MYSTERY: Shooting Range Victims are Twins from Australia

MYSTERY: Shooting Range Victims are Twins from Australia

www.denverpost.com

The shootings happened Monday afternoon at the Family Shooting Center at Cherry Creek State Park southeast of Denver. Both of the 29-year-old women were shot simultaneously in the head.

Doug Hamilton, the owner of the range, said the women were using small-caliber guns and were shot nearly simultaneously.

"The ladies hit the pavement virtually at the same time," Hamilton said.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Aside from being an extraordinarily rare gun range fatality story, this story strikes me for the phenomenon of simultaneity surrounding and permeating the lives of twins.

We've all heard stories of twin lives seemingly following twin fates, right down to the smallest details, but this is one of the only twin stories in which the twins — who were traveling together and who shared a common interest in firearms — were struck simultaneously by the same cruel twist of fate... in this case, it would seem the twins were simultaneously headshot by the same bullet.

I'm betting it was a bullet from their own firearms, discharged accidentally at close range, perhaps even ricocheting. Extraordinary.

— Zesko Whirligan

www.denverpost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Guess when its your time, its your time.

Rest in Peace ladies.

I wounder if there the same Swedish/german blonde, twins who made a mess of the British Mi5 Motorway a while back,, the BBC made a documentary about it,, would love to know,,

very odd indeed!
but !
they didnt get the same fate..
one died and one is in stable/critrical condition

very odd story indeed goodfind

Originally posted by Zesko Whirligan

MYSTERY: Shooting Range Victims are Twins from Australia

www.denverpost.com

The shootings happened Monday afternoon at the Family Shooting Center at Cherry Creek State Park southeast of Denver. Both of the 29-year-old women were shot simultaneously in the head.

Doug Hamilton, the owner of the range, said the women were using small-caliber guns and were shot nearly simultaneously.

"The ladies hit the pavement virtually at the same time," Hamilton said.

(visit the link for the full news article)

My condolences to the family of these twins.... tisk tisk I want to laugh but it is so sad.... wow who does that?

Now if its the same twins from MI5 motorway, i wouldn't count the dead one out yet,, ya ya i know miracle recovery, from a head shot,, gee for those twins no big deal,,,

reply to post by BobAthome


How can it be the swedish twins? It even says they were Australian.

How can this happen??? Wow.. sad to hear.

According to This article (written today) one of the twins is still alive, and the police are treating it as a double suicide attempt

‘‘One of the women has died as a result of a gunshot wound. Her sister is currently in serious but stable condition in a Colorado hospital,’’ the spokesperson said.

"[The wounds] were self-inflicted. That’s what it appears, that’s as far we can tell,’’ he said.

What are the gun ranges like there? Are the guns chained to the walls so that you can't turn them towards yourself? They are here.

So bizarre... Apparently the incident was captured on the gun range closed circuit security camera, so there will be an examination of the vid as well as forensic testing on the bullet (or whatever) that struck both the women simultaneously. I can think of three possible explanations for the incident:

1.) Deliberate Shooting. Which would suggest either an incredible deliberate shot from a third party that struck both women in their heads (which seems unlikely), or simultaneous suicides by the women (even less likely).

2.) Accidental Shooting. Again, a stray bullet from a third shooter that brought both women down simultaneously, or one of the women's weapons accidentally discharged and inflicted both injuries at close range.

3.) Catastrophic Firearm Malfunction. In other words, perhaps one of the women's weapons exploded, sending shrapnel into both women simultaneously.

Of the three possibilities, I think the last one seems most likely. Here's what we know: The two women were here from out of country, so they wouldn't be carrying firearms — to my knowledge, you can't bring personal firearms into or out of the USA, unless you're a federal official or international big game hunter or something with all the appropriate paperwork for transporting such weapons. So, I'm guessing these women rented small-caliber firearms at the gun range, right. Who knows how often rented guns are tested for defects and wear? Perhaps one of the rentals simply malfunctioned with tragic results.


— Zesko Whirligan

reply to post by Zesko Whirligan


The guns would have certainly been from the range itself because you can't really own guns in Australia (you can, but it's complicated) and there's no way you could carry one on an aeroplane.
But I'm sure rental guns would have very strenuous tests because of insurance and OH&S.

reply to post by Zesko Whirligan


It says small calibre, but doesn't actually state the calibre, is it even possible for a single small calibre bullet to pass through one persons head and still have enough energy to critically injure a second?

Originally posted by davespanners
is it even possible for a single small calibre bullet to pass through one persons head and still have enough energy to critically injure a second?

I know that a 22 bullet, the smallest caliber in my experience, can inflict a remarkable amount of damage, due to its tendency to ricochet multiple times. But, again, we don't know what "small caliber" implies in this story — they may be talking about 380s or even 9 mm handguns. The 9 mm has legendary penetration and could certainly inflict stated injuries under certain circumstances (angle of deflection, etc).

In any event, I've contacted the Denver Post reporter who covered the story and have inquired about a few of the unstated details, so I'll post them as soon as he replies.

— Zesko Whirligan

I just found out they were from the city I live in.

Wow, here's an update already on the Twin Shooting in Colorado:

Investigators Puzzled Over Death of One Twin Sister, Wounding of the Other at Colo. Shooting Range

Investigators Puzzled Over Death of One Twin Sister, Wounding of the Other at Colo. Shooting Range

Investigators still don't know whether the shooting was an accident, a suicide or foul play. No suicide note was found. "Every time I get new information there's a new twist," sheriff's Capt. Louie Perea said. "We're keeping an open mind."

Investigators have ruled out the possibility that a third person could have shot them. The women had been to the shooting range before and knew how to use the pistols they had rented, said Doug Hamilton, the gun range's owner. He would not say when they were there previously.

Suicides have occurred at the Family Shooting Center, one in 2004 and one last year, Hamilton said.

It's that last line that blows me away (pardon the pun). I was not aware that suicides at gun ranges are pretty common out west, for some weird reason.

This same gun range in Colorado has had 2 suicides in 5 years. But at a gun range in Murray, Utah, they've had 3 suicides in just 6 months in this year alone. Down in Agoura Hills, California, they've had 7 suicides at the same gun range.

After looking into it, I see the reason why. While you have to go through a background check to buy a handgun in the USA, you do not have to be background-checked to rent a handgun at a gun range. So, while a background check might catch or deter people with mental disorders before they can buy a gun, all they have to do is show a driver's license at a gun range and they'll have a loaded weapon in their hands within a few minutes.

I'm not saying or suggesting that these Australian women in Colorado committed suicide, but their story has certainly brought the oddity of gun range suicides to my attention.

— Zesko Whirligan

Well the news in Australia are all saying it was a suicide, not sure why you guys are hearing different stuff.
Certainly explains why in Australia our gun ranges are set up in a way that the gun can't be turned towards the person holding it.

The article in the OP says their wounds were self inflicted and there is no evidence of ricochet or 3rd party shooter . The range officer said it is likely a double suicide.

reply to post by Nventual


They chain the guns to the walls? Thats really weird. No here you dont have your guns chained. And the article did say other suicides had happened before, but I still would not want the guns chained to prevent it.

There was an old saying my grandmother had............."Sometimes people die."

Originally posted by hawkiye
The article in the OP says their wounds were self inflicted and there is no evidence of ricochet or 3rd party shooter . The range officer said it is likely a double suicide.

Just to be clear here, the URL link in the OP was to the original story that broke several hours ago in the Denver Post, a story which had a different headline and different news content.

Since that time, the Denver Post has updated the story and changed their headline, but they kept the same URL link. So, the updated story and headline are significantly different than the story first linked in the OP.

However, even in the update, I do not see where the range officer specifically said this was a suicide.

It says the wounds were apparently self-inflicted, but that does not mean it was a double suicide. It may have been a double homicide, with each sister pulling the trigger on the other at the same time. Stranger things have happened with twins.

— Zesko Whirligan