Wounded Salvation Army Worker Dies

A 61-year-old Salvation Army supervisor who was accidentally shot in the head with a gun left in a bag of donations has died, and El Cajon police said they will go through receipts given out by workers in an effort to determine who might have dropped off the pistol.

James Irwin Brower, 61, of Alpine died Tuesday evening at UC San Diego Medical Center, several hours after being shot by co-worker Connie (C. W.) Wayne Overby, 51.

Overby was looking at the gun at a Salvation Army collection center after picking it up off the ground, where it had fallen from donated goods. He accidentally discharged it, firing one round and hitting Brower in the head, police said.

Police Lt. Bob Lein said the results of his department’s investigation will be turned over to the San Diego County district attorney’s office, which will determine whether any charges, such as negligence, will be filed against Overby. The Police Department is “not actively pursuing criminal charges,” he said.

Investigators believe the pistol, a .22-caliber Derringer that holds two rounds, was either dropped by someone or fell out of a bag of donated items at the center operated by Brower and Overby. The two men received clothes, appliances and furniture at the back of a trailer in the parking lot of Kaelin’s Market on Main Street.

“The gun was not turned in as a separate item,” Lein said. “The person (who left the gun) did not tell them or did not know to tell them that the gun was among the property being dropped off.”

Police will also seek to find the owner of the gun through its registration.

Russ Russell, director of community relations with the Salvation Army in San Diego County, said organization officials are reviewing their policy involving donations. He said the group does not accept firearms and that, had the men known the gun was being donated, they would not have accepted it.

The incident is a first for the group, Russell said. He said it is being reviewed in an attempt to assure that nothing like it happens again.

All employees and volunteers are being asked to be careful when receiving anything in a bag or box, he said.

“I can’t imagine it happening again, and I pray to God it doesn’t happen again,” Russell said. “It is just something you don’t expect to happen, but again, we are going to take every precaution and inform our employees and volunteers to be very careful.”

Brower had worked for the Salvation Army for several years.