Marine's pistol accidentally fires, killing wife

10:40 PM PST on Tuesday, December 18, 2007

By kgw.com and AP Staff

Wife was loved by friends, coworkers

KGW Report
TUALATIN, Ore. - A decorated Oregon Marine getting ready for a job as a deputy with the Clark County Sheriff's Department was practicing his draw when his .45-caliber pistol discharged, shooting his wife, police said.

Investigators determined that 24-year-old Ryan Michael Osbrink accidentally shot Kimberly Lynn Osbrink as she entered the room in their apartment Sunday night, said Tualatin Police Capt. Jeff Groth.

Kimberly Osbrink, 23, was hit in the abdomen.

Responding officers found Ryan Osbrink administering first aid to his wife, who was rushed by ambulance to Oregon Health & Sciences University Hospital, where she later died.

Kim Osbrink was well loved by friends and co-workers at Healthy Pets in West Linn. She and her dog Gus were fixtures in the store and customers knew them both by name.

According to her MySpace page, she and her husband had been happily married for three years.

Ryan Osbrink was awarded the bronze star for courageous actions in Iraq. He was to begin a job as a deputy this Wednesday. His hiring has been delayed pending the final investigation.

The weapon was Ryan Osbrink's own. He had not been issued any weapons or other equipment from the Clark County Sheriff's Office, Groth said.
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This is so sad, another case of a soldier returning from Iraq killing his wife - accidentally they are saying at this point. But seems there was a rash of 3 or 4 wife murders by returning soldiers some time back. He sounds like a good guy, but why would he be using a loaded weapon to practice "drawing" it from the holster???
I feel so sorry for her family, and him if he is truly innocent.

that is true I know that the military and the police departments teach you gun safety. Makes you wonder doesn't it.

it surely does make you wonder

well i don't know if this one was accident or not but as for the others,when the soldiers just "snapped".i think the problem is our soldiers aren't mentally prepaired BEFORE they go to war.there's been too many times that i've seen soldiers say "i'm gonna go kick some @$$" then once they get there,it's not as easy as they thought and than after being there for a year or more,they get so used to the violence that they're not used to the peacefulness of home,so IMO i think they need to be coached better on what they're going to be facing once they get over there.

I got to take his side, being a Marine in all. He did not do it on purpose.

I don't know if it was an accident, but having been with a military man...they keep loaded weapons sometimes; sometimes sleep with a decent size knife near by. And being that he went to war, he'd wake up a little crazy sometimes and they'll grab for that protection because it's generally somewhat like where they kept it when they were over there...that's going to be a hard case.

JT - gotta agree with you on the others, they need to debrief the soldiers when they bring them home, give them a chance to wind down, get ready for normal life, but just bringing them from a war and sending them back to their wives proved deadly for several.

Big - I hope you are right, want to believe it was an accident. How horrible to go through that, killing the one you love, he must be half out of his mind.

I will just say prayers for her family and his, what an awful thing to happen at all, and to top it off, one week before Christmas too. So sad.

Hmmmmmmmm so sad.........I myself wont allow fire arms in my house.....cause I know what would happen.....

But when I lived in america.......things were alot different.......hmmmmmmmmmm sad really.......I asked my friends there and they all had guns.......I prefer a golf club......9 iron........BAM!!!!

I won't have guns in the house either, married to an alcoholic he actually pulled guns on me twice during his drunken rampages. I don't want to have any guns anywhere around me. Always had a big mouthy dog, she seemed to do the trick and never had any problems with people bothering me.

In certain areas in america you really have to worry I guess.....i lived in a nice part of Oakland but geeeeeeeeez most ppl were packing geeeeeeeeez I was not used to that.........Im afraid of guns........and heaven forbid I ever had one in my possession..........

A gun, the only true line of defense against evil, which will always exist and seek to take and harm what is not theirs.

What the hell was he doing "practicing" drawing his weapon? Pretending he was a western star? I am sorry the military, marines, army airforce doesnt matter, ALL teach proper handling of weapons. I have NEVER heard of someone having to "practice" drawing their weapon, especially not a loaded one.
As far as I am concerned,a t this point it sounds more like negligent homicide if it was truly an accident.

And to those that think I am insensitive, keep in mind I did my time in the service, and I speak from experience.

Guns are as dangerous as the hand that weilds them. Irresponsibility with firearms is just as bad as an evil person with one in their hand, either way they kill. What is that old song "Saturday Night Special", he says "lets just drop all people to the bottom of the sea" to stop the gun deaths. I agree. You have to shake your head and feel extreme sadness for the those who think guns are the save all, they are not. In your childs hand they could kill you or their sibling, it is just sad.

I am not anti-gun but people can be such idiots. People suddenly go postal or columbine and there you have it, innocent deaths from a firearm in a hand that should not have it.

I have been taught how to handle a gun and shoot but because I had children in the house, I choose not to have one. A gun without the bullets in it, serves no purpose and with the bullets it becomes deadly. Just have to be smart and not keep guns around children or idiots.....lol

so very very sad

Magna-Trigger is the solution to the Kids + Guns problem.

It's a simple magnetic ring. If you wear the ring, you can fire the gun, if you aren't wearing the ring, the gun won't fire. That means if your kids or an assailant gets your gun, it's nothing more than a hunk of metal in their hands. This allows you to protect your family from intruders and from themselves.

http://www.tarnhelm.com/magna-trigger/gun/safety/magna1.html

It's not like people do not know this. Now everyone will have a magnetic ring so they won't have any trouble with the gun they get their hands on. It is no solve all to the idiots and the firearms problem. Kids or criminals are smart and will get ahold of the ring if they want to shoot the gun, it is not that much of a hindrance.

Your average buglar isn't going to own a magetic ring. Your average child cannot break into a safe. Put the ring in the safe while you aren't wearing it and if you are worried that the burgler is going to take your gun, pull the trigger before he/she can.

thank you so much Spider,
that is very informative

i did not know that,
thank you again so very much

The magnetic ring is only a half step to what is currently being worked on. It only works on K and J framed Smith and Wesson & Taurus revolvers. It weakens the frame considerably.. to the point if someone rips the weapon from your hand, in an upward and outward motion ~ Which is exactly the way you do it..to avoid getting shot. It renders the weapon live. Besides.. Who needs a ring? Just grab a magnet off the fridge!

There have been at least 3 patents applied for using digital personalized encoding in the last 2 years. Ideally speaking, a small computer disables the firing mechanism from operating unless it is in the hands of an authorised user.
http://www.findthatpatent.com/Firearm_with_personal_safety_interlock_mechanism,6487804.html

The technology is referred to as 'Smart Gun'. For the most part it has failed miserably. Both in practical use and on the political scene. That may change though.. New Jersey actually has a law in place, about a technology that is essentially vaporware. New York, Tennessee, Ohio and Congress have repeatedly looked at following suit.

I also know of a few folks working on development of a hard holster that has either a fingerprint scanner, biometric device or radio transponder on it... It will not release the weapon or give access to the trigger unless your index finger, hand or some sort of hand or wrist wear is programmed in. Even though this device does not prevent someone from taking the weapon out of your hand and using it against you.. it does prevent it from being taken off of you, or out of your holster in your home and firing it. So.. it is a major improvement over the trigger lock, which pretty much makes a weapon the equivalent to a rock when it comes to immediate self defence ~ unless you can foresee the future.. It still falls short of 'Smart gun' technology.

The advantage is.. It could be used on any weapon..without modification to the weapon itself. Including long-guns in scabberds.

The challenge in development is in the speed, reliability of the scanner/ transponder and weight/bulk of the device.

Unfortunately, neither of these devices would have saved the woman who was shot by 'Quick Draw McGraw' in Portland. I've found, in my field and other fields of engineering.. 'Fool Proof' is something we shoot for..but entirely unattainable. For some reason, a determined fool can override every well designed precaution.

I'm sure as available technology reveals itself.. an answer is out there that will satisfy the demand for a safer weapon for any condition. We ain't there yet.

I have chosen to not have firearms in my household for about 10 years now. Which.. to most who knew me in my twenties would think out of character. I've lost too many friends to accidental and intentional use of firearms.

I have also learned that firearms very rarely are an appropriate way to defend your home and self...even with the best training. Unless you have the thing duct taped to your hand with a live round chambered. In which case you will probably shoot yourself, or your loved ones, neighbor down the street..

Most crime happens too fast to react. You are better off using hand to hand, or running and screaming like a banshee.

The only ones truly prepared for it are criminals and Cops, and they get killed all the time.

I try not to put myself in a position where I would need deadly force as an option these days. As a result... life is inherently more peaceful!