Mesa AZ man shoots & kills girlfriend while "demonstrating his gun safety skills"

[LeeH]

So... premeditated murder or accident? What do you think?

Mesa man arrested in girlfriend's shooting death - East Valley Tribune - Arizona Local News


A Mesa man has been arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder after shooting his girlfriend last week.

Police say 21-year-old Bernardo Barraza was demonstrating his gun-safety skills in his apartment Friday when 20-year-old Sheila Schurz was shot in the neck. She was flown to Scottsdale Memorial Medical Center Osborn, where she was pronounced dead.

Barraza told police that Schurz had argued about him sleeping with the weapon in his holster. He attempted to prove the weapon was safe the way he carried it by maintaining an empty chamber in the cylinder of the revolver.

Police say Barraza told them that he pulled the hammer back and pulled the trigger. He says a bullet struck Schurz in the neck while she was seated on a couch. He then called 911.

[Danny_Ocean]

Chick shoulda kept her mouth shut.

Same thing happened here not too long ago. Not sure of the outcome.

[MMARSH]

he must have attended the same safety class as the cop in the video that has a AD and shoots himself in front of a class.

[Danny_Ocean]

There are several cases a year here, and I can only imagine thousands more around the country/world, where some dum-dum thinks the weapon is unloaded.

In every case where they provide details, it seems the shooter doesn't realize that dropping the magazine doesn't empty the weapon (or unaware the cylinder rotates when pulling back the hammer).

These are most likely the same people who think the oil light on the dash is for oil level and the Craigslist scams could be a legit deal.

[James Brown]

So the cylinder under the hammer was empty and he pulled the trigger, rotating the cylinder to a fresh round and the hammer fell... That's at least involuntary homicide.

[porsche4life]

Why was it even pointed at her.... When dry firing I ALWAYS point in a safe direction... Usually out a window....

[onewhippedpuppy]

Irony can be so cruel.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Why was it even pointed at her.... When dry firing I ALWAYS point in a safe direction... Usually out a window....

x1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ,000,000,000,000,000,000

That was THE first gun safety rule I was taught. Never point it at anything you don't want to shoot regardless of its load condition.

WTF was that kid thinking? I can only imagine what her family is going through.
And that dumb kid has to live with it forever.

[GH85Carrera]

That is a MAJOR FAIL

[TGTIW]

Why does the guy sleep wearing a holster?

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Danny_Ocean

Chick shoulda kept her mouth shut.

This is her fault???

[Rick Lee]

Definitely murder. No accident.

[cairns]

What a loser.

Never, ever point a gun at someone unless you intend to kill them. First thing I ever learned about gun safety.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by cairns

Never, ever point a gun at someone unless you intend to kill them.

But he did intend to kill her.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

But he did intend to kill her.

That's my guess, too. The case will probably never make it to a jury, but it would be interesting to watch. Wonder how many gun safey/cleaning accidents there would be every day if there were no charges for something like this.

[speeder]

He probably concocted that whole story in advance, just had to make sure that he killed her with one shot. It would be hard to explain shooting her twice by accident.

"No, I meant like this...empty chamber...BLAM...oops again..."

[Rick Lee]

Here's another version of it that's not so benign. First it's a suicide. Then the story changes. The fact that the cops wouldn't say how many times she'd been shot sounds to me like it was more than one shot. Who shoots accident twice by accident (other than Abu Nidal)?

Mesa man arrested for 2nd-degree murder after lesson in gun safety takes deadly turn

by Alicia E. Barrón
azfamily.com
Updated Saturday, Aug 14 at 6:41 PM

PHOENIX – A young mother is dead and her boyfriend is behind bars after police say a lesson in gun safety took a deadly turn of events.

Initially the call came out as a possible suicide but police say the boyfriend changed his story and now they believe he is responsible.

Det. Steve Berry, with the Mesa Police Department, tells 3TV, “He had said that he had been somewhere else inside the home and heard a gunshot.”

Police say 20-year-old Sheila Schurz was shot in the upper body although they would not say where or how many times. She was taken to the hospital where she later died.

Now police say her boyfriend, Bernardo Barraza, 21, is to blame. He has been arrested on a charge of second-degree murder.

Berry explains, “Some things in the story as to how it all occurred after she was transported away didn't seem to add up.”

Police say Barraza gave them misleading information first claiming Schurz shot herself but then later changing his story.

Berry says, “They had recently purchased the handgun and he had apparently fallen asleep with it or something like that. There was some discussion as to the safety of the handgun…during the course of that discussion or whatever the gun discharged and she was struck.”

Barraza is charged with one count of second-degree murder, meaning it was not premeditated.

Investigators submitted second-degree charges instead of manslaughter or accidental death but have not explained why.

Police say there is no indication that the couple fought before Schurz was shot. The couple lived together in the apartment near McKellips Road and Mesa Drive with children from previous relationships although no kids were home at the time of the fatal shooting.

[berettafan]

Originally Posted by James Brown

So the cylinder under the hammer was empty and he pulled the trigger, rotating the cylinder to a fresh round and the hammer fell... That's at least involuntary homicide.

Ayup.

[Head416]

Reminds me of another story where a young newlywed couple was practicing clearing the house. She was playing the burglar. He was sure the shotgun was unloaded.

Fail.

If you aim a gun at somebody and pull the trigger, you're responsible. Idiots like this make the fight so much harder for the rest of us.

[2.70Racer]

This idiot is the reason many states require a gun safety course before allowing the purchase of a firearm.
I'm all for the right to own firearms, but this shows some people just don't get the responsibility that goes with firearm ownership.
Significant prison time should be in this fool's future.