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The former editor of Guns & Ammo magazine is accused of using a gun and ammo to kill a man visiting his house yesterday.
Richard Venola, 53, was arrested by Mohave County Sheriff’s deputies after allegedly shooting 39-year-old James Patrick O’Neill outside Venola’s home in Golden Valley, which is outside of Kingman.
O’Neill was pronounced dead at the scene, the Sheriff’s Office says.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, O’Neill apparently had been visiting Venola, but what exactly the purpose of that visit was hasn’t been disclosed.
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O’Neill had a gunshot wound to the chest, and deputies confiscated a “large caliber rifle” from the scene.
Venola was booked into the Mohave County Jail on a second-degree murder charge, and the Sheriff’s Office says the case is still being investigated.
According to the Guns & Ammo website, Venola, a retired Marine, took over as the associate editor of RifleShooter magazine — owned by the same company as Guns & Ammo — in 2004, and was named editor of Guns & Ammo less than three years later.
Guns are described as Venola’s “first love” in his biography.
UPDATE: This post initially said Venola’s the current editor of Guns & Ammo. We’ve been told his biography was a little outdated, and he actually left the post a couple of years ago.
