Becca Campbell Twitter 800x430 1 A 26-year-old woman accidentally shot and killed herself late Friday evening with a gun she purchased in preparation for large-scale protests in the aftermath of the impending grand jury decision in the death of Michael Brown.
Posted on by Justin Baragona

St. Louis Woman Accidentally Kills Herself With Gun She Bought For Possible Ferguson Unrest

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A 26-year-old woman accidentally shot and killed herself late Friday evening with a gun she purchased in preparation for large-scale protests in the aftermath of the impending grand jury decision in the death of Michael Brown. The woman, identified as Becca Campbell, was a passenger in the car her boyfriend was driving when, per the boyfriend’s story, she began waving the gun around claiming they were ready for Ferguson. The gun then accidentally discharged and Campbell was struck in the head.

Below is an excerpt from CNN’s report on the incident:

The boyfriend, who wasn’t identified, told police that the couple had bought a gun because of fears of unrest related to the pending grand jury decision on the shooting of Michael Brown, the sources said.

He told investigators that as they drove late Friday night, the victim waved a gun, jokingly saying the couple were ready for Ferguson, the sources said.

He ducked to get out of the way of the gun and accidentally rear-ended another car. He said the accident caused the gun to go off and she was struck by a bullet in the head, the sources said.

The victim was rushed to a hospital but died.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported on the incident Saturday. At the time, it was just known that the shooting was part of an accident that occurred Friday evening in downtown St. Louis. A reporter for the Post-Dispatch, Paul Hampel, actually took a photo of Campbell protesting in Ferguson back in August. The photo shows her arguing with a police officer. Hampel tweeted the picture out after CNN reported the circumstances surrounding Campbell’s death.

 

St. Louis Metropolitan Police are still investigating Campbell’s death as they need to verify the validity of the boyfriend’s story. They are currently awaiting results from gun trace tests to see if they match up with the sequence of events as told by Campbell’s boyfriend. It appears that Campbell bought into the same notion that many in the area have in these last few weeks. Gun sales in the St. Louis area have spiked as residents feel they need further protection in the event that Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson is not charged with any crime by the St. Louis county grand jury. Wilson shot and killed an unarmed Brown on August 9th, sparking protests in and around Ferguson.

However, the actual amount of violence and damage caused by protesters in the immediate aftermath of Brown’s death has been greatly overblown, which has likely led to the feeling that the entire St. Louis are will burn if Wilson is not indicted. While it is a given that there will be demonstrations throughout the area if Wilson is not charged with anything, protest organizers, activists and community leaders have been preparing for the event. Organizers have held classes to teach protesters proper ways of civil disobedience as well as provide basic medical training.

Of course, there will be those who use protests as a way to justify property damage or even looting. Even to that end, while there was damage caused in August when protests were at their most heated, perspective shows that the actual monetary damage wasn’t as bad as one would think. Jeremy Kohler of the Post-Dispatch wrote an article on Friday providing insight into what has actually occurred in Ferguson since August, comparing these protests to other events.

• Insurance claims from property damage due to Ferguson protests reported to the state totaled $250,000 after the first month of unrest; one prominent local insurance adjuster who processed three claims on West Florissant Avenue estimated damages were no more than $5 million, which included $1 million to $1.5 million for the burned QuikTrip.

• By comparison, damage to property in the 2001 St. Louis hailstorm: $2 billion. • And the 2012 St. Louis hailstorm: $1.2 billion.

• Another way of looking at it is that the two St. Louis weather events combined caused 640 times as much damage as the unrest after the Brown shooting so far.

• More perspective: In 1992, the damage to property in Los Angeles from riots and some 7,000 fires was about $1 billion.

Just to reiterate the generally peaceful but disruptive nature of these protests, activists organized a march through St. Louis’ Shaw neighborhood Sunday night. The Shaw neighborhood is where Vonderrit Myers was shot and killed in October by an off-duty St. Louis police officer. Over 100 protesters marched from Shaw Market through various parts of south St. Louis and made their way back to Shaw. Along the way, the protesters shut down traffic at various intersections. At the same time, there were no violent confrontations. Below are some of my tweets from the march.  

The grand jury reconvened Monday morning. Even if they come to a decision Monday, it is expected that they will wait at least until the following day to publicly announce it so as to allow law enforcement and other public entities to prepare.

29 Replies to “St. Louis Woman Accidentally Kills Herself With Gun She Bought For Possible Ferguson Unrest”

  1. We will never know the reality here. Perhaps she bought the gun in protection from the cops, perhaps from protestors. In any case, guns belong in the case or box you bought them in. Not loaded in the car. Very irresponsible of the two people in the car

  4. Guns are just a tool with no brains, no conscience. Unfortunately the humans that pull the trigger have an array of emotions that can be played by society. Now a days this emotional manipulation by mass information has ignited a cesspool of extreme fear – and hate. during this time we need show love, understanding, compassion and intellect before we destroy ourselves. PEACE. This has noting to do with religion.

  5. Sadly Lorraine gunnuts are also tools with no brains and no conscience! I have no sympathy for this woman, sorry but sympathy is not warranted. This is what happens when stupidity and fearful paranoia combine with a well known PROVEN public safety hazard. I would relish these idiots getting shot by their own guns, I wonder how many times it would take for them to GROW UP and stop playing cowboys and Indians.

  7. Is this incident a “teachable moment” for irresponsible gun carriers? Or gun purchasers who are mentally unstable? Yet The NRA and gun brokers make it very easy for these people to kill themselves and innocent citizens. Tsk, tsk…..What a story. The NRA should be convinced that not all guns should be carried by anybody with the money to buy them.

  10. There is little or no fact or logic to support anything you said. The NRA trains people in firearm safety. Mentally unstable people can not legally buy a firearm. Neither the NRA nor gun brokers decide who can or can not buy a firearm. That is governed by federal and state law. All guns can not be carried by anyone with the money to buy them. When the facts behind this incident come out we will most likely learn that the firearm was not acquired legally, and we just might learn that the boyfriend’s account of what happened is a total fabrication. We already know that having the loaded firearm in the vehicle was illegal.

  11. Wrongo.
    The NRA fights background checks at every turn. They are against anything that will stop anyone from obtaining a gun.
    The NRA has purchased representatives who represent the NRA and not the people. Gun laws are written in part with the help of the NRA
    The gun was purchased, that much we know. There is nothing saying these people could not have purchased a weapon. Your assumption because they were not responsible the gun had to be illegal is an extreme stretch

  12. AMERICAN WAY
    How did it start?
    Thousands of creeps
    Killed in the park
    AMERICAN WAY
    Try and explain
    Scab of a nation
    Driven insane
    Don’t cry
    Gotta go bye bye
    SUDDENLY: DIE DIE
    COP KILL A CREEP! pow pow pow
    AMERICAN WAY
    Threatened by US
    Drag a few creeps
    Away in a bus
    AMERICAN WAY
    Prisoner: lock
    SMASH EVERY CREEP
    IN THE FACE WITH A ROCK

    Don’t cry
    Gotta go bye bye
    SUDDENLY: DIE DIE
    COP KILL A CREEP! pow pow pow

  13. Kritical:

    Chew on this: Not every gun owner is a member of the NRA, with that said—they don’t go to any type of gun training, hence the mishaps. There’s a ton of illegal guns in the hands of those who had the money to buy, and because they could not pass muster, bought their guns illegaly. Or got their guns from some other owners one way or the other, know what I mean? A mentally unstable person sometimes do NOT SHOW those signs at the counter when buying the gun(s), he is not that crazy to show the salesperson a card that says he is crazy or mentally unbalanced then and may go off in the future. We could go on, but I think the next response from SHIVA puts the icing on your cake. Just saying.

  14. Fire arms ownership is a monumental responsibility and our Constitutional heritage. The real crime hear is making the purchase out of fear of our fellow citizens driven by increased tensions between the community and law enforcement. Poor policy is to blame. This current societal trend towards political terrorism is used to incite fear in the nation and distract people from the real problems facing us as the United States of America. For the young woman who lost her life by her own hand, gun control policies would have made no difference for her; self control is the only thing that could have prevented this tragedy.

  18. I have no problem with your argument and agree with it. Simply having 2 braincells that communicate would have been a help in this case

  19. Guns are an attempt at self medication by those suffering from the mental illness of fear and hatred. And it doesnt cure the disease, it makes it worse.

    Guns in the home are more likely to end up killing those in the home rather than an “intruder”. As someone else pointed out, it will end up “thinning the herd”.

  20. Ingrid, in just a few sentences you summed it all up perfectly. Insecurity and mental problems cause most gun ownership and the NRA is like the meth dealer of the entire mess. Open carry IS Open Crazy or Open Carry should be Open Scary! Anti Gun IS Pro Life!

  21. “Self control” something that White Christian Ammosexuals have very little of Mr.Thinker. It is proven in their self defeating voting record and chosen “news” media. Those who thirst for firearms start out as “responsible” gun owners. It’s like an addiction but this kind of addiction is final by it’s very nature,drugs can always be weaned of…a bullet is final. I find that most gun owners are simply weak minded individuals who have severe issues of insecurity either right from the start or after the disease has time to spread through the mind. Firearms are a more major public health issue than drugs and the NRA is the dealer.

  22. 1. Loaded gun in vehicle,
    2. Gun out of box,
    3. Safety off,
    4. Idiot playing with gun like it is a toy,
    5. Distract driver so he has accident.

    This should be nominated for a Darwin Award.
    [WINK]

  24. Ever since Ronald Reagan’s administration, most people suffering from mental illness do not receive any help. Either they don’t have insurance, don’t qualify for assistance, or they don’t seek help. (They’re crazy, and don’t think they need help) Guns are sold by private individuals, at shows, and at businesses. Even those required to do a background check still have to use the existing database, and are incapable of verifying mental health.Don’t be ridiculous. Crazy people buy guns every day, and when they can’t buy them, they take them from someone else. Ever heard of Sandy Hook?

  25. Gun safety 101…don’t play with a loaded gun. Big Jerk. Gun safety 102…IF you Must Play with a gun then confirm it to be unloaded.

  26. I hope she removed her self from the gene pool before she had any
    offspring. That way she would not have perpetuated STUPID!!

    [WINK]

  28. You do know that the NRA pays “lobbyists” to wine and dine politicians so they will NOT make laws governing gun control, i.e. back ground checks for felonies, mental health or political affiliation that keeps ANYONE from buying a fire arm. You can buy them out of the back of someones trunk without questions. You can buy them at gun shows, again no checks. The NRA is killing this country one person at a time.

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