RIP Sam

[HK-42]

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[Mav]

Why was anybody pointing a gun at anybody else regardless of whether or not it was loaded? That's like pushing someone out of plane because they're wearing a backpack and goggles...

[Tommycat]

FIRST rule of firearm safety: ALL guns are loaded ALL THE TIME. Always assume that the firearm in your hand is loaded and WILL destroy whatever the muzzle covers. If you point a gun at someone as a joke, just testing, playing, YOU SHOULD NOT BE HANDLING A FIREARM! The only time a firearm should be pointed at someone is when you are ready to kill that person.

 

Second rule of Firearm Safety: NEVER POINT THE WEAPON AT ANYTHING YOU DON'T WANT DESTROYED! I know this seems like a repeat of the first rule, but that's the friggin point! Never point a gun at anything you don't want removed from the world.

 

So many people forget these rules. I for the life of me cannot figure how a person can accidentally shoot someone when they are CLEANING a firearm. The first step in cleaning a firearm is to REMOVE THE AMMUNITION!!!

[True_Avery]

*Rubs temples*

 

Who taught this guy how to properly handle a firearm?

 

1. Never assume the gun is empty. It is always loaded.
   
2. Do not ever put your finger on the trigger of a gun until you are ready, and safely aiming.
   
3. Do not ever aim the barrel at anything that could potentially be a dangerous target. In other words, keep the gun aimed at the ground at all times.
   

 

The grounds for claiming this was "accidental" are, in my opinion, paper thin. A clearly untrained 18 year old shouldn't be messing with a handgun in their room, not checking if its loaded, messing with the firing mechanism, and, above all, having the barrel aimed at anything but the floor. This is, at the very least, Involuntary Manslaughter. You -never- aim a real firearm at another human being unless you aim to kill.

 

EDIT: Tommy got to it a second before me! A second!

[Blix]

I'm sorry about your loss but kids shouldn't be playing with guns, it's ignorant and obviously dangerous.

[Astrotoy7]

My condolences. No matter what the cause, the death of a young person is always tragic.

 

It is unsettlling to to see others more inspired to harangue you about 'guns n stuff' than offer some simple words of support for a fellow member.

 

Rather than give you a lecture about gun safety, here's a memorial denoting life cut short.

 

R.I.P

 

 

mtfbwya

[LordOfTheFish]

Very sorry to here.

My thought's go out to his family and friends...

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but by the way you worded the post I was lead to believe it was your brother who shot him.

[Ping]

My condolences. It always seems to be harder to deal with a death that was preventable, IMHO.

[Darth Avlectus]

@ ping: Very true.

 

@ OP: I'm so sorry to hear about the loss. Really I am.

I'm probably parroting what others have already said thus far (have not read) but...NEVER EVER assume the gun is unloaded or its safety is on,

 

NEVER point it at anyone or any living being (except obviously in reasonable self defense--which this wasn't) or at any unsafe target (which is pretty much anything),

 

don't be pulling that trigger UNTIL AFTER you are DAMN SURE you are READY to shoot a designated safe target otherwise keep your damn finger OFF the trigger,

 

Also I'd like to add in case this shooting was while the gun was being handed from one person to the next; In a case of handing off a gun to another:

CHECK to see if the gun is LOADED or NOT

MAKE SURE the SAFETY is ON

hand the gun to the other with the BUTT of the gun FIRST and yourself holding onto the barrel pointed AWAY from yourself;

 

conversely as the receiver, keep the gun pointed AWAY from unsafe targets as you get it WITH YOUR DAMN FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER, MAKE SURE Safety is ON and whether or not the gun is LOADED.

 

I really don't mean to sound condescending but gun safety CANNOT be emphasized ENOUGH. I go shooting every few months and I drill these things of safety into the heads of young kids--Same goes with kinetic/rail devices (even just the maxwell capacitors could kill you in 1/1,000,000th of a second), laser devices (both output beam AND power supply), and microwave devices (again the output, and the power supply).

 

Not that I imagine most people would be anywhere NEAR those latter things.

[Blix]

My condolences. No matter what the cause, the death of a young person is always tragic.

 

It is unsettlling to to see others more inspired to harangue you about 'guns n stuff' than offer some simple words of support for a fellow member.

 

Rather than give you a lecture about gun safety, here's a memorial denoting life cut short.

 

R.I.P

 

 

mtfbwya

 

It is especially tragic when young lives are cut short due to stupid and irresponsible actions. The moral of the story: don't aim a gun at your best friend's head (be it loaded or not).

[HK-42]

undefined

[Q]

Oh, God; this is awful.

 

I know first-hand how easily stupid **** like this can happen. A similar thing actually happened to me about 20 years ago. I was inspecting a Glock 17 that my friend had just bought and noticed that it was cocked. I asked him if it was loaded and he said that it wasn't. It didn't have an exposed hammer, so I tried dry-firing it and it went off. Fortunately, I had it pointed in a safe direction (at the ground) and no one was harmed, but it sure as hell scared the **** out of both of us. From then on, when it comes down to the question of whether or not a gun is loaded, I'll never take someone else's word for it again, even if I trust them.

 

My condolences, and I hope that things work out okay for your brother. I can only imagine the guilt that he feels right now.

[LordOfTheFish]

In that case I hope your brother doesn't have to hard of a time dealing with it.

[mimartin]

While I never had first hand involved in someone’s death, a decision I made in life did inadvertently had a hand in someone’s death. If I had not been selfish and self-centered the person involved would have been where I was instead of being hit and murdered by a drunk driver. I have never gotten over it and still have a difficult time dealing with it. I cannot imagine in my wildest nightmares how difficult it would be to deal with the knowledge of having first hand involvement in the accidental death of anyone, much less a friend. Support your brother, don’t let him shut himself off from the rest of the world and help him seek professional help.