Man Kills Self While Taking a Selfie With a Gun

[Ratty]

First rule of gun safety: Do not point the weapon at anything that you do not wish to put a hole in.

Second rule of gun safety: Be aware of the weapon's state of readiness at all times. (i.e. Loaded/unloaded, cocked/uncocked, safety on/off.)

Do they not teach people this shit anymore? Or are some people just too dumb to listen to what is essentially just common sense?

Given that private gun ownership is apparently illegal in Mexico gun safety lessons probably are a bit rarer. This kind of thing happens a lot as I understand even with people who think they're being careful. Like someone who takes the clip out but neglects to see if there was already a bullet in the chamber. I've heard of at least one guy who died joking around pointing a gun at his head like that.

Most people do some stupid things at 21, at that age you don't always think things through and you've still got some residual of that teenage feeling of invincibility. I'm sorry this guy died so pointlessly, and my heart goes out to his poor family.

 

[Sidmen]

I don't know much about guns, is it possible there was a round left in the chamber? I'm told that happens with some gun models, and while it would still be pretty irresponsible of him to point the gun at anything but the floor it'd at least explain his crazy actions somewhat.

All in all this got me to thinking: guns traditionally require some professional training before their owners can handle them 100% correctly, right? Implying that operating a gun safely is just plain hard. So if you're then going to sell those guns to any sane person, wouldn't it make sense to put in some serious idiot-proofing? My lawnmower stalls if it hits anything harder than a branch. My chainsaw requires both hands on the handle to run. Surely similar measures could be installed in commercially available guns?

I can answer these questions.

1) All guns have a chamber that holds a round. Removing a magazine doesn't clear the chamber of the bullet likely already in there (if it had been primed for firing or had automatically fed after being fired). Clearing this chamber (or double-checking it to ensure its cleared) is the very first thing you do after removing a magazine.

2) Operating a gun safely is simply easy. Cleaning them might be a little harder, but operating them is easier than a chainsaw or lawnmower - there are Vastly fewer moving parts to be worried about. There are techniques to learn to get the best performance, sure, but you can get by with two rules: Don't point the barrel anywhere you wouldn't want a bullet to go; and check the weapon's status (loaded/empty) when you pick it up or put it away. Do those two things and you're as safe as you can be.

3) Civilian firearms typically DO have safety measures. Their triggers, for one, typically require a heavier pull than is strictly necessary for one. Unless modification or special orders are made to reduce this (done because for precision shooting a trigger needs to have the least resistance possible - else it throws the shot off). Nearly all guns also come with a safety - a button or lever that makes the gun inoperable until turned off. There really isn't anything else you can do.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

An idiot played with a gun thinking it was a toy. And then he died at the hands of his own stupidity. To be honest, I laughed.

 

[Dominic Crossman]

I feel bad for him for the reason that he was trying to pose for picture, doesn't deserve death.
On the other hand, Tvtropes has a section called "to dumb to life" if I remember correctly, I would not be surprised to to see this in the real life sub heading.

 

[JET1971]

Always assume a gun is loaded until you verify it is not. Until you verify you do not touch the trigger or point it at anything you do not want a hole in. Anyone that doesn't follow that simple rule and kills themselves gets no sympathy from me. If they do not follow those rules and hurt or kills someone else deserves to rot in prison. Ignorance is no excuse.

 

[Thaluikhain]

First rule of gun safety: Do not point the weapon at anything that you do not wish to put a hole in.

Second rule of gun safety: Be aware of the weapon's state of readiness at all times. (i.e. Loaded/unloaded, cocked/uncocked, safety on/off.)

Do they not teach people this shit anymore? Or are some people just too dumb to listen to what is essentially just common sense?

Hmmm...what list is that? I've always heard it as

1) The weapon is always loaded
2) Don't point the muzzle at anything you don't want to shoot

Followed by trigger discipline and being sure of the target and what's behind it.

I don't know much about guns, is it possible there was a round left in the chamber? I'm told that happens with some gun models, and while it would still be pretty irresponsible of him to point the gun at anything but the floor it'd at least explain his crazy actions somewhat.

On weapons fed from a detachable or internal magazine (unless it's firing from an open bolt), a cartridge is chambered, that is, taken out of the magazine and placed at the end of the barrel, before the weapon is fired.

Removing the magazine won't remove that cartridge, because it isn't in the magazine anymore. Apparently this is a very common mistake. Some weapons are designed with a magazine disconnector so that they won't fire without a magazine. You shouldn't bet your life on it, though.

Having said that, it's very easy to work the action to make sure that there's no cartridge left chambered. You can do that as many times as you want to make sure. Pick the gun up, check it. Hold the gun for a bit, check it, in case you've reloaded and forgotten. Leave the gun unattended for any time, check it, in case someone has loaded it without you knowing. Only takes getting things wrong once to end up a news item people mock for stupidity.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

First rule of gun safety: Do not point the weapon at anything that you do not wish to put a hole in.

Second rule of gun safety: Be aware of the weapon's state of readiness at all times. (i.e. Loaded/unloaded, cocked/uncocked, safety on/off.)

Do they not teach people this shit anymore? Or are some people just too dumb to listen to what is essentially just common sense?

Hmmm...what list is that? I've always heard it as

1) The weapon is always loaded
2) Don't point the muzzle at anything you don't want to shoot

Followed by trigger discipline and being sure of the target and what's behind it.

Those were the rules I followed at the range, which are pretty much [user]Zhukov[/user]'s first rule worded differently.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

Good. If he's so stupid that he thinks that pointing a gun at himself for the sake of getting in on the latest trend is a good thing to do then I'm glad to see him leave the gene pool.

 

[Drake the Dragonheart]

While it is a tragic news but come on! It's common sense to check if the gun is load or not!

Why do we call it common sense? is it really common anymore? sadly I think I know the answer.

 

[Zhukov]

[snip]

I don't know much about guns, is it possible there was a round left in the chamber? I'm told that happens with some gun models, and while it would still be pretty irresponsible of him to point the gun at anything but the floor it'd at least explain his crazy actions somewhat.

Yeah, with any magazine-fed weapon I can think of you can load the weapon, chamber a round, then remove the magazine and still have the weapon primed to fire that one round. The round is safely removed by re-cocking the weapon, causing it to eject as if it were a spent casing.

Still, outside of a mechanical failure, he'd have still needed to turn the safety off, aim the weapon and pull the trigger to off himself like that.

First rule of gun safety: Do not point the weapon at anything that you do not wish to put a hole in.

Second rule of gun safety: Be aware of the weapon's state of readiness at all times. (i.e. Loaded/unloaded, cocked/uncocked, safety on/off.)

Do they not teach people this shit anymore? Or are some people just too dumb to listen to what is essentially just common sense?

Hmmm...what list is that? I've always heard it as

1) The weapon is always loaded
2) Don't point the muzzle at anything you don't want to shoot

Followed by trigger discipline and being sure of the target and what's behind it.

Heh. Those are the same rules, just worded differently and with the order swapped.

Admittedly, yours are probably easier to remember.

 

[LG Jargon]

I don't know much about guns, is it possible there was a round left in the chamber? I'm told that happens with some gun models, and while it would still be pretty irresponsible of him to point the gun at anything but the floor it'd at least explain his crazy actions somewhat.

All in all this got me to thinking: guns traditionally require some professional training before their owners can handle them 100% correctly, right? Implying that operating a gun safely is just plain hard. So if you're then going to sell those guns to any sane person, wouldn't it make sense to put in some serious idiot-proofing? My lawnmower stalls if it hits anything harder than a branch. My chainsaw requires both hands on the handle to run. Surely similar measures could be installed in commercially available guns?

I can answer these questions.

1) All guns have a chamber that holds a round. Removing a magazine doesn't clear the chamber of the bullet likely already in there (if it had been primed for firing or had automatically fed after being fired). Clearing this chamber (or double-checking it to ensure its cleared) is the very first thing you do after removing a magazine.

2) Operating a gun safely is simply easy. Cleaning them might be a little harder, but operating them is easier than a chainsaw or lawnmower - there are Vastly fewer moving parts to be worried about. There are techniques to learn to get the best performance, sure, but you can get by with two rules: Don't point the barrel anywhere you wouldn't want a bullet to go; and check the weapon's status (loaded/empty) when you pick it up or put it away. Do those two things and you're as safe as you can be.

3) Civilian firearms typically DO have safety measures. Their triggers, for one, typically require a heavier pull than is strictly necessary for one. Unless modification or special orders are made to reduce this (done because for precision shooting a trigger needs to have the least resistance possible - else it throws the shot off). Nearly all guns also come with a safety - a button or lever that makes the gun inoperable until turned off. There really isn't anything else you can do.

....That's not...entirely true. A few weeks or months ago, I heard of a new invention coming out called a "smart gun". Basically, it's a gun with an electronic lock or some-such on it that can't be operated by anyone except for a person wearing an electronic bracelet. I think it was covered by the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as well as a few other news outlets.

Problem was American conservatives blasted it and mocked it, trying to make it look and sound like shit, even though the simple act of needing a special key to a special lock on a deadly weapon (besides locked gun cases, 'cause those don't always work out) is a pretty genius idea. Heck, if we ever embrace transhumanism, we could have those "keys" (read: microchips) grafted on the inside of your hand/s, so you and only you could operate your gun.

Besides, you could read all the stories you want about kids blowing themselves or others away and it could be argued that not only were they able to unlock mommy or daddy's locked gun case or cabinet, but that they were smart enough to know how to operate the safety AND that they were strong or persistent enough to squeeze the trigger hard enough to cause the gun to go off. The way I see it, "too many" safety regulations tend to be "not enough", at least not enough to truly feel safe. And yes, I know there's no such thing as "absolutely, perfectly safe", but there has to be a line somewhere between "not safe enough" and "so safe, it's cumbersome" for many people to enjoy......
[sub][sub]Hope that made sense...[/sub][/sub]

EDIT: Whoops! Forgot about the topic for a sec!

Really, I can't garner any sympathy for him, but I can for any family he left behind. That was an incredibly stupid move, as anyone could tell you, but I at least can hope he's in a better place. ...Though...if you think about it...if guns are illegal in Mexico in the first place, how'd his friend get a hand on one? :/

 

[fix-the-spade]

Do they not teach people this shit anymore? Or are some people just too dumb to listen to what is essentially just common sense?

However stupid you think humanity can be, there will someone out there who can surprise you, they might even surprise themself, briefly.

Anyway, I was always taught that the first rule of handling firearms is that the guns is always loaded and should always be treated as such too. It seems an obvious lesson.
Given the state and sourcing of guns in Mexico this could be for any number of reasons, I would put mechanical failure of some kind up there as well as the owner being dumb, it's unlikely he got that thing from a store with a warranty registration card.

 

[Darth Sea Bass]

I feel sorry for his family but I don't think we've lost the cure for cancer here.

 

[Anachronism]

Always assume a gun is loaded until you verify it is not.

And even then, treat it like it is loaded just to be safe. Especially if you're using a magazine-fed weapon that can have a round in the chamber even if it's not actually loaded. You shouldn't point a gun at anything unless you actually want to shoot it.

This is kind of tragic, but frankly it's hard to have any sympathy for the guy. When you're ignoring the most basic rules of gun safety - hell, when you're ignoring simple common sense - it's hard to feel like it's anything other than natural selection taking its course. Condolences to his family, of course, but if the guy was this dumb he was probably going to end up accidentally killing himself sooner or later anyway.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Anyway gun safety 101 (i.e. check if the gun is loaded etc.) doesn't really apply here as it wasn't his gun and it's possible he never operated one in the first place - it may not be obvious what to do/not to do or even how deadly that thing is in the first place.

Yeah...if it's illegal to possess those guns, then the randoms with them (or that borrow them) have no formal training, and might not care for them stinkin' rules either.

Nearly all guns also come with a safety - a button or lever that makes the gun inoperable until turned off.

Well...revolvers generally don't, and there are weapons that have safety mechanisms in the grip or trigger, that deactivate when the gun is held or the trigger pulled, so the weapon will fire when the trigger is pulled without mucking about with a safety. A lot of people are against them, though, Australia police ordered pistols from Glock, but a modified version with a conventional thumb safety added.

 

[rcs619]

Oh come on!

Whether it happens to the owner, or to his friends/family nearby, every one of these accidental discharge stories aggravates (and often saddens) me so much. Because *every* single one of them is entirely preventable.

Guns are not toys. They are lethal fucking weapons, designed to kill things extremely fucking lethally. Don't play with them. Don't point them at yourself or others. Not even if you're 'sure' it's unloaded. Not even if you're 'sure' the safety is on. This isn't like nicking your finger because you went and decided to play around with your pocket knife. If you screw up and mishandle your gun, you usually only get *one* chance. All it takes is one bullet and a tiny fraction of a second.

Don't do it. Seriously, don't.

On a side note, anyone know what kind of gun it was? My money is on glocke. I really can't stand those things. A manual safety switch should be mandatory on *all* firearms. That little knob on the trigger just doesn't cut it.

 

[Kahani]

Has social media morphed into such a big deal now that people are even doing dangerous things just to get noticed?

Because people totally never did that before Facebook.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I feel bad for him for the reason that he was trying to pose for picture, doesn't deserve death.

Of course he doesn't deserve death. But he was an idiot. The Ferrari cap alone is evidence enough. He was obviously one of those wannabe tough guys that are into guns and fast cars and other shallow stuff. If I had known him in real life I would probably hate his guts.

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

Am I the only one who read that title and though "Well what do you expect, I mean, shouldn't he have been using a camera?"!