Dudley & Lake File Suit Against Waukegan Gun Range After Employee Discharged Gun Severely Injured Patron
The following article was published on Lake and McHenry County Scanner on May 5, 2022.
A lawsuit has been filed against a gun range in Waukegan after an employee discharged a gun, shooting himself and a 19-year-old patron, causing the teen to suffer a “severe” hand injury.
The incident happened around 2:15 p.m. on April 1 at Caliber Tactical Gun Range, 3059 Washington Street in Waukegan.
Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Joe Florip said at the time that officers received a call for two people who were shot inside the building during an accidental discharge incident.
A male employee, who is from McHenry and in his 50s, was sitting at a table just outside of the firing range lanes.
The employee accidentally discharged his pistol, Florip said.
The bullet went through his thigh, ricocheted off the floor and struck the wrist of an adult male teenager from Libertyville, who was seated, Florip said.
Two ambulances were called to the scene and both men were transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
Bullet fragments are seen on an x-ray lodged into the hand of 19-year-old Jack Keating after an accidental shooting at Caliber Tactical Gun Range, 3059 Washington Street in Waukegan, on April 1. | Provided Photo
Officers processed the scene and the discharged firearm and spent shell casing were collected for evidence.
Attorney J. Matthew Dudley told Lake and McHenry County Scanner this week that a lawsuit was filed on Monday against Caliber Tactical Gun Range.
His client, 19-year-old Jack Keating, was severely injured due to the employee’s “reckless use of a handgun,” Dudley said.
Keating received surgical care from a hand specialist at Advocate Condell and has a long road to recovery.
“He will have a long road to recovery, but he is very motivated to get back as much use of his hand as is possible,” Dudley said.
The lawsuit, which seeks an unspecified judgment of more than $50,000, said that the employee involved handled a loaded firearm while not in the shooting area, a violation of company policy.
The suit also said the employee failed to properly holster or secure the firearm.
A pretrial conference has been scheduled for August 16 in Lake County Circuit Court.
