Martin man accidentally fires 9 mm into neighbor’s apartment

MARTIN, Tenn. — What police call an accident involving a gun at Chapel Ridge apartments in Martin have many worried about how firearms are being stored and handled.

“A gun can go off anytime you’re handling it, and you can instantly put other people in jeopardy,” Capt. Phillip Fuqua with the Martin Police Department said.

Martin police say 24-year-old Lamont Harris accidentally fired his Glock 9 mm, sending a round through his wall and into his neighbor’s apartment.

The bullet went through his neighbor’s headboard, a dresser on the opposite side of the room, an interior wall and into a closet.

No one was hurt, but residents say someone could easily have been killed.

“It’s got me scared now,” Yasmine Askins, a resident of the area, said. “I need to start to watch out the windows and keep my kids in the house.”

Martin police officers described this case as strange but said something like it has happened recently.

“Probably two or three years ago, we had this exact same thing happen on the south side of town in an apartment complex,” Fuqua said.

Fuqua said even though they were accidents, the dangers are the same.

He says people should use this as a reminder to properly store their firearms and use a gun lock when indoors.

“Be aware of where the muzzle is pointing, assume all guns are loaded and never put your finger inside the trigger guard until you’re ready to fire a weapon,” he said.

Harris was issued a citation for firing a gun in the city limits and was also given a criminal summons for reckless endangerment.