By Roger Lanse

Silver City Police Department officers were dispatched to a reported shooting at Big O Tire, 3082 32nd Street Bypass, on Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021. When officers arrived ,they found a 25-year-old male victim lying on the ground on his back, outside the building, at the north end of the parking lot, with another male rendering aid. An officer took on the rendering of aid and when he asked the victim what happened, the "very pale" victim, according to an SCPD report, lifted his shirt to reveal an open wound to his lower right stomach area. A witness told the officer that the victim had accidentally shot himself with a shotgun, later determined to be a 12-gauge Maverick Model 88. The officer did not find an exit wound although the victim's back was heavily bruised, the report said.

According to the report, Silver City Fire Department Rescue arrived on scene and began to treat the victim. He was then transported to Gila Regional Medical Center by GRMC ambulance. The medical condition of the victim is not known, except, according to SCPD, he is still in a medical facility.

None of the witnesses interviewed actually saw what happened, but one, sitting in his vehicle next to the victim's pickup, stated he heard the victim's front driver's side door open and then heard a loud bang and the victim screaming and jumping out of the pickup. Other witnesses, the report said, heard the gunshot but thought it was a tire exploding and went to see the cause of the noise.

The witnesses and the victim are all employees of Big O Tire, according to the report.

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.