Bend firearms instructor speaks in wake of Ariz. tragedy

A firearms instructor who trained officers at Oregon’s police academy for a decade spoke to NewsChannel 21 Sunday about the recent tragic fatal accident in Arizona as he distributed flyers outside the Oregon Trail Gun Show.

Steve Eichelberger, also a former prosecutor in Salem, was spreading the word about his individual training courses through Double Tap Firearms in Bend.

An instructor since 1958, Eichelberger weighed in on the recent accident involving a 9-year-old girl who was learning to shoot an automatic weapon and accidentally shot and killed her instructor at an Arizona gun range..

“Having done this for years, and seeing thousands of sets of hands holding guns, I can pretty well tell if somebody is a danger to themselves or me,” he said.

“I wear body armor as an instructor,” Eichlelberger said. “There’s stories all over the country of instructors being shot, not just this fellow.”

Eichelberger says he can’t begin the pre-screening process until the individual gets to the range. Being a teacher for five years has helped him decipher if someone is able to follow directions or not.

He says in the last 15 years, he’s only had to send one person home.

Eichelberger says Double Tap will hold a class he will teach in coming weeks, called “What Do I Do?: The Law And Logic of Armed Self-Defense.”

Visit http://doubletapfirearmsbend.com/ for more information.