Gun Policy News, 20 January 1999
More Killed by Guns in SA Than on the Roads
20 January 1999
Business Day (Johannesburg)
JOHANNESBURG — More South Africans died violently or were injured by firearms than in road accidents, with more than 30 gun-related deaths recorded daily, lobby group Gun Free SA said.
The group said firearms had become the fastest growing cause of violent death in SA. Police figures showed that more than 11190 people were killed by guns while more than 78330 were injured in 1997, the group said.
This averaged 215 injuries a day, with 62 people put in hospital. Last... (GunPolicy.org)
Killer Avoids Death Penalty for Shooting a Hunter
20 January 1999
Associated Press
ROCHESTER, New York — Tool maker David Van Dyne Sr., doleful over the prospect of losing custody of his two children, loaded up on beer and cocaine and drove into the countryside on a snowy November day in 1997.
He pulled into a cemetery to take a nap. When he awoke, the battery was dead. Spotting a car nearby, Van Dyne grabbed his .410-caliber shotgun and went looking for the owner, a hunter who liked to spend a few hours at a time roaming the fields and backwoods... (GunPolicy.org)
Survivor to Testify in Gun Trial
20 January 1999
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Weeks before Steven Fox was nearly killed, he watched a friend buy a small, black handgun out of the trunk of a blue Oldsmobile from a man who said he had just come from "down south."
About a month later, the friend accidentally shot Fox in the head with the illegal pistol, Fox testified Wednesday in a federal lawsuit accusing the firearms industry of negligently marketing handguns.
The case has drawn comparisons to recent lawsuits against the tobacco... (GunPolicy.org)
Greek Police Seize Hoard of Smuggled US Arms
20 January 1999
Reuters
ATHENS — Greek authorities have confiscated a hoard of illegal arms smuggled from the United States with a value of about $540,000, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.
Two Greek-Americans and one Greek-Canadian were arrested in the operation, which was conducted by the ministry's special economic crime force.
The stockpile included hundreds of Smith & Wesson, Ruger and Jennings pistols, as well as bullets, in the back of a freezer lorry. "The illegal arms came... (GunPolicy.org)