Before Edward "E.J." Deubler left his home in Harvey for Louis Armstrong International Airport last week, he gave his hunting rifle a quick once-over to ensure it wasn't loaded.
A glance in the half-opened bolt was enough to convince him that the Browning A-Bolt 7mm rifle was ready for the flight. But as he placed the gun in its case and headed off to the airport, Deubler, an officer with a variety of state and national hunting organizations, seems not to have thought to remove the rifle's internal magazine.
The oversight led to an accidental discharge that left a United Airlines ticket agent wounded after a second check of the rifle -- this time at the ticket counter of the airport -- moved a bullet from the magazine into the rifle's firing chamber, according to a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office report on the July 25 incident.
The Browning A-Bolt 7mm is an older rifle popular with hunters, said Charles Donovan of Donovan's Guns and Ammo in Metairie. It uses magnum cartridges large enough for big game, Donovan said. Its magazine, when installed, is concealed by a floor plate in the gun.
Donovan said the shooting was a careless mistake that could have been avoided by a proper inspection. "You do it a million times, but it only takes one mistake," he said.
Deubler, 65, told a deputy that he had inspected the rifle at home by slightly opening the bolt to make sure there wasn't a round in the chamber. The partial opening was not enough to chamber one of the three rounds in the rifle's magazine, and, satisfied it was empty, Deubler packed the gun and headed out to the airport.
While only law enforcement personnel may carry guns into the passenger cabin of an airplane, travelers are allowed to take unloaded firearms as checked baggage as long as they are in a hard-sided case. But before a gun is allowed on a plane, it must be unpacked and inspected by both its owner and a ticket agent.
That check, designed to ensure the weapon is unloaded, is what ultimately chambered the round that went off last week.
After Deubler unpacked his gun at the ticket counter, he opened the bolt once again to show that it was empty. But this time he opened the bolt completely, moving a bullet from the magazine into the chamber. Because he had already checked the gun at home, Deubler told the deputy, he did not look at the rifle as he did so, according to the Sheriff's Office report.
His part of the inspection complete, Deubler placed the rifle back in a case and pulled the trigger to release the pressure on the firing mechanism, according to the report.
And that's when the shot rang out.
The bullet pierced the baggage scale at the ticket counter and shattered, sending a piece of shrapnel into the ticket agent's lower right leg.
Deputies and paramedics responded. The ticket agent was taken to a hospital to treat his wound, and airline officials said he was in stable condition
Deubler, who missed his flight, was given a negligent injuring summons, a misdemeanor punishable by as long as six months in prison and a $500 fine or both.
When asked about the shooting by deputies, Deubler said he typically puts the magazine in a separate pocket of the gun case. This time, he said, he forgot it was still in the rifle.
He would not give police a written statement about the incident on the advice of his lawyer, and he did not respond to a request for comment left at his home last week.
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