US gun shop owner fatally shot during safety class

In a bizarre incident, a 64-year- old gun shop owner in the US was shot and killed when a student accidentally fired a weapon during a firearms safety class at his business. James Baker, the owner of an Ohio gun shop, was fatally shot when a student in a concealed carry permit class accidentally discharged a weapon, the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office said. Baker was shot in the neck and pronounced dead at his KayJay Gun Shop, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. He was struck by a bullet that was fired by a class participant while practicing weapon malfunction drills on Saturday.

The sheriff’s office reported about 10 people were taking the class in a room adjacent to where Baker was sitting. The student who discharged the handgun has not been identified, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The incident comes amid a raging debate in the US over gun control laws in the wake of the Orlando gay club massacre in which Afghan-origin gunman Omar Mateen killed 49 people. In the hours following the fatal incident at the gun shop, nearly a dozen people gathered in front of the business sharing hugs and tears.

Anita Fritz, a neighbour, was quoted as saying that she had known Baker since 1999. She was holding a yard sale in the front yard of her father’s home across the street of the gun shop when police and an ambulance arrived.