Lifelong Morgan Hill resident Tony Librers, 31, died after
accidentally shooting himself with a handgun during a camping trip
this weekend.
Lifelong Morgan Hill resident Tony Librers, 31, died after accidentally shooting himself with a handgun during a camping trip this weekend.
The accident occurred east of Stockton, in Tuolumne County, about 3 a.m. Saturday, according to his father Joseph Librers.
“They were having a party around a campfire. Tony had a handgun and it went off accidentally. He had the clip out of it but he didn’t clear the chamber.”
Librers was on life support until Sunday afternoon, he said.
Librers said Tony, who graduated from Live Oak High School, loved spending time with his three daughters, Julia, 12; Antonia, 8; and Adriann, 2. Librers wasn’t married and lived alone, his father said.
His boss Gary Ponzini of Ponzini’s Community Garage said he wasn’t so much of a worker as a friend. He and three others began working there about nine years ago, Ponzini said, and they were like family.
“He was a good guy. He loved practical jokes, riding motorcycles. If it was something exciting, he wanted to do it,” Ponzini said.
Librers was always the first to volunteer to tow “recoveries,” vehicles stuck in banks or in otherwise unusual circumstances, Ponzini said. Ponzini said Librers probably didn’t get home until 2 a.m. Wednesday, after Tuesday’s storm.
“He loved the excitement of them, they’re always different and harder to do,” Ponzini said.
Librers said his son was good with his hands, and could “do anything.
“He could write stories, paint and draw. He was physically fit. He liked to rappel down mountains.”
Librers said his son was a mechanic, too, and worked on his brother Joey Librers’s race car.
“He was a very good son. He was really an all-around good guy,” his father said.
Librers said his son’s organs were to be harvested for donation Monday.
“His mother, brother and I, and our spouses, agreed that it was something he would have wanted. He was in such good shape. (His organs) needs to be shared with other people. We believe he would have liked that.”
Librers was formerly the stepson of Councilwoman Marilyn Librers, who was married to Joseph Librers for several years during Tony’s childhood.
Marilyn Librers said he and her son, Tim Hennessey of San Jose, remained close.
“This is a horrible tragedy,” she said.
In addition to his three daughters, Tony Librers is survived by his father Joseph Librers and his wife Valerie; his mother Elizabeth Westphal and her husband Donald; his brother Joseph Librers, 33; and several step-siblings.
