Boy’s Foolish Action Leads to Own Death

Manawatu Times, Volume 70, Issue 277, 23 November 1945, Page 6

Boy’s Foolish Action Leads to Own Death

MISHAP WITH A REVOLVER (Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, Nov. 21. “It is disturbing that any boy of secondary school age should ever point a weapon, but I am astounded that the foolish hazard of spinning a magazine should be tried,’’ said the City Coroner (Mr. A. Addison) when closing the inquest into the death of William John Turner, aged 14, son of Mr. W. A. Turner, of Mount Eden. Deceased died from a gunshot wound in the head at the Auckland Hospital shortly after an incident at the Domain in which he was seen by two schoolboy companions to take out a revolver, spin the chamber, point it at his temple and pull the trigger. In a special report on the revolver and ammunition, Senior-Sergt. G. Kelly, an arms expert attached to police headquarters at Wellington, said the weapon used by deceased was a .22 calibre double-action revolver of sevencartridge capacity. It was old and decrepit. The mainspring was apt to slip out of place and when this occurred the hammer had a poor blow. One might snap the hammer dozens of times on live amunition without firing a shot. It would seem that it was a misfortune that the blow which discharged the fatal shell was struck at the time tke boy pointed the at himself. This was the 19th case reported this year in which minors had been killed or injured through unskilful or careless handling of firearms. “The evidence gives a very complete story of the tragedy and the circumstances leading up to the fatal culmination,” said the Coroner. “It shows that deceased had been making very dangerous play with the weapon and I am justified in drawing the conclusion that, as a result of his experiments, he had formed the opinion that the revolver would not discharge with the mere action of snapping the hammer. It may be that this is a result of those trashy thrillers seen, read and heard by boys with a thirst for sensationalism. ’ ’

He continued that he was satisfied that deceased did not intend to kill himself. Mr. Addison returned a verdict that the cause of death was a gunshot wound of the head unintentionally selfinflicted by deceased.