Sioux City Journal

Sioux Co. teen shot, but injuries not life threatening

UPDATE

By Dolly A. Butz
Journal staff writer | Posted: Wednesday, August 13, 2008

SIOUX CITY -- Police say an 18-year-old accidentally shot his 17-year-old friend in the hip Tuesday at a home in rural Sioux County.

At 10:39 p.m. Tuesday, the Sioux County Sheriff's Office responded to 2070 360th St., three miles east of Hudson, S.D., to investigate a shooting.

Marcus Joel Koenen, 17, who lives at the residence with his parents, was shot once in the hip area with a 9mm handgun. He was transported by private vehicle to a hospital in Rock Valley, Iowa, and was later airlifted to Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls.

"It sounds like they are not life threatening, and may or may not even require surgery to extract the bullet," Sheriff Dan Altena said of Koenen's injuries.

Derik VanGinkel, 18, of rural Inwood, Iowa, had been handling the handgun, which is owned by Koenen's father, in the basement of Koenen's home when the gun fired and struck Koenen, according to Altena. He said Koenen's parents were home at the time of the incident. The sheriff's office believes that the shooting was an accident, but the investigation remains open.

"This gun was legal. It's owned by the family, but certainly it shouldn't have been accessible to the 17 and 18-year-olds down in the basement," Altena said.

The incident was the second shooting involving teenagers in Siouxland this week. On Monday, Sioux City Police say 16-year-old Codie Kapaun shot 16-year-old Ryan Blanchard in the head with a .380-caliber handgun inside a Riverside area home. Blanchard, who was on life support late Monday night, died Tuesday. Kapaun was charged in juvenile court with involuntary manslaughter, a Class D felony.

Read more in Thursday's Sioux City Journal and online at www.siouxcityjournal.com.

Story Comments

Free Man wrote on Aug 13, 2008 7:37 PM:

" How many children died in car accidents this week, or in house fires? My god, can't we lock up the autos and matches so no children can have access to them. It's time for parents to instill some common sense into their children and teach them firearm safety. Treat EVERY firearm as if it was loaded and never point it at anyone, especially if you are on dope or drinking.

Sept.9, 2001; 5 people were blugeoned to death in Sioux City by a claw hammer weilding crazy. I pray to God that everyone has their hammers locked up with claw hammer locks installed so that this may never happen again. "

Beav wrote on Aug 13, 2008 5:11 PM:

" All this goes to show Darwin had it right. "

NICKI wrote on Aug 13, 2008 4:56 PM:

" I CANT BELIEVE THIS!! FIRST I AGREE WITH EVERYONE GUNS NEED TO BE LOCKED UP AT ALL TIMES!!! AND I AGREE WITH ANDREW SINCE WHEN IS IT OK TO POINT A UNLOADED GUN LET ALONE A LOADED GUN AT SOMEONE!! I DONT CARE OF THE AGE OF SOMEONE ITS THE POINT THAT ONE THE GUNS ARE NOT LOCKED UP AND TWO THAT THIS IS HAPPENING...UNREAL IT REALLY IS...I SIT AND LOOK AT MY 2 MONTH OLD SON EVERY DAY AND JUST HOPE AND PRAY NOTHING LIKE THIS WILL EVER HAPPEN...I JUST CANT BELIEVE IT!! "

To Andrew wrote on Aug 13, 2008 4:33 PM:

" You hit the nail on the head. Pity that "common sense" is so UNcommon! "

Andrew wrote on Aug 13, 2008 3:28 PM:

" To Start Thinking.....Are you frickin kidding me? Since when is it ok to point an unloaded gun at somebody? Wow!!! I think you need to start thinking. And to Amazed....Since when do 18 year olds need to have guns locked away from them? Last time i checked the military issues guns to 18 year olds. Age here is not the problem, common sense is. "