Gun Appreciation Day: Five injured at three gun shows

At gun shows in Indiana, Ohio and North Carolina, a total of five people were injured Saturday in accidental shootings as people flocked to the events on what was marketed as Gun Appreciation Day.

In Ohio, Medina Police Chief Patrick Berarducci said a 62-year-old man was shot in the arm when his friend, a firearms dealer, accidentally discharged the gun he had purchased from an attendee.

The man was taken to a local Ohio hospital, where he was treated for injuries to his arm and leg. Berarducci said the man will probably stay in the hospital overnight, but described him as in “good spirits.”

Berarducci told the Los Angeles Times that the gun show at the county fairgrounds was so busy that police had to limit the number of people entering.

Meanwhile, in Indianapolis, a man at the Indy 1500 Gun and Knife Show shot his hand as he unloaded a .45-caliber semiautomatic, the Associated Press said.

Three people were also injured at the Dixie Gun and Knife Show in Raleigh, N.C., when a 12-gauge shotgun filled with bird shot accidentally discharged, authorities said.

The injuries came on Gun Appreciation Day, promoted by a Republican consulting firm. The group had urged people to go to their local gun range, gun store or gun show as a protest to stricter gun laws proposed by President Obama this week.

Separately, thousands rallied in state capitals across the country in protest of stricter gun laws.

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