There's a venue called the Atlanta Expo Center where they have large shows. They've had a few gun shows scheduled that got cancelled due to COVID so this is the first big show they've had since March of this year. The size of this show would be comparable to the ones they used to have at coconut Grove convention Center.
Anyway, I did my usual thing of starting down one end and methodically working toward the other end. I was almost to the other end and was looking through one of those big rotating bookshelves when an actual gunshot rang out. Since loaded weapons or magazines are not allowed in the venue, everyone immediately froze and started looking around. Then about ten to twenty seconds later, people started running toward the exits, ducking under tables, hiding behind big columns and running toward the back of the building around where I was. It caused a chain reaction and there was some shouting which was hard to make out so I hugged the corner of the table where I was and ducked trying to see what was going on. I figured since I was at a corner I could use the shelves for cover from two different directions and run out the back if I needed to. after a while no further gun shots rang out and everyone started to calm down. Eventually, everyone got back to normal but as it was almost closing time a lot of vendors started packing up and everyone that remained was pretty miffed to say the least.
At the entrance, there's a table that puts zip ties on guns and asks you if you have any loaded mags (which are not allowed) but there's no metal detector so somehow a loaded revolver made it inside. Apparently the moron that brought it was at a holster vendor and someone mishandled the gun and it went off. The gunshot was actually surprisingly close to where I was standing when it went off. Close enough that one of the vendors behind me could smell the gunpowder (I was wearing a mask so I didn't smell anything). There were no holes or obvious damage around the vendor's area (which was set up in a "U" shape), but around closing time four Atlanta PD officers went to the vendor and I saw him talking to them while pointing down toward the area under his tables. My guess is that the idiot who brought it in was trying to buy a holster and gave it to the vendor in some type of bag and when the vendor pulled it out he broke one of the cardinal rules and put his finger on the trigger and it went off. Either that or the idiot did it himself, while fortunately aiming downward. In any case, nobody got hurt, which was just pure luck as it was a fairly crowded venue, but it got damn scary for a minute. It certainly ruined what had up 'till then been a very pleasant day. It's also not the kind of thing that makes us all look good in general.
Anyway, my heart got its workout for the day, that's for sure.
, Webster Flea Market last month some redneck bought a shotgun, walked into the parking lot and tried it out on a metal road sign....yep a lot of people shouldn't own guns