Man shoots, kills 1-year-old son when gun goes off

[Bob The Great]

very sad indeed. This is just one more reason to push the 4 rules (or however many you subscribe to. I personally have 5) when teaching someone to shoot. Harp, harp, harp, until they can't forget them.

I agree the wording in the story makes it sound like the gun chose to fire itself, which is, of course, impossible. Just more perpetuation of the myth that guns have minds of their own and are inherantly evil.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Spirit51]

If I hand my husband sitting next to me my weapon....it is empty and cleared and pointed away from anyone. He does the same. That is a rule with us when handing a weapon to anyone...even each other.

This is tragic for this family and for this man. I ran a call where a gun smith accidently killed his adult daughter in such a way. It only takes ONCE to ignore these rules and lose a loved one.

[Fragman]

I think a lot of these incidents happen because some people just cant stop messing around with loaded guns. For some reason, there are those people who cannot leave the loaded gun sitting in it's holster but have got to take it out, play with it, maybe attempt to unload it, play some more and so on. If you aint firing it, a loaded gun belongs in its holster.

When cleaning a gun, thats why it's recommended to keep the ammo in another room.

Who knows, maybe this guy WAS attempting to unload his gun, disassemble it, who knows. it's a Glock and he hay have omitted to check the chamber.

Point is, even bearing in mind the gun safety rules, these are not toys and if its loaded, you should not 'over handle' it.

[retsupt99]

Very sad story...for everyone...no winners...

[Spirit51]

I think a lot of these incidents happen because some people just cant stop messing around with loaded guns. For some reason, there are those people who cannot leave the loaded gun sitting in it's holster but have got to take it out, play with it, maybe attempt to unload it, play some more and so on. If you aint firing it, a loaded gun belongs in its holster.

When cleaning a gun, thats why it's recommended to keep the ammo in another room.

Who knows, maybe this guy WAS attempting to unload his gun, disassemble it, who knows. it's a Glock and he hay have omitted to check the chamber.

Point is, even bearing in mind the gun safety rules, these are not toys and if its loaded, you should not 'over handle' it.

Even a loaded weapon doesn't go off unless you pull the trigger. If you have any sense about weapons you SHOULD be able to handle a loaded weapon safely.

Keep the gun unloaded??? What good is that? If someone can't follow the rules of safety with both a loaded and unloaded weapon...they need to get some education.
I am not going to be sitting in my living room when the door is broke in and have a empty weapon.
I am confused what "over handle" a gun is?? If they are acting like 12 year olds....TAKE THE GUN AWAY AND GIVE THEM A SQUIRT GUN.
Sorry, but so much of this post just doesn't make sense to me. I have been handling weapons since I was seven....never had a problem yet.

[Fragman]

Even a loaded weapon doesn't go off unless you pull the trigger. If you have any sense about weapons you SHOULD be able to handle a loaded weapon safely.

Keep the gun unloaded??? What good is that? If someone can't follow the rules of safety with both a loaded and unloaded weapon...they need to get some education.
I am not going to be sitting in my living room when the door is broke in and have a empty weapon.
I am confused what "over handle" a gun is?? If they are acting like 12 year olds....TAKE THE GUN AWAY AND GIVE THEM A SQUIRT GUN.
Sorry, but so much of this post just doesn't make sense to me. I have been handling weapons since I was seven....never had a problem yet.

Who said anything about leaving it unloaded? I don't keep my guns unloaded, including the ones in the pistol safe. The simple point is, if the gun is loaded, it doesn't need to be in your hand unless you are using it, about to use it or are holstering it.

Oh, for what it matters, I have been handling guns for around 30 years myself.

[homepcmd]

One should act like all firearms are loaded all the time... even after you check it and find that it's clear.

If you have this habit all the time, then it substantially lowers your chances of having an accident like this.

And this father should be charged so if he is found guilty by his peers... he loses his right to have firearms. This guy needs to take responsibility for his action. I understand the suffering.

But wrong is wrong.

Modern guns do not shoot by themselves no matter what the person holding it says. Even dropping one does not cause this with almost all modern handguns.

[stickybeatz]

wow. I couldn't kill my son and then continue on living myself. No way in hell.

[blaise]

I remember a news story from Wash. state say 10 years ago, a father had taken his son out target shooting a 45 acp. The young son had gone behind the target looking at something. The father not seeing his son ASSUMED his son was behind him fired a round right thru the target and into his 10 year old sons chest. No charges were filed since the father had found a hell that i can't conceive. I enjoy guns but like i tell my children safety always comes first.