Earlier this month in Colorado, deputies say a man accidentally fired a gun from inside his home, and the bullet ended up hitting a nearby school. According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Bradley Fox was handling a firearm he thought was unloaded when it discharged, sending a round through his bedroom window and into the exterior door of Ranch View Middle School.

A teacher and student inside the building reported hearing a loud pop and seeing a puff of smoke from the nearby house. The school resource officers immediately placed the school in a secure status until deputies could determine what happened.

Fox later approached deputies and admitted he was handling the gun when it went off. Investigators said he failed to clear a live round from the chamber before pulling the trigger. Deputies arrested Fox, who now faces one charge of illegal discharge of a firearm. Thankfully, no students or staff were injured, but it’s not hard to imagine how much worse this could have been. The bullet didn’t just hit some random wall; it struck the school’s door, exactly where someone could have been standing moments earlier.

This case is another reminder that a gunman doesn’t even need to step foot inside a school for a student or faculty member to get hurt. A single careless action outside the building can be just as dangerous. Fox’s mistake shows the kind of recklessness that’s inherent with ‘responsible gun owners’™.

Any firearm, whether you believe it’s unloaded or not, should always be treated as if it’s loaded. That’s the first rule of gun safety, and ignoring it could have cost someone their life.

Every accidental discharge starts with the same thought: “It’s not loaded.” And every one of them proves that phrase wrong. It’s complacency like this that turns a quiet morning into a lockdown and puts innocent people at risk, not because of malice, but because someone decided to take safety for granted.

(Source)

• Man arrested after accidentally shooting door of Colorado middle school, sheriff’s office says