Even Shotguns Use AR-15s for Self Defense

From the ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ files comes this story out of Independence, Oregon, where a stolen shotgun apparently pulled the trigger of a stolen AR-15 and killed the man who had just stolen both firearms. The accused shotgun did not have an enlarged tactical charging handle like this one. If it had, the Dearly Departed would probably have lived to steal another day. From koinlocal6.com . . .

…Detectives say that 19 year-old Genaro Hernandez Mendoza of West Salem was going to visit family who lived on the farm when he entered and burglarized a home on Independence Highway.

Deputies say Mendoza took several items and fled from the home on foot. He returned to the farm and placed the stolen items behind a barn. They say he then stole a pickup truck belonging to the farm and returned to the home he burglarized stealing more items and a shotgun and AR-15 rifle.

Det. Williams with the Polk County Sheriff’s Department tells KOIN 6 News that they believe a piece of the shotgun was caught in the trigger area of the AR-15. While crossing the field the truck hit a bump causing the weapon to fire once striking and killing Mendoza.

Farm workers found the truck and Mendoza Sunday morning with the engine still running and the truck in drive.

Polk County Sheriff Bob Wolfe added that they would be reviewing the evidence to determine if anyone assisted Mendoza with the Burglary.

The report doesn’t specify that the shotgun’s bolt handle caught the AR’s trigger, but it’s the only part of a shotgun that conveniently fits inside the trigger guard. (A shotgun muzzle might fit, but not while the AR is upright.) This is possibly the first time that an unattended firearm used another firearm to kill a human being.

No word on whether Mr. Mendoza’s next of kin will sue the shotgun for wrongful death, its owners for negligence, or both.