Gun show assures safety ahead of Pima County event

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - The owner of Crossroads of the West Gun Shows is assuring visitors they will be safe at their next event which will be held at the Pima County Fairgrounds.

Bob Templeton said the licensed gun dealer linked to a shooting Saturday at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix has been banned from participating in future events. Crossroads of the West Gun Shows will hold an event Jan. 2, 2016 at the Pima County Fairgrounds.

Templeton provided new details on the shooting. He said a licensed dealer zip tied the weapon he was going to sell before checking the chamber.

According to Templeton the dealer sold the weapon to a man who cut the zip tie before accidentally firing a round, hitting his friend. The man who was shot is expected to recover.

Crossroads of the West Gun Shows has a long history of holding safe events, said Templeton. Inspectors check weapons coming into the building, making sure they are empty and zip tied. They also go around checking displays to make sure weapons are zip tied, he said.

Loaded guns are not allowed, and all participants are required to thread a zip tie through their guns to show the gun has been checked for ammo and to prevent it from firing.

Paul Rodriguez of Second Amendment Sports, an outdoors sports store, said there are two ways to use a zip tie, and it makes a big difference between safety and someone getting hurt.

"You zip tie through the barrel," he said. "You not only ensure that you've cleared any bullets in there, any obstruction in there, but you're also showing that gun cannot fire because the zip tie is going to be stuck in there."

Rodriguez said if a gun is zip tied the wrong way, through the grip, a person can overlook a round in the chamber.

"It still won't allow for a magazine to go in there so you can't load it, but that zip tie was not obstructing the barrel at all so they might not even checked it, it might have been stuck in there," he said.

Templeton said this should not be a concern to gun show participants.

"It shouldn't be of concern to the folks who come to the shows because it's not like guns are going off at the shows on a regular basis," he said. "We're grateful the young man who was injured wasn't more severely injured."