Pistol discharge at gun show injures one

PHARR — An accidental gunshot shattered a glass door and injured a Roma woman Saturday during a gun show at the Pharr International Convention Center.

A .22-caliber pistol discharged as its owner attempted to unload the weapon before entering the main hall of the convention center, Pharr police Lt. Guadalupe Salinas said. The bullet shattered one of the interior glass doors.

Police believe glass fragments from the door sliced into Natalia Muñoz’s lower left leg but that the bullet itself missed her, Salinas said. Muñoz was standing outside the main hall, where some merchandise tables without guns were on display.

“It’s scary,” Muñoz said. “The only thing I know is it was a gunshot and it hit me in the leg.”

Muñoz, who traveled to the show from Roma with her husband, was transported to an area hospital to treat her leg.

Salinas said he had no information about the pistol’s owner and said any information about possible criminal charges would be released Monday.

The show was sponsored by Saxet Gun Shows, which organizes weekend weapon exhibitions throughout Texas. Its next Pharr gun show is scheduled for October.

One of Saxet’s promoters, who declined to give his name for fear of negative publicity, said all guns brought into the show are checked to ensure they are unloaded before they are allowed to enter the main hall.

While checking the pistol that discharged, employees at the door told its owner to put the gun down when it appeared to be jammed. The gun’s owner did not comply and instead attempted to unjam the weapon, at which point it fired, the promoter said.

“It’s a very rare occurrence,” he said. “Luckily nobody got seriously hurt.”

___

Jared Taylor covers Edinburg, the Delta Region and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.