Gun Bought for Potential Ferguson Unrest Accidentally Kills Woman
A St. Louis woman who had purchased a gun in case of unrest after the Ferguson grand jury decision accidentally shot and killed herself on Friday night. The woman, 26-year-old Becca Campbell, was driving with her boyfriend in downtown St. Louis when the gun went off in their car. According to CNN, the woman’s boyfriend was driving, and they started joking about being ready for possible civil unrest after the grand jury decision in the case of the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown by Police Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson in August.
As they were joking, she began to wave the gun around. Campbell’s boyfriend ducked and then rear-ended another vehicle. The collision caused the weapon to go off and Campbell was shot in the head, according to her boyfriend.
The number of gun sales in the St. Louis and Ferguson area have skyrocketed in recent weeks. Rumors and threats of violence from different groups and individuals are rampant, despite mainstream protesters’ insistence that any response to the grand jury verdict will be peaceful.
Many gun dealers near Ferguson have been reporting that their gun sales are through the roof, especially among those who are first-time buyers. NBC News reports that Metro Shooting Supplies, located in a suburb near Ferguson, has been selling two to three times more weapons than they typically do.
Store managers told the TV network that they are selling an average of 30 to 50 guns every day ahead of the Ferguson Michael Brown verdict.
“We’re selling everything that’s not nailed down,” owner Steven King told NBC. “Police aren’t going to be able to protect every single individual. If you don’t prepare yourself and get ready for the worst, you have no one to blame but yourself.”
The store said they also have a huge waiting list for concealed-carry training courses.
Fears of violence and personal safety have been fanned by numerous factors. Immediately after Brown was killed in August, there were weeks of protests, some violent. At one point, people started breaking into and looting stores in Ferguson.
The grand jury decision in the Ferguson shooting, which has been imminent for weeks, has prompted many people to take to social media and threaten violence if Officer Wilson is not indicted for murder. Many are calling for his arrest.
The KKK has also made threats of violence in case self-defense becomes necessary and has openly threatened the hacker group Anonymous. Anonymous has been exposing the identity of KKK members in the Ferguson area for a couple of weeks.
