GARDEN CITY, Idaho — Two men were injured at an Idaho gun show Saturday morning after a vendor from Washington state accidentally fired a rifle, Ada County Sheriff’s officials said.
A 74-year-old man reportedly was securing a rifle with a plastic zip tie at the Lewis Clark Trader gun show near Boise when the weapon fired. The bullet went through a cardboard box, two table covers and a metal cane before striking a man holding the cane, as well as a man standing nearby, officials said. Both men were hit in the leg.
They were taken to a hospital with what police believed were injuries that were not life-threatening.
Officials say the shooting happened before the show opened and it went on as scheduled.
It’s the second time in three years that an accidental shooting has injured someone at a gun show in Garden City, the Idaho Statesman reported.
The vendor has cooperated in the ongoing investigation and so far has not been cited.
Officials said the venue, Expo Idaho, requires gun show vendors to secure weapons’ triggers before a show starts. It isn’t prohibited, however, to take those safety measures at the facility before a show opens, according to Expo Idaho Director Bob Batista.
He estimated the show had over 1,000 guns displayed at about 100 tables.
There are five to seven gun shows held at Expo Idaho each year.
A different promoter, EE-DA-HOW Long Rifles Inc of Idaho, no longer does gun shows after an accidental shooting in 2013 left them unable to afford an insurance policy.
