The Reaction to Off-Body Carry

M&P Shield

Most of you have probably heard about the recent death of a young mother in Hayden, Idaho--a northern Idaho town just east of Spokane, Washington--after her toddler son shot her. USA Today describes what happened:

A mom shopping at a Walmart store died Tuesday after her toddler, who was left in a shopping cart, reached into her purse and accidentally discharged her handgun, authorities said. 

Veronica J. Rutledge, 29, of Blackfoot, Idaho, had gone to the store in this Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, suburb with four children in tow at mid-morning. 

Her 2-year-old son, who was sitting in the shopping cart, reached into his mother's purse, causing the small-caliber handgun to discharge one time, said Lt. Stu Miller, Kootenai County Sheriff's Office spokesman. 

"It appears to be a pretty tragic accident," Miller said. Rutledge was dead by the time deputies arrived.

A local story provides some additional details:

Rutledge was shopping with four kids, when her two-year-old son reached into her purse, accessed her concealed 9mm Smith & Wesson M&P Shield semi-automatic handgun and accidentally discharged the weapon, according deputies. Authorities said the toddler was seated in the shopping cart when the gun was discharged. The woman and children were in the back of the store near the electronics area when the deadly shooting happened. 

The bullet struck Mrs. Rutledge in the head, killing her instantly.

This Washington Post story provides some other details, including that the pistol was being carried in a purse designed for concealed carry (i.e., it had a pocket that had to be unzipped to access the weapon), and that it had been given to the woman just a few days earlier (i.e., a new carry method for her, since she previously carried the weapon at her side according to the article). I want to emphasize that that the purse was intended for concealed carry because it was a detail that escaped the writer at The Firearms Blog.

More significantly, though:

Veronica, 29, arrived at a nearby Wal-Mart in Hayden with her three nieces and son, her gun “zippered closed” inside her new purse, her father-in-law said. Then, in the back of the store, near the electronics section, the purse was left unattended for a moment. 

“An inquisitive 2-year-old boy reached into the purse, unzipped the compartment, found the gun and shot his mother in the head,” Rutledge said. “It’s a terrible, terrible incident.”

In other words, like many women, the mother here had a two year old seated in a shopping cart, with her purse stuffed in beside him in the seat, and left the cart (and the purse) to go look at something. Unfortunately, this time, her purse had her handgun.

The tactical purists (the new OFWGs) immediately jumped all over this story, but not in a productive way. Rather than acknowledging that there are issues to be considered with different methods of carry, the purists instead jump to the conclusion that only their preferred method of concealed carry would have prevented this tragedy.

Frankly, there are a lot of nuances to this event. One way to approach this story would have been to discuss the downside to using a striker-fired handgun for concealed carry, particularly around children. I think we could all agree that even if a 2 year old boy had gotten hold of a double-action handgun, whether revolver or semi-auto, he wouldn't have been able to pull the trigger and the incident would never have happened.

Likewise, this incident could have invited discussion as to whether you should carry with a loaded round in the chamber, or should only use a handgun with a manual safety or grip safety. (It is not clear from the story whether the particular model had the manual safety or not, and if so, whether it was engaged). Again, most of us would agree that a small child probably would not have the strength to work the slide on a semi-auto handgun (one of the reasons that I used an unchambered semi-auto for a home defense handgun when my children were younger). The complexity of an additional safety may have defeated the efforts of the child, at least long enough for the mother to notice what was going on.

Most importantly, this story should have been an object lesson of why it is dangerous to leave loaded firearms unattended around bored and curious children.

But that is not how the tactical purists approached this issue. For instance, Robert Farago at The Truth About Guns wrote: "The Idaho toddler who reached into his mother’s handbag, pulled out her gun and shot her dead is also a lesson to all gun owners that off-body carry is an inherently dangerous, potentially deadly proposition."  On body carry means different things to different people. To a police officer, it may mean a holster system that cannot be taken off your body without cutting or undoing the belt. I suspect that Farago simply means a belt holster of some type, but not something easily removed like a purse or fanny pack.

But it's not like the toddler ripped the purse away from his mother, quickly unzipped the pocket, drew the gun and shot her. The problem here wasn't the fact that the firearm was carried in a purse, but that the mother left the purse unattended. As I've discussed before, the choice of a concealed carry method isn't as simple as the purists like to preach. But by maintaining control over the purse or pack, it can be just as safe as most concealed carry belt holsters (many of which lack any significant retention devices). Notwithstanding its basic mistake as to the type of purse being used, The Firearms Blog article on this shooting points out the obvious about using a concealed carry purse or bag:

There are concealed carry purses available that have a compartment specifically made for the gun, and within those compartments there are typically holsters of a sort. The compartments usually have a locking mechanism of some sort, too, but the women I know who use these purses never lock them because it would slow them down should they ever need to draw their gun. A concealed carry purse should be treated as what it is: a big holster, meaning it should never leave your body. You should always be carrying it, and even then there’s enough room for theft and error to make me nervous.

So, if you do use an off-body carry method, or are considering it, don't let this incident decide whether it is right for you or not. The method of carrying is less important than to be conscientious about making sure you are maintaining control over access to the firearm, and to minimize the risk of an accidental discharge. I suspect that more people have been shot shoving a pistol back into a belt holster with their finger on the trigger than have been shot by their toddler removing the gun from a concealed carry purse or pack.