Welcome to So Dead, a podcast that's as random as it gets.

I'm Jen Carpenter.

And I'm Danny Fairman. Happy True Crime Tuesday.

And happy Taco Tuesday, Deadheads. Today we're going to talk about the laws of physics.

As in, what goes up must come down. Or more specifically, when you fire a gun, that bullet's going to go somewhere and hit something.

So be careful when you're handling deadly weapons, please.

This week's episode is about what happens when people are careless with firearms.

And it ain't pretty.

According to the CDC, more than 18,000 people are unintentionally shot every year in the United States.

500 of those incidents turn out to be fatal. We're going to tell you about two such incidents that took place in Mid-Michigan. On July 4, 2012, thousands of Mid-Michigan residents

flooded Adado Riverfront Park in Lansing to attend the city's annual fireworks show.

The Lansing Police Department took every precaution to make sure that the event was a safe one.

Attendees had to enter through a gated area where all bags and persons were checked for weapons and fireworks.

Not even sparklers were allowed in.

Over 100 officers were on duty at the park. The mayor was there,

probably shaken hands, kissing babies. But short of surrounding the park with a giant protective

bubble, no one could have prevented the tragedy that took place, because when gunfire erupted,

it didn't happen inside the park, even though that's where the danger was.

One person that attended the fireworks that night was 34-year-old Michelle Packard, a recent graduate of Michigan State University with a bright future ahead of her.

Michelle graduated from Tawas Area High School in 1996.

She moved to the Lansing area in 2009 to pursue her

doctoral degree at MSU. Is it doctoral? I feel like I said that wrong. I think it's doctoral. I don't have one.

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