Boy Scouts admits prior shooting cases, attorneys say

Attorneys for the family of a Big Island Boy Scout killed in an accidental shooting during a “Troop Shoot” and “Family Fun Day” at a camp firing range in August are pressing for reports of other recent Boy Scout-related shooting incidents nationwide.

The family of 11-year-old Manuel “Manny” Carvalho filed a lawsuit in January in Hilo Circuit Court seeking compensatory damages against the Boy Scouts of America and the organization’s Aloha Council for wrongful death and gross negligence that included alleged violations of safety rules and allowing high- powered guns around children without adequate supervision.

A memorandum filed by the plaintiffs Wednesday in support of an earlier motion asking the court to compel the Boy Scouts to provide documents that were to have been turned over May 12 includes a copy of a national Scout Executive Packet dated July 18, five weeks before the fatal Hawaii shooting. The packet contains a section emphasizing that proper supervision is required any time a shooting sports range is in use, in accordance with the BSA Shooting Sports Manual and National Camp Accreditation Program standards.

“Recently, several shooting sports related incidents and near misses have occurred,” the packet states. “During the incident review process, these incidents and near misses showed a pattern of not following the range’s standard operating procedures (SOPs), a lack of proper supervision, and utilizing staff owned firearms and ammunition, including firearms prohibited in the camp’s program.”

During a Hilo court hearing Friday and in their memorandum, Carvalho family attorneys Thomas Biscup of New Mexico and Kris La­Guire of Hilo said that any internal reports on prior incidents are central to their wrongful death claims. “The national problem described by BSA prior to Manny’s shooting are on point with what led to Manny’s death,” their court filing explained.

Hilo attorney Lincoln Ashi­da, representing the Boy Scouts, noted the complexity of the case and voluminous records, arguing in court that not all the documents being requested were part of the original discovery motion.

Responding to Biscup and LaGuire’s comments about prior incidents, Ashida retorted that in its nearly 120-year history the Boy Scouts have never had a firearm fatality. “That’s never happened,” he said.

Third Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto agreed to extend the deadline for producing the first batch of requested documents to May 26.

According to the lawsuit, the scoutmaster for Hilo Boy Scout Troop 19 and another parent brought an arsenal of weapons to the Aug. 28 “Troop Shoot” and “Family Fun Day” at Camp Honokaia in Honokaa, including an AR-15-type rifle, an M-4 carbine, four shotguns, four Glock pistols and an AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifle.

Carvalho was shot in back of the head while sitting behind the firing line at one of the camp’s firing ranges. The Hawaii Police Department said its investigation determined the Waiakea Intermediate School sixth grader was accidentally shot when an “unsupervised” boy picked up the AK-47 that discharged when he placed it back down on a table.

The lawsuit claims the two Boy Scout organizations failed in their obligations to ensure and enforce their own safety practices and standards for shooting sports, including lack of planning, restrictions on certain firearms and making sure a qualified range safety officer was present.