A Florida father blamed himself for the “operating error” that resulted in him killing his 14-year-old son in an accidental shooting at a Sarasota gun range on Sunday afternoon.
“The gun didn’t kill my boy. I did,” 64-year-old William Clayton Brumby told CNN in an interview published Tuesday.
“Every round in the gun is your responsibility,” he added. “When it fires you need to stand to account for it it. That’s what I’ve spent the last two days doing, accounting for my operating error.”
Brumby fatally shot his son Stephen in what he deemed “a very freak accident” at the High Noon Gun Range. After firing a round, an empty shell casing reportedly ricocheted off the wall and fell into the back of William Brumby’s shirt. While trying to fish it out with his right hand, which was holding the handgun, he accidentally fired the weapon at Stephen, who was standing directly behind him.
CNN reported that Stephen Brumby was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital but died from the shot, which struck him in the jugular vein.
Police say their investigation is ongoing and they have filed no charges against William Brumby.
He told CNN that he taught all seven of his children to use guns, and routinely took them to High Noon for target shooting.
“We wanted our kids to be aware of guns,” Brumby said. “I wanted them to be comfortable around them and understand them.”
Shortly after High Noon opened in 2013, the Herald Tribune called it “the safest indoor shooting range ever designed.”
Armored plates concealed by wood, intended to prevent ricochets, divide the nine indoor lanes.
This post has been updated.
