Summary
Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Trump’s nominee for US surgeon general, was involved in a 1990 gun accident at age 13 that killed her father.
A handgun fell from a tackle box she knocked over, discharging and fatally wounding him.
Nesheiwat cites the tragedy as her inspiration to become a physician but omits specifics of the incident in her upcoming memoir.
If confirmed, she would replace Dr. Vivek Murthy, who declared gun violence a public health crisis.
The nomination highlights GOP opposition to addressing gun violence through public health policy.
These kind of misfires are known to happen (Warning: fictional blood and gore). The right impact can either simulate a trigger pull, directly strike the firing pin itself, or otherwise jostle the firing pin free; especially in older firearms, whether due to design or wear. This is why some places mandate that new firearms sold have a drop safety mechanism.
It would likely have to have been stowed loaded and cocked. If it was in the tackle box, other objects in the box could have disengaged the manual safety (if it was even engaged in the first place) and bumped the trigger.