Oklahoma man doing target practice in his backyard accused of fatally shooting woman blocks away

[douglas9]

An Oklahoma man who was doing target practice in his backyard on Christmas is believed to have shot and killed an elderly woman a few blocks from his home, authorities said.

Cody Wayne Adams, 33, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter in connection with the deadly shooting, court filings show.

The victim was on a covered front porch with family members at a residence in Comanche when she was shot Thursday afternoon, according to the probable cause affidavit. She was holding a baby in her left arm while seated on a love seat when she was struck in her right upper arm, according to the affidavit. The bullet then entered her chest cavity, it said.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/oklahoma-man-target-practice-backyard-accused-fatally-shooting/story?id=128707327

[marble falls]

1. An example of what happens when when anyone can buy a firearm without the level of training that's ...

... required for a license to cut hair.

[Orrex]

2. But freedum!

[marble falls]

5. Most gun buyers are under the sway of Dunning Kruger Effect. They think it's just a matter of point and click. ...

... Back in the day when NRA wasn't a personal piggy bank for it's officers and it had a mission beyond politics, they actually promoted firearm safety. They had firearm safety classes, and when I was fourteen or fifteen back in the early sixties, had the safety courses after school. My wife got firearms instruction when she worked for CIA, and never carried one on duty. I got further instruction in the Navy. I don't know anyone who carries now, concealed or open, that got any more instruction past "squeeze, don't pull" and a few hours on lawful carry.

I don't own firearms any more, my concern is that if that tool is in the box, I might find a need for it. And I don't need that tool.

[AverageOldGuy]

32. How right you are . . .

I remember when the NRA was about:
1. Firearms safety
2. Conservation
3. Marksmanship and safety training

I guess none of those topics brings in the $$$$

[Trueblue Texan]

23. My holy roller biker sister in law got my husband a gift certificate to the firing range for Christmas.

She gave it to him when I wasn't around, of course. When I found it in a bag of gifts from my in-laws I questioned my husband about it. He said it was for him from his sister. I was F*ING LIVID!!! I told him I was going to get her a dildo next Christmas. She wants to gift something that is completely against our values, I'll gift something that is against hers. He said he'd give the gift certificate back to her. Good idea, I told him.

[Auggie]

3. Potential penalties, first-degree manslaughter, in Oklahoma:

https://legalclarity.org/first-degree-manslaughter-in-oklahoma-laws-and-penalties/

A conviction for first-degree manslaughter in Oklahoma carries severe consequences. Under 21 O.S. 715, the law mandates a minimum prison sentence of four years, but judges have discretion to impose significantly harsher penalties depending on the circumstances.

Since first-degree manslaughter is classified as a felony, those convicted face long-term incarceration in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections rather than county jail. Sentencing often depends on aggravating or mitigating factors such as the level of recklessness involved, prior criminal history, and whether the defendant accepted responsibility.

Beyond imprisonment, a conviction results in the permanent loss of firearm rights under Oklahoma Statutes Title 21, Section 1283, which prohibits felons from possessing or purchasing firearms.

Additionally, individuals convicted of first-degree manslaughter may face substantial fines, though Oklahoma law does not specify a set maximum, leaving financial penalties to the court’s discretion. Restitution is also a possibility, requiring the defendant to compensate the victim’s family for funeral costs and other financial losses.

A felony conviction has lasting consequences beyond sentencing. Under 57 O.S. 582, individuals convicted of violent crimes in Oklahoma must register with the state’s violent offender registry, affecting housing and employment opportunities.

Furthermore, the conviction cannot be expunged under 22 O.S. 18, meaning it remains on the defendant’s record indefinitely. This creates long-term difficulties in securing jobs, professional licenses, and even certain government benefits.

--------------------------

Link sounds as if Adams admitted responsibility, so a defense seems doubtful. But a minimum four-years in prison seems inadequate. Shooting a gun in a neighborhood backyard is insanely reckless.

[twodogsbarking]

4. He won't serve time, I bet. Locally a guy shot a neighbor claiming he thought it was a deer. The neighbor lived.

The shooter used a pistol in a residential area. He just got home from deer humting with a rifle. Despite breaking numerous laws he got off. Just a misuderstanding. This is America. Guns mean more than, well, people. Deal with it. There will be no improvement.

[Auggie]

10. He admitted it. No judge will allow him to walk.

[twodogsbarking]

11. OK

[Old Crank]

17. So much for just enforce the laws we have.

Every gun crime should mean prison and permanent loss of gun privileges.
That includes adults leaving weapons around like party favors for children to access.

[Trueblue Texan]

24. That baby in the woman's other arm will have a lot of sway with a jury. nt

[Jughead]

6. Federal firearm laws are required

A federal gun permit must be the requirement and a lengthy safety course before issuing a permit. Too many states have zero gun laws.

[Diamond_Dog]

7. That woman was probably holding her child. Or a grandma and grandchild.

If that bullet had been on a different path even millimeters off …..

[multigraincracker]

8. Firearms are dangerous.

Even the most trained group, cops, shot cops more than any other group.

[multigraincracker]

9. "a well regulated militia"

Not mentioned by gun rights activists.

[NJCher]

15. That's a shocker!

Didn’t know that!

[multigraincracker]

20. Years ago I met a man at a garage sale.

His hand was in a cast. I asked what happened and he said he shot himself while cleaning his pistol. Then he told me he was an NRA gun safety instructor. Said he made a mistake and was lucky it didn’t kill him.
No one is safe, firearms are dangerous.

[NJCher]

21. Who among us doesn't make a mistake?

NRA gun safety instructor.



Truth of the matter is, America is very primitive in a lot of ways.

[Squaredeal]

12. The only state law for target shooting in NJ is you can't shoot across a public road.

In a state that restricts most hunting by firearms to shotguns, due to the state’s population density, one can still legally target shoot with a high-powered semi-automatic weapon on private property, in a residential neighborhood, even up to a neighbor’s property line, with no distance restrictions to the neighbor’s private residence, as long as the shooter is using some sort of berm to stop the bullets. Many municipalities have their own ordinances prohibiting or restricting this practice, but others don’t. My town doesn’t have any restrictions and no one has been shot this way, so far. Where I live, all have been due to domestic violence, with the wife usually on the receiving end, while the husband was typically “cleaning” a loaded firearm in the house, in the middle of the night, etc.

[NJCher]

18. On this site

We have a DU-er who is a NJ lawyer who works for saner gun laws.

I think what you describe is crazy. I have fools for neighbors who pay leaf blowers to blast every leaf to kingdom come, but at least I don’t have shooters.

The name of the DU-er is PepsiDog.

[Tribetime]

13. This is horrible especially on Christmas

I got some idiot near my house.That's blowing off hundreds of rounds of target practice every Sunday.You can hear it through the whole city.I'm sick of it
They should make the price of bullets a $1000.Apiece, then maybe they wouldn't be so haphazard.With the bullets

[NJCher]

14. The words that stood out to me

Were elderly, baby, and loveseat.

Don’t sit on a loveseat loving on a baby in America.

The consequences could be death.

[SergeStorms]

16. Because nothing says "Christmas" like....

"target" shooting in a residential area.

[John1956PA]

19. Not that it matters, but there is a minor discrepancy in the news story.

I know very little about firearms. However, from what I understand, a "Glock 45" fires 9mm bullets (approximately 0.35 caliber). The article reports the seized weapon was loaded with eight, then ten, rounds of 0.45 ammunition. To my understanding, it is not possible to fire 0.45 caliber rounds with a Glock 45.

It is a horrible tragedy. The bullet struck the right arm of the woman, then it entered her chest cavity. It is very fortunate that the child, which the woman was holding in her left, arm was not struck.

[JohnnyRingo]

28. You are correct.

The editor who typed up the story knows even less than you about firearms and assumed the 45 meant caliber.
The distinguishing quality of the model 45 is that it's shorter and easily concealed. He won't have to worry about that anymore.

[rurallib]

22. "blocks away" - Jesus H !

[Espoir]

25. Not Unexpected

My husband was startled by bullets whizzing through the woods near our garage when the neighbor was shooting target practice off his back deck (about 5 years ago). We contacted the Sheriff who "talked to" the neighbor but nothing was done -- supposedly in the semi-rural area where I live (2.5 acres lots), it's not illegal. Or if it is, it's tolerated. It was close enough that it chipped the bark off the tree my husband was standing next to. We're a strange country.

[UpInArms]

26. Stupid people do stupid things

Never ever once having two brain cells communicating

“Shooting a Red Bull can”

[JohnnyRingo]

27. In fairness it doesn't sound like malice. It was a careless accident

Certainly one that could have been avoided if he used common sense safety rules by not shooting in a residential area. He seemed contrite when he was taken into custody.
The headline sounds too much like he was a kook who wanted to kill someone.

Adams allegedly told deputies who responded to his home that he had been shooting a Glock 45 that he recently bought for himself for Christmas at a Red Bull can in his backyard, according to the affidavit.

When a deputy said he suspected the shooting may have caused the victim's death, Adams "became visibly upset and began to cry," the affidavit stated. The deputy also told him that "while he was shooting towards the ground in his backyard that there was nothing behind his property to stop any bullets from traveling beyond his property and hurting someone," the affidavit stated. Adams' home is located approximately 0.3 miles away from the residence where the woman was shot, based on the addresses included in the affidavit.

[AverageOldGuy]

29. Back in the day . . .

. . . back in 1951 when I was 7, my grandfather gave me a single-shot .22-cal rifle for Christmas and a box of bullets.

I distinctly remember a warning on the box to the effect that these bullets can travel up to one mile, be careful, or something like that.

[Linda ladeewolf]

30. Most gun owners now days, do not have a clue about how far a bullet can travel.

Perhaps, we need to start some gun groups that are more inline with our beliefs. These accidents didn’t happen nearly so frequently when actual safety classes were taught. People can be taught how to safely own firearms. This occurrence in my opinion was stupidity and not an accident. The NRA is completely useless now that’s it simply a Russian supported entity. Just like other movements though the gun fanatic group could be co-opted by us. With more guns than population it would be easier than trying to get rid of them completely and for now more effective.

[Grim Chieftain]

31. Horrible beyond words

Elderly woman shot and killed on a front porch with family members while holding a baby on Christmas Day. My god.

Those poor people will carry this tragedy with them forever.

[AverageOldGuy]

33. Glock 45

I may be mistaken but I think the "Glock 45" is a small 9mm pistol, not .45 cal, though it may come in .45. But here's the best/worst part.

Pistols are considered close range weapons -- out to about 25-50 yards.

HOWEVER: A 9mm pistol's range varies: the 9mm round maximum travel can exceed a mile, but its effective range for hitting targets is much shorter, typically 25-50 yards for average shooters, extending to 100+ yards for skilled marksmen, with combat effectiveness usually around 50 yards. So -- that bullet can travel out to a mile where it has enough velocity to cause serious damage if it hits a target just right.