An Evanston, Illinois, man is dead after he put a shotgun up to his head and pulled the trigger in an attempt to show his friends that the firearm was unloaded.
Tragically, the shotgun was loaded and 31-year-old Eric Zyzanski was fatally wounded.
Police said they found Zyzanski “on the floor with a shotgun wound to his head. The shotgun was lying beside him.”
The incident occurred on Sunday after Zyzanski was grilling with some friends, including his girlfriend, at his apartment. Christine Edwards, the building manager, who didn’t attend the party but spoke with police afterward, said that Zyzanski “Thought it was unloaded.”
“The victim ejected 2-3 rounds” from the shotgun, then “held the shotgun to his cheek, told his friends it was empty and pulled the trigger,” said police, according toThe Evanston Review.
All those who were present “gave consistent accounts of what had happened” added investigators, and the “body and the evidence corroborated the witnesses’ accounts.”
Zyzanski death was ruled a suicide; something that Edwards challenged.
“It was a tragic accident,” she explained. “He was a good kid. He was not a depressed individual.”
No doubt what this guy did was a very dumb mistake, but the devaluing of his life in these comments is aweful. Crap like that is what makes antigunners think we are heartless haters. Show some respect. This guy was someones son, brother, boyfriend maybe even father. I hope no one ever publicly mocks you for your greiving families to read about someday.
HAHAHAHAHAHA Another natural selection darwin award winner!!!!
He needed that like a hole in the head.
Cringe! I could NEVER point a gun at myself or anyone else (that I didn’t intend to shoot) no matter how certain I am it’s unloaded.
What an idiot
If he wanted to demonstrate that the gun was unloaded, he could have accomplished that by pointing his “unloaded” shotgun in a safe direction and pulling the trigger. I have no sympathy for someone this stupid.
It would be cynical to say, “Gene pool cleaned? Check.” But this does raise the issue of gun safety, of which I am a profound advocate. I quit shotgun hunting with a very good friend from college because he had a habit of swinging his loaded (safety off?) shotgun through my midsection as he discussed a kill. Sorry, Jay Meyer, not going to hunt with you.