Monday, December 1, 2008

Dumb and dumber

At the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan, in the early morning hours Saturday, New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg. At least that's what we're supposed to believe.

Mr. Burress had a Florida-issued concealed weapons permit (that expired last May). New York does not recognize any other state's concealed weapons permits.

For some reason Mr. Burress felt he needed to carry a loaded handgun in his waistband when he went out that evening - to a posh Manhattan nightclub. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize that alcohol and loaded handguns are a bad idea.

At some point the gun (allegedly) slipped from Mr. Burress' waistband and he claims that when he tried to grab it through his pants the gun fired and the bullet passed through his right leg. Apparently no one heard the gun go off because no one came to his aid.

Mr. Burress' teammate, linebacker Antonio Pierce, decided to take the gun and hide it in New Jersey. Mr. Burress declined an ambulance ride to the hospital and relied, instead, on private transportation.

Ironically enough, Plaxico Burress was not scheduled to play for the Giants this past weekend due to a leg injury.

It will be interesting to find out what really happened that evening. Why was Mr. Burress carrying a loaded handgun to a nightclub? If it was for protection, maybe he should think twice about where he goes or with whom he goes. Why would his teammate take the handgun and hide it? If Mr. Burress was shot accidentally there would no reason to hide the weapon. How did Mr. Burress get the handgun past the metal detector?

Mr. Burress is now facing a weapon possession charge and has turned himself in to police.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had a client do this to himself once. He got charged with carrying a gun in a bar, but the case was dismissed because, bullet hole notwithstanding, the State couldn't prove that he had a gun.

Paul B. Kennedy said...

I'm impressed by your use of the word "notwithstanding" in such a natural manner.