[deanmine]

A Chicago thrift store worker died after a handgun hidden in a donated item of clothing went off and the bullet hit the woman in the chest, police said.

Carmen Dominguez, 54, was sorting through clothing with a fellow colleague at a Unique Thrift Store in Chicago, when she was fatally shot in the chest at 9:42 a.m. on Friday, a Chicago Police Department spokesman said.

The unidentified male coworker found a sock with something heavy inside, and emptied the contents into his hand, police said. The object turned out to be a .22 caliber handgun that went off and hit Dominguez in the chest.

Dominguez was taken to Christ Hospital in serious condition and later died from her injuries, police said.

"Preliminary investigation reveals it was an accidental discharge of a firearm," the Chicago Police Department's Michael Sullivan told ABC News.

Dominguez was a longtime employee of the thrift store, having worked there for more than 25 years and had received numerous awards from the store, ABC News Chicago station WLS-TV reports.

Dominguez is survived by a husband, Victor Campos, and two children aged 17 and 30.

"I don't know what to tell her. How do you tell your daughter that she doesn't have a mother anymore?" Campos said.

Unique Thrift store did not immediately return calls from ABC News, but released a statement on Friday saying:

"We are extremely saddened about the tragic accident in our Ashland store that resulted in the passing of one of our valued team members. Our thoughts and hearts are with her family and friends during this very sad and difficult time."

The store closed temporarily on Friday, but was open again for business today.

"Conditions are hazardous, sometimes they throw stuff without any intention to each other and they get hurt," Campos said of the workers at the store.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is looking into the incident as police continue their investigation

[Darkest Angel]

Just saw this on FB. Tragic. We never know what the day has in store for us, do we.

[Megamel29]

Damn. That is awful. I bet the coworker feels awful even though I don't think it was his fault. I wonder if the person who owned the gun even knew they were donating it.

[Pyramid_Head]

Woman with an honest job for 25 years, taken away in the blink of an eye. I feel terrible for her family and the coworker.

[gatagato]

This is sad and crazy

[OhJstFkOffAlrdy]

Kinda suspect, if you ask me. Most guns don't just "go off" unless they're defective and take a serious rattling of some kind. It's possible that the co-worker mishandled the weapon and wasn't careful to keep his finger away from the trigger.

It might have been a damaged or defective weapon, but that seems like a slim possibility to me.

[deanmine]

i understand the point ur making.. however ..it really depends on the maker of the gun and how much whare and adjustments have been made to the hammer and trigger mechanism..... so many guns out there.... lots of mods and designs out there on the market.. and apparently in socks too

[OhJstFkOffAlrdy]

It would have to be a seriously fucked-up weapon to "just go off." There's a common misconception that guns are all set on hair-triggers or will start blasting from the slightest knock; even with wear and tear or serious degradation due to prolonged neglect, it just doesn't happen that often. If the owner had modded it in a way that rendered it unsafe, then one has to wonder why it was loaded at the time that they chose to store it. Plus the fact that it was stored in a sock suggests that it was being taken care of, and whoever put it there was trying to keep it dry and rust-free in the first place. Or it's possible that someone was ditching a murder or otherwise illegal weapon, in which case the gun may have truly been a real piece of shit already.

I just wish they had included more information about the condition of the weapon, since "it just went off" is an insufficient explanation by itself. The CPD official said that it was an "accidental discharge," but that phrase doesn't rule out human error. Hell, I've had an accidental discharge before, but there wasn't anything wrong with the gun involved.

[Blewvane]

Originally Posted by deanmine ↗

"Preliminary investigation reveals it was an accidental discharge of a firearm," the Chicago Police Department's Michael Sullivan told ABC News.

^^ says it all. Guns don't fire unless the trigger is pulled. I feel sorry for both involved, he would've scored a nice little .22 if he didn't accidently shoot his work mate.

[OhJstFkOffAlrdy]

Originally Posted by Blewvane ↗

^^ says it all. Guns don't fire unless the trigger is pulled. I feel sorry for both involved, he would've scored a nice little .22 if he didn't accidently shoot his work mate.

This goes double if it was a revolver, which is a common platform for .22 handguns. Since they have less moving parts than a semi-automatic, they're less prone to misfire.

Again, some guns that are truly shoddy can pop off without solid pressure on the trigger; but the odds of a gun in such a terrible condition just not firing at all are much greater than that.