Middleburg, FL Wendy's (courtesy gannet-cdn.com)

“Clay (County) Sgt. Matthew Magish was off duty and standing in line with his son and the boy’s maternal grandparents at the front counter inside Wendy’s, 2530 Blanding Blvd., [Middleburg, Florida] when the accident occurred shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday,” jacksonville.com reports. The “accident” in question being a negligent discharge, obviously. Or is it? “He had been carrying his personal .380-caliber Kel-Tec semiautomatic pistol inside the right front pocket of his pants, when it went off. Magish said his son ‘stuck his hand into his pocket looking for a snack and that the firearm had discharged,’ Deputy J.R. Holmes wrote in the incident report.” A proper pocket holster with a trigger guard would have helped that . . .

The two female customers told Holmes they were standing in line ahead of Magish and his family at the front counter when they hear a loud noise. One woman said she felt something hit her left ankle and right thigh area. She had red marks where the fragments hit her. The second woman said she felt something hit her right ankle and upper left arm. Her ankle had a red mark and there was a small amount of blood on her arm, according to Holmes’ report.

Both women said when they turned around after hearing the shot, they saw the boy had an injury to his foot, and his father had a hole in his pants pocket.

The restaurant floor wasn’t damaged, nor was any other property. Sheriff’s Office crime scene technicians collected several bullet fragments from the scene, according to the report.

Magish remains on duty as investigation continues into the accident, said [Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Mary] Justino, who declined further comment.

Why am I not surprised by the lack of blowback, and my inability to find a jpeg of Sgt. Magish? TTAG will do its bit to remind Sgt. Magish of this sneak snack attack with our customary IGOTD hardware. Just don’t let the kid futz with it, m’kay?

 

[h/t DE]

 

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50 COMMENTS

  2. If you’re going to carry a pocket pistol in your pocket without a pocket holster you need to carry it in condition 3.

      • And I said that I carry in Condition One so long as I have a proper holster that covers the trigger of my carry handgun.

      • Common sense gun safety! If you are carrying, have a proper holster. If you lack a proper holster, your firearm will be bumped and jostled (possibly even dropped) and you should keep it at condition 3 so that your firearm doesn’t “accidentally go off” because you ignored safety and common sense.

  4. About to have a fine dining experience and the kid discharges Dads pistol while searching in his pocket for a snack?
    1 son and 3 Gkids, never had one stuff their hand in my pocket for anything

    • Yeah that does seem a bit odd… thinking that dad made up a story that blames junior instead of his own sticky fingers?

  5. If you pocket carry, designate a pocket that has nothing else in it except for the firearm and the holster.
    Your phone can find a new home. Same goes for snacks.

    • Agreed. I carry nothing in that pocket but my piece. Even if you carry paper money, which takes up no room, it’s just asking for trouble to have it in the same pocket.

  6. I can believe a keltec p3at would go off. No safety, feels like it going to fall apart in your hand( I had a pf9). A nemesis or uncle mikes would do it.

  7. Owned a fluffed and buffed P3AT from Kel-Tec for years in a DeSantis Nemesis pocket holster. It’s the EDC, unless I celebrate diversity and carry something else IWB. Here in the swampy South, shorts are worn 11 1/2 months out of the year. That being said, the KT still has a “to Arkansas and back trigger pull” DAO.

    Must have been quite the “digging” in the pocket to have a ND. Uh, the kids stay out of Pops pockets…

    Geez!!!

    • You are right about the trigger. My P3AT (also in a Nemesis) is my go-to summer pocket gun. It’s always done me right, but that DA trigger pull makes a Thomas Pynchon novel look short.

    • I had a P3AT at one time. I’ve had staple guns with a better trigger pull. However, it always went bang when I wanted it to. Sold it after I got my SIG P238.

    • +1 on the DeSantis Nemesis. I also use one for my J-frame .38s, and even a Springfield XDs/.45. The Nemesis covers the controls, stays in your pocket when you pull the gun out, and does not break down into “wobbly cloth” after a few years of use.

  8. Call me skeptical but something doesn’t sound right with this story. If you know you have a firearm in your pocket, why -WHY – would you even entertain anyone fishing around in your pocket?

  9. Got a 1 year old son and we’ve already established that dad’s pants are his and whatever is in his pockets stays there until dad himself takes it out. I don’t pocket carry, but I do carry a knife and a pen and a glock iwb at 4oclock and after a couple of wrist taps he knew better than to try to take either pen or knife out. I didn’t wear the gun around the house where’d he’d be likely to get his fingers near it so wasn’t a problem and still don’t but I’d feel comfortable doing so now. kids are smart, and they learn quick, but it’s up to parents to teach them boundaries. Poor kid, if he got a hole in his foot, and Gold help the man when the kids mom gets a hold of him.

  10. Pocket carry requires a proper holster that covers the trigger, just like belt carry. Nothing should be in your pocket expect your gun/holster. Never put your hand in your pocket unless you are drawing your firearm. Simple rules.

  11. Bullspit! Way to throw your kid under the MRAP, Sergeant. Your son now has a hole in his foot to remind him never to trust you.

  13. Well, the bright side of the story is that even though it’s abundantly clear to everyone that this incompetent officer recklessly carried an unholstered firearm, pathetically fabricated a cover story, which callously scapegoated his own kid, then illegally filed a false police report recounting his lies, at least we know that he’s an honorable man who would never abuse his authority, railroad a suspect/citizen or violate his oath. So I feel pretty good about that. Oh wait.

  14. I suppose I was lucky all those years that I never had my kids fishing in my pockets….My wallet tough, was a different story. It go so I referred to it as “The Black Hole.” Better, I am sure, than the bottomless pit this cop put in his shorts through which his career should be draining out about now.

  15. And these places that ask people to leave their guns at home always say EXCEPT law enforcement personnel. I’m thinking they may want to reconsider that exception.

    • The “rationale” of the California Legislature in exempting peace officers from the “not unsafe” handgun roster (which exemption allows them to buy whatever they want, while us peons can only buy what the DOJ allows us to) is that peace officers are so much better trained than we are.

  18. hole in a foot, apparent shrapnel wounds to bystanders, didn’t make it to the floor, just what did he have in that thing?

  20. I grew up in Clay County. This is not the first exceptional dumbass the Sheriff’s Dept. has been known to hire.

  21. What moron allows a child to fish around in a pocket in which he has a loaded gun?

    Then again I don’t allow my children to reach into my pockets no matter what, and I’ve taught them about personal boundaries (of course the younger ones sometimes forget, but its a learning process). Dad’s pockets and wallet are off limits, along with mom’s pockets and purse (and wallet).

  23. The Sergeant does not need to be responsible, as LEOs generally experience no repercussions for their irresponsibility — as those consequences are only for us mundanes.

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