Specialist Disregards Gun Safety, Now Disabled
Specialist Kevin Holyan as a wounded warrior athlete. (U.S. Army photo/Leanne Thomas)
Never point a gun at something that you don’t intend to shoot. Assume that the weapon is loaded, exercise proper clearing procedures to help avoid negligent discharge, etc. One doesn’t have to be in the military to be aware of this. Those who attend weapon safety and use training on the civilian side get this and other safety tips.
Likewise, most know or should know that dangerous equipment shouldn’t be handled while intoxicated. Don’t drive, don’t operate dangerous equipment, don’t try to mess with firearms, etc., if one is drunk.
A Specialist, Kevin Holyan, attended a party celebrating a friend’s promotion. This was the same friend that kept Kevin Holyan’s weapon, as Kevin couldn’t keep his firearm at his residence.
Holyan subsequently made one decision after another that was going to lead to his life changing forever.
From Military Times:
After Holyan showed off the alterations to his gun, it was put away, and the guests continued to eat, drink and converse, according to witness statements.
But the handgun reappeared later in the evening as a group of people was gathered around the kitchen table, and the gun ended up back in Holyan’s hands.
Holyan was the butt of some good-natured ribbing, and he then said something to the effect of, “I should just kill myself.” He put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger, assuming it was unloaded.
“The investigation was unable to determine who may have placed [the round] there, unfortunately,” Timmons said. “Everybody swore it was empty.”
Holyan’s legal team disagrees with this decision as they insist that his actions didn’t qualify as “deliberate misconduct.” The Army argues that Holyan was drunk when this occurred. Holyan made the decision to get drunk. This lead to decisions that may not have been made had Holyan been sober.
What do you guys think? This was done in the line of duty… Award him SGLI and benefits? Or, the Army nailed it, this should be a constructive lesson learned for others and for him?
You could read more at Military Times. Thanks to Dustoff for this link.
Category: "Teh Stoopid", Army
Let me get this sraight. He was already combat wounded and in a wheel chair before he shot himself in jest?
Willful misconduct… play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
“Never point a gun at something that you don’t intend to [destroy]” reads better as it drives home that guns are tools, tools that f*** s*** up.
Sorry to the Specialist but he willfully destroyed government property in front of witnesses.
Lesson learned, never leave witnesses.
I’ve never seen an unloaded firearm.
Only when it’s in pieces on the bench in front of me….
And THAT is it…
A firearm is always loaded and you can never think too much about gun safety…
I’m not entirely heartless. I do feel for the guy. I think he’s obviously going to be on some sort of government assistance one way or the other.
However, calling this a line of duty injury is an enormous stretch. If it was accidental maybe, but HE pointed HIS gun at himself and HE pulled the trigger. There’s nobody to blame for that course of action but himself.
Hmmmm…
What would the opinion or AR 15-6 results be if Specialist Holyan got behind the wheel of a car or a motorcycle highly intoxicated, crashed his car and suffered the same head injuries?
Or what if he was on a balcony at a party…and because of his intoxication, either fell off the balcony or jumped off the balcony…and suffered the same head injury?
The 101st, the Army and the Human Resources Command got right. IMHO, Specialist Holyan should not be entitled to any VA Disability pay, be Medically Retired and draw a pension, etc. He did it to himself.
Because he did serve, he will most likely be able to use VA benefits, i.e. health care access. Our tax dollars will be taking care of him health wise for the rest of his life…all because of his lack of judgment on consuming alcohol.
Again, he did it to himself. He put himself in the position he is in today. And I am calling BS on him not being able to work. Heck, the guy competed in Wounded Warriors Activities and placed high (Wounded Warrior? Seriously?)
There are others folks such as him that have his same condition and are employed. I personally have seen it.
youreapwhatyousow
How can we say he didn’t intend to kill himself when he announced: “I should just kill myself,” right before he pulled the trigger. I suspect that is exactly what he hand in mind, but didn’t succeed.
I was wondering the same thing.
LOD? Home, off duty, drinking …. Nope. That would be my finding and I did a few in the army.
We had a drunk get the very same results from a soda vending machine in the hallway one weekend.
We need details…that sounds like one hell of a story.
A drunk rocking a soda machine in a narrow side hallway, it fell forward on him and pinned him against the wall while snapping his spin in his neck. We don’t know who long he was pinned but it was permeant neck down paralyses. He just kind of disappeared into medical system, probably shipped somewhere near his parents. CQ/SDNCO days of boredom interrupted by seconds of terror.
Now that’s a really stupid way to go.
This incident and others like it spawned a lot of AFN “commercials “
Shit, Beesig…for a minute there I heard Jonn’s Voice reading “his” headline. <3
Possible that the person who unloaded the weapon took out the mag but didn’t rack the slide. If that’s the case, then I’ll just let the matter slide. Stupid is stupid.
In some states, such a Commiefornia, new semi-autos have to have a loaded chamber indicator and can’t be fired without a magazine in the weapon. But sometimes it is just impossible to protect all fools and drunks from their own stupid moves.
It’s only a matter of time before any “foolproof safety system” is defeated by a sufficiently talented fool. (smile)
That’s right. Just when you think you have made something foolproof, along comes an upgraded model of fool.
Darwin always wins. He’s very patient.
I was thinking the same thing, Jeff LPH – and if he was already partially inebrieated while putting on the new grips, that would be easy to forget.
But as rgr769 notes, some weapons today have a magazine interlock safety – and not only on CA models (pretty sure the Ruger LCP/ECP has that feature – and to my knowledge the ECP doesn’t have a loaded chamber indicator). I don’t know if the Glock 23 has that feature or not.
Regardless, I agree that claiming this injury should be considered LOD is asinine. I think the 101st CG got this one right.
FWIW: the lead guitarist for the group Chicago – Terry Kath – offed himself in much the same way in the late 1970s. After playing with an unloaded revolver, Kath jokingly put a 9mm semi-auto to his head, telling the person with him something to the effect of, “It’s unloaded – see, here’s the empty magazine”, and then pulled the trigger.
There was indeed no magazine in the weapon. However, there was a round in the chamber, and the weapon functioned exactly as intended.
First, sorry about reporting the comment- I fat-fingered my phone. Secondly, the Glock does at least have a loaded chamber indicator. Not sure if any Cali-compliant models of Glock exist, since I live in a free state. I can safely say, however, that a non Cali-compliant Glock does not have a magazine disconnect, and can fire without a magazine in
Didn’t Freddie Prinze (Chico and the Man) go out in a similar fashion?
Not really. Similar actions, but IMO far different circumstances and underlying motive.
While Prinze apparently sometimes played “Russian Roulette” to scare people, on the day of his death he’d made farewell calls to numerous family and friends and also left a suicide note. Regardless of what a court later ruled in a civil case (netting his family a substantial insurance settlement), the circumstances of Prinze’s death IMO make it pretty clear that his death was a suicide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Prinze#Death
In contrast, it’s reasonably clear from the known background info IMO that Kath’s death was an accident caused by a monumentally foolish act (putting an “unloaded” gun to his own head and pulling the trigger) following a key omission (not checking the chamber first).
Ask yourself: in an emergency, say if the magazine was inadvertently ejected, would I want a single shot? Or a short, oddly formed club?
Magazine safeties come from the same mentality as limiting battle rifles to single shots to avoid wasting ammo. Defensively, they are life threatening.
Oh, and neither LCP nor LCPII has a magazine disconnect. On almost all pistols, the extractor riding over the rim of a cartridge serves as a loaded chamber indicator.
That’s what it sounds like to me too. LOD injury? No. Stupid prize? Certainly.
Instant dumbass…Just add alcohol…point (.) 176. Down here, that’s twice the legal limit of .08.
Either way the case goes, the taxpayer will be on the hook for the rest of his life.
Hmm…I don’t know. I just read about a NCO who, while drunk, tried to cross a road in Kansas and was struck by two vehicles. And survived. The LOD came back as “not in line of duty”, but the Division COS disagreed and it was declared “in the of duty”. I guess I don’t know what will or wont be found LOD.
Basic weapons safety rules 101 that get drilled into us from Day ONE, RULE #1: TREAT…EVERY…WEAPON…AS…IF …IT…WERE…LOADED.
Do I feel bad for the kid? Yes. Do I think he should get to milk a moments worth of stupidity into a retirement check every month. No. Classic case of play stupid games/win stupid prizes. Now with MORE alcohol.
Well….
Darwin should have won that one, but, the game ain’t over yet…
Line of Duty – “No, due his own misconduct.”
The Army got it right.
Now, as for anyone calling him a “Wounded Warrior Athlete” I also must throw down the BULLSHIT card.
“Dumbass ex-soldier who deliberately put a gun to his own head and pulled the trigger athlete” maybe.