Pistol's Recoil Turns Deadly At Firing Range -- Errant Shot Kills Man At Firing Range

A 24-year-old Redmond man was killed last night when a woman he was with at an indoor firing-range in Bellevue shot him in the neck as her gun recoiled.

Michael Chumney died after the 30-year-old Kirkland woman - a friend from his church group - was unable to control the .44-caliber revolver she'd just fired at Wade's Eastside Gun Shop at 13570 Bel-Red Road.

This morning, Bellevue Police Lt. Bill Ferguson gave this account:

Around 8:45 p.m., Chumney, who had been shooting in a cubicle next to the woman, stepped over and offered to let her shoot the powerful Smith & Wesson revolver he'd rented from Wade's.

As he stood about a foot behind her and just to her left, the woman took in both hands what detectives described as the "Dirty Harry type revolver," known for its strong trigger pull.

She fired two shots at the target. The recoil from the second shot sent the gun up and to the side. While in that position, the pistol fired a third round, striking Chumney in the neck. He died before reaching Overlake Hospital Medical Center.

Though the woman had had experience with shooting rifles, she had little or no expertise in the use of handguns, police said.

The incident was captured on videotape, though a preliminary review earlier today was inconclusive about what actually happened, according to Wade's operator, Wade Gaughran.

At Wade's, two cameras in each of three shooting bays constantly tape gun-range activity. Gaughran said the cameras captured the first shot, but because of a time-lapse feature, the second and third shots were not on the tape.

Ferguson said it appears the shooting was accidental, but that won't be certain until the investigation is completed.

Opened in January 1996, Wade's has 24 indoor lanes divided into three bays of eight. It's one of only several public gun ranges in the Puget Sound area. Such establishments are not allowed inside the city of Seattle.

Customers must sign a liability release and a form with gun-safety rules on it, according to Gaughran.

Gaughran said he hasn't decided if the shooting range would be reconfigured or otherwise changed, but that he will ask gun experts to evaluate it.

He called the fatality a "tragic accident . . . one in a million."

During his 25 years in the gun industry, he said, "I've never heard of this type of thing happening."

"Everyone here is in a pretty somber mood," he added. "Everyone feels bad."

Though it may be the first fatality, it apparently is not the first time a patron has been shot at Wade's.

Bellevue Police said that on Feb. 15, a 20-year-old Edmonds woman shot herself in the leg after the safety on her gun released as she drew the gun from a holster.

And another gun-range owner said this morning that details of last night's incident indicate "a number of things went wrong."

Les Wahl, owner of Continental Sportsman in Mountlake Terrace, said that if the woman in the Chumney death "was a novice and hadn't shot pistols much before, she should never have had that gun in her hands."

Wahl said a .44 caliber revolver "has a horrendous recoil" that takes most people by surprise.

The woman was described as being about 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing around 140 pounds.

Chumney and the woman were members of the Sammamish Valley Ward, Redmond Stake, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They were there last night for recreational shooting, Gaughran said.

"That's basically why they were here, to have some fun and recreation, and it ended in tragedy."

Seattle Times staff reporter Jack Broom contributed to this report, as did Eastside bureau reporters Louis T. Corsaletti, Tyrone Beason, Sherry Grindeland and J. Martin McOmber.