Bullied Teen Stabs and kills tormentor

[spin]

145. You might think all cops are well trained and safe with firearms. ...

I used to target shoot at an indoor police range that was open to the public. The police would qualify one night a week when the range was closed to the public.

One Saturday morning I arrived at the range and noticed a new TV in the lobby. I mentioned this to the range master who was a retired police officer. He told me that the old TV had been shot by the police firearms instructor when he was loading, unloading his Glock pistol. The range master said that the instructor said he had a "slam fire."

One month later I came again in on a Saturday morning and noticed the Pepsi machine in the lobby was had a sign on it that said it wasn't working. The range master laughed and told me that the same firearms instructor had managed to kill the Pepsi machine when loading, unloading his Glock and that the individual was no longer the firearms trainer for the police.

Several months after that the range master pointed out a hole in the carpet of the lobby. Apparently a cop who was qualifying managed to have a negligent discharge while holstering his Glock.

Eight feet from the Pepsi machine was a sand trap that was designed to be used when loading or unloading a firearm.

The instructor agreed with me that the civilians who used the range were far safer than the cops.

In passing a good number of the civilians who visited the range were far better at shooting than the average cop who only qualifies once a year and never visits the range to practice.

***

I will agree with you that firearms are extremely dangerous items. If you own one, you have to be very aware of that fact every time you handle it.

One time a friend stopped by my house and we discussed handguns. I showed him one of my Colt .45 pistols. Of course I checked to see if it was loaded. During the next hour we talked about target shooting and several times I picked up the pistol to demonstrate something.

When the visit ended and he was leaving he laughed and told me, "You checked to see if that pistol was loaded five times while we were talking, every time you picked it up."

I told him, "If the weapon leaves your hands, it's wise to check it again when you pick it up."

I assume all guns are always loaded until I check them.