. Do you think the police or military will actually protect you in civil unrest? The issue is mental health. The issue with you is lack of education.
 @ghost rider Does it seem to you that there are a lot of gun stories in the news for the past few days?
@Jim330rifle ......yup. The media is establishing its agenda.
In his safety classes was there any mention of dropping a loaded weapon? Maybe he missed that class !
His concealed weapon permit is revoked with a stiff fine for gross negligence. And that's just for starters.
Well, CNN is carrying the story now. National news. Reporting that they're "still trying to find the owner, and contacting the District Attorney for possible charges" So they're not up on current events and nothing bad happened, but, they had to carry that story anyway.
Â
No coverage of the off-duty cop who shot the assailant in the San Antonio mall on Sunday, though.
 @Playanekes It's unlikely that the national news stations are going to pick up every time a police officer (or someone else) shoots an assailant who is trying to harm/kill others. It happens so often that the news would be nothing but that. Local news will cover it, though, and everyone there will know what a hero he is. Mass shootings, on the other hand, are still thankfully rare and therefore will get national coverage.
Â
I'd expect the only reason this story made national news is because of recent mall/theater shootings and discussions about people carrying weapons in those locations.Â
 @Playanekes The Communist News Network!
 @Playanekes NBC carried it: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50222747/ns/local_news-dallas_fort_worth_tx/t/officer-shoots-man-who-opened-fire-movie-theater/#.UNNMT28X9-4
This could have been a lot worse. I feel like people are condemning this guy as though he went to kill people with it. He came forward and took responsibility for it. He should probably lose his concealed weapons permit, but like a few others said, not the right to lose guns.
@Sarbar ......he already lost the right to a gun when he actually lost the gun.
@Sarbar "He should probably lose his concealed weapons permit, but like a few others said, not the right to lose guns."
Â
Â
Love it! Not the right to lose guns.  Uh???
Of course, for most law-abiding people, shame is a pretty powerful punishment. Criminal charges would not provide any further deterrent.
Criminal charges in this case would not serve as a deterrent...they would however serve as a punishment. A rightful punishment for negligence.
He should lose his CHL for a few years - but not his right to own guns. Stupid, but not criminal. He was complying with the law and took responsibility for his error. He even tried to call the theater as soon as he realized it.
Â
What about holding the theater responsible for 1) Not finding it during cleaning, and 2) not answering the phone.
 @Conspirator I would hope that it is criminal negligence to leave a loaded weapon in a movie theatre.Â
 @Conspirator From what I've heard, the gun was in the seat. Employees don't fold down every seat and clean them unless there is something obvious there (like when people leave trash in a seat). And I've found that they rarely answer the phone at the theater. Most have cut back staff so severely that they rarely have enough people to do the basic necessary tasks to sell tickets and food, show the movie, and clean up afterwards.
Could this situation have had tragic consequences? Â Absolutely. Â Should Mr. Quackenbush been more careful with his gun? Â Probably. Â I see a lot of posts condemning Mr. Quackenbush. Â I won't be as hard on him as others simply because I don't know if his gun was in a holster, etc., or exactly how it fell into the seat. Â It's not like nothing has ever dropped out of one of my pockets, etc., without me noticing.
Â
Don't get me wrong - someone carrying a weapon NEEDS to be aware and SHOULD notice if their gun falls drops out of the holster, etc.
 @theprodigal The standards need to be higher for people with lethal weapons in their pockets.Â
 @theprodigal On the radio this morning they said it was in a holster.Â
@Jenni S. Thanks, Jenni.
Well that dumb-a** deserves to lose his CHL. Way to give the anti-gunners more "ammo", jerk.
Â
Per The Oregonian. "On Wednesday evening, Gary Quackenbush, 61, turned up at the theater seeking his missing gun, "like it would be in the lost and found with lost eyeglasses and other things," said Long. "He has a concealed handgun license," Long said. "That will be revoked tonight. The law says if you are a danger to yourself or the public, it can be revoked." Glad he's losing the CHL.
 @oh4FS I can't believe he said "like it would be in the lost and found." :-)
 @oh4FS Opps, I dropped my loaded gun.
Just a sad state we are all in right now.
As far as I am concerned this guy lost his privilege to own or carry a firearm.  He should be prosecuted for child endangerment.  As a gun owner, I can't even imagine the lack of care and responsibility it takes to lose track of your firearm and not be aware of it.  Absolutely unacceptable.Â
This tells you how clean they keep our theater! Â Perhaps the staff that was "sweeping" up the crap from the night before should have found this gun. Â Also...I don't think the man who left it behind is a "responsible" man with a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Â
 @ted It may have fallen into the seat and then down onto the floor later in the night. They sweep the floors, but they don't push down every seat to see if there is anything in the seat unless it is something obvious (like a box of popcorn in the seat). I've folded down my seat before and found items left behind, including smaller food items and trash, a purse, a hat, etc.
WOW, so many comments from so many people with something to say about a situation they know nothing about. My son was in that theater and he is friends with the boy(s) that discovered the gun, in fact he was only feet in front of where it was found, when it was found. It was NOT brought in by the discoverer(s) as per "Mechanic's" comment. When we received the call from the school board, i almost threw-up. It was a horrendous feeling, even the thought of losing a child chilled me to the bone. A large majority of people commenting on this news need to stay on the subject and consider people's feelings instead of using this as a platform to preach. Most of your assumptions have been wrong. The owner returned to the theater to claim the gun, he was registered w/ a chl and as far as i know is taking responsibility like a mature human being and owning up to his mistake.
 @take your vitamins Thank you for the REAL story.
Don't blame the commenters here. The blame should be toward
the news media for making a mountain out of a mole hill.
The people of Tillamook county are capable of taking care of
themselves without the big city media sticking their nose in your business.
 @take your vitamins Thank you for giving a parent's perspective. Some reality needs to inserted here. I am happy he took responsibility but I wonder at why the safety was off on a loaded gun in the first place in a theater where there are kids? That was pretty irresponsible for a CHL holder to do. Just would like to understand the reasoning as to why.Â
 @Kymberlie2873 No experienced shooter carries a double-action firearm with the safety on - when one is peeing their pants during a shooting it becomes a real problem.Â
 @Kymberlie2873  @randomdude  @boned I so know that feeling! For some reason CDL kept sticking in my head instead of CHL. Too long of a day working and not enough sleep. That's what I get for trying to finish up work so I can have a couple days to spend with the family.  ;)
 @randomdude  @Jenni S.  @boned I do apologize for my dropped words and letter. I, like Jenni, am tired. Christmas time is wonderful but it sure can suck the energy out of you too. Too much to do and only 4.5 full days to do it in (We start celebrating on Christmas Eve). :) Also, all the gun control talk has drained my typing skills. Been typing way too much today.
 @Kymberlie2873  @Jenni S.  @boned I agree with this, he needs to take some responsibility for creating a potentially lethal situation.Â
 @Jenni S.  @boned Personally, I would like to see his license suspended until he can prove he is competent to be carrying. I do understand that mistakes happen and accidents also happen. But this a weapon. When you have an accident in a car, you have to explain why you think accident happened and also suffer the consequences. If the man proves he is competent again the reinstate his license. Simple and it's not infringing on his right as a gun owner.Â
 @boned  @Kymberlie2873 No experienced shooter would have a problem getting the safety off during a shooting either. Hence the word experienced. You have to admit, it was a little irresponsible. An experienced gun owner probably wouldn't leave their gun under a seat at a movie theater either.Â
 @boned  @Kymberlie2873 No experienced shooter would have a problem getting the safety off during a shooting either........ Â
 @randomdude  @boned  @Kymberlie2873 LOL... can you tell it's time for me to go to sleep? At least I was consistent in my mistake.  ;)
 @Jenni S.  @boned  @Kymberlie2873 Commercial driver's license? Awesome.
 @boned  @Kymberlie2873 I see there's an update to the story - it was an older man who had left his gun behind the previous evening. He'd apparently tried contacting the theater, but couldn't reach anyone. Seeing as I haven't seen anything regarding charges for him carrying the gun, I am guessing he is a CDL holder, although for how much longer who knows.
 @boned So you think it was OK that the safety was off?
Â
 @Kymberlie2873  @take your vitamins Having the safety off was definitely stupid. Likely a CDL holder was at an earlier showing and the gun was left behind. That's awfully dangerous, since it could have went off when it landed on the ground (assuming it fell from a pocket or whatever). So glad that it was found and that no one was hurt because of it.
 @Jenni S.  @ChrisJ82  Are people really that paranoid? Their first reaction to a loud noise is to grab a gun - no wait, not that gun, the other one - ?Â
 @boned  @Jenni S. It doesn't make it any less scary to the parents of the children involved. If someone touched the trigger, there could have been a body bag.Â
 @Jenni S.  @randomdude  @boned Teach your children the way my parents did and you'll never have to worry about it, but, of course you would secure your gun anyway these days. Small handgun safes are hi-tech and surprisingly inexpensive. Cheers!
 @Jenni S.  @boned That is by far a bigger threat.
 @ChrisJ82  @boned The one I know of from personal experience wasn't caught. He jumped up upon hearing someone enter the house (she wasn't expected home), the gun hit the floor, and it went off. He didn't even have a chance to catch it - he was in the midst of grabbing a different gun because he thought someone had broken in.
 @Jenni S.  @boned Then they were being caught. Even old pistols which aren't inherently drop safe don't tend to go off, they just have the possibility to.
 @ChrisJ82  @boned Almost every one that I've heard of going off wasn't what I'd consider a "very old pistol". I guess it depends on what you consider to be "very old".
 @Jenni S.  @boned Very old pistols can maybe fire when dropped, new designs are universally drop safe. Though what happens is that someone makes the ultimate mistake of trying to catch it, the trigger gets pulled and the gun goes off just like it was designed.
Â
Moral of the story, don't ever try to catch a falling fun, just let it fall!Â
 @randomdude  @boned Exactly. I'm planning to go through some training so that I'm comfortable with a weapon in the house (hubby is an Army vet). We've both agreed that it would be in a safe with a lock on the gun. Can't be too careful with a kiddo in the house. Few kids know about handling a gun safely, which increases the chances of it discharging while in their possession.Â
 @Jenni S.  @boned Too many. That is something I agree with, keeping your guns locked up when children are present. Common sense.
 @boned Not to mention that it could have been accidentally fired by a student or someone else in that theater. How many people are shot every year when a kid accidentally discharges a weapon?
 @boned Actually, having had a friend almost get shot by her (policeman) father who dropped a loaded weapon, I do understand. Similar stories are on the news locally a few times a year where someone drops a loaded weapon and it goes off. I may not know about every single weapon out there, but I do know that some can indeed fire when dropped if the safety is off.Â
 @Jenni S. You have no clue about the current safety devices built into handguns and with a blocked hammer even getting dropped on the hammer it would not have fired. Jesus, I cannot believe the brainwashed folks on this thread that have virtually no idea of reality!!