Terry J. Dunlap Sr.
The Republic
A special prosecutor says no felony charges should be filed against a central Ohio firearms instructor who accidentally shot a student in the arm in his concealed-carry class last year. The prosecutor said Monday that the shooting near Lancaster was accidental and 74-year-old Terry J. Dunlap Sr. was not acting recklessly at the time. Dunlap, a local township trustee who is certified to teach concealed-carry classes, shot 27-year-old Michael Piemonte while he was demonstrating a .38-caliber handgun toward the end of a 12-hour concealed-carry class on Aug. 10. Piemonte, who was not seriously injured, tells The Columbus Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1hO6spE ) that he believes Dunlap acted recklessly and should at least be charged with a misdemeanor. He said Dunlap has never apologized.
Not only that, but the bumbling instructor, lawful gun owner an concealed carry permit holder that he is, has a history of shooting people accidentally.
Cathy Schmelzer couldn’t believe it when she read in the newspaper that Terry J. Dunlap Sr. — a firearms instructor — had accidentally shot someone.
“Oh no, he’s done it again!” she said she thought to herself. Schmelzer, 50, was Cathy Hessler, a 14-year-old Pickerington girl, when she was accidentally shot in 1977 by Dunlap during a Halloween hayride.
