Key Takeaways
- Film director Michael Mann, 83, was hospitalized after a .45-caliber handgun discharged at a West Los Angeles gun range on October 31.
- LAPD responded to the shooting on Missouri Avenue around 4 p.m. and determined the incident was accidental.
- The round struck Mann's left thigh, and law enforcement sources said his injury was not life-threatening.
- Mann's publicist said the weapon accidentally discharged while holstered, resulting in a superficial injury, and that he was being released.
- Page Six reported the facility was The Range LA and that LAPD described Mann as being in the middle of firearm training when the gun discharged.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
LOS ANGELES, CA — Film director Michael Mann, the 83-year-old filmmaker behind “Heat” and “Collateral,” was hospitalized Saturday afternoon after a .45-caliber handgun discharged at a members-only indoor gun range in West Los Angeles. He was holstering the gun. It went off. The round struck his left thigh.
LAPD officers responded to a report of shots fired in the 11100 block of Missouri Avenue around 4 p.m. on Oct. 31 and determined the shooting was accidental, as reported by ABC7 Los Angeles. Law enforcement sources told ABC News that the gun discharged as Mann was holstering it and that his injury was not life-threatening. Range staff offered medical aid before paramedics took him to a local hospital. In a statement to ABC News, the department said, “The subject was transported to a local hospital in stable condition. An injury report was completed.”
Page Six reported that the facility was The Range LA, a members-only shooting club on the city’s Westside. It also reported that LAPD described Mann as being in the middle of firearm training when the gun went off.
Mann’s publicist issued a short statement: “On Saturday, at a gun range, a weapon accidentally discharged while holstered resulting in a superficial injury to film director Michael Mann. He was treated and is being released.” That statement says the gun went off while holstered. Law enforcement sources describe Mann as being in the act of holstering it. No public account so far explains what caused the discharge, and I am not going to guess.
More from USA Carry:
The detail that matters most for anyone who carries or trains is Mann’s background. An insider told Page Six that Mann has practiced target shooting for decades. This was not a first-timer at the range. This was someone with years of trigger time, in a controlled setting, doing one of the most routine movements in handgun shooting.
Experience builds skill. It also builds familiarity, and familiarity is where attention slips. The draw gets most of the focus in training. The return to the holster deserves the same focus, every single time. Finger off the trigger and indexed along the frame. Eyes on the holster. Slow down. Make sure nothing is in the holster mouth, whether that is a shirt tail, a jacket, or a strap. Nobody wins a prize for a fast reholster. That is a mindset issue, not a gear issue, and it applies to the shooter with 40 years behind the trigger just as much as the one with 40 days.
