Six people were reportedly injured in firearm accidents at gun shows this past week, ThinkProgress reports.
A gun dealer from Iowa became the sixth person injured after he accidentally shot himself in the hand Friday at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. According to the Des Moines Register, the man was testing what he thought was an unloaded pistol, only to find too late that there was a round in the chamber.
The unintentional shooting was the last in a spate of injuries that began Jan. 19, during the first annual Gun Appreciation Day. Coordinated ahead of President Obama's Inauguration, the event was supposed to be a protest of new gun control measures. But the prevalence of accidents may have diluted the day's anti-legislation theme.
In the aftermath of the first five injuries, New Jersey's Star-Ledger ran an editorial entitled, "Bloody 'Gun Appreciation Day' shows value of gun control."
"During the first-ever [Gun Appreciation Day]... which was meant to make us all feel more appreciative of guns, we had three accidental shootings at different gun shows. Five people were struck — and that was just at the gun shows," according to the editorial.
Here's what happened at the three gun show incidents on Jan. 19.
In Raleigh, N.C., Gary Lynn Wilson, 36, was attempting to enter the Dixie Gun and Knife Show at the N.C. State Fairgrounds, when his 12-gauge shotgun accidentally went off at a check-in booth, according to local news outlet WRAL.com. The gun's pellets hit three people nearby, including a retired sheriff's deputy, all of whom were taken to the hospital with non-critical injuries.
In a separate incident that day, an Ohio exhibitor shot his partner when a gun he was checking fired, according to NBC local affiliate WKYC.
And in Indianapolis, Ind., a man leaving the Indy 1500 Gun and Knife show shot himself in the hand while attempting to load his .45 caliber semi-automatic gun, per NBC News.
ThinkProgress reached out to a representative from Political Media, the advocacy group that spearheaded Gun Appreciation Day, but did not receive a reply.
On January 16, President Obama announced a new gun-control plan that included tougher legislation and a package of executive orders. The Administration move was prompted, in part, by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14.