Know your weapon

March 14, 2005 1:02 PM

Gun education - what doesn't kill you makes you smarter.I don't know whether to wet my pants laughing or poop my pants in fear. "I'm the only one in this room, that I know of, professional enough to handle one of these."
posted by GernBlandston (43 comments total)

Poop 'em.
posted by Oddly at 1:16 PM on March 14, 2005

My vote is for pooping.
posted by Mcable at 1:16 PM on March 14, 2005

Did the ricocheting bullet hit his foot? After firing the gun, looks like he is limping in pain or was that his reaction from almost shooting his foot off.

"Put it down"
posted by thomcatspike at 1:21 PM on March 14, 2005

I don't know if he was nervous or what, but he didn't bother to follow SOP with that weapon. Whenever you are handed a gun ALWAYS check to make sure it is unloaded before you do anything with it. He didn't check, he just assumed that the person handed him an empty gun. How about smacking your forehead? Is that an option?
posted by Numenorian at 1:21 PM on March 14, 2005

What a klutz. Yeah it does look like he hit his foot.
posted by dabitch at 1:24 PM on March 14, 2005

Via Monkeyfilter? Go DEA!!

My girlfriend and I are still debating whether it's staged or not, and if not, whether or not he actually shot himself in the process. He appears to be limping quite a bit after the gunshot, and he even appears like he might have been wearing kevlar and shot himself in that.

The best is the strident-voiced little girl at the end shouting "PUT IT DOWN!" or something like that when he brings out the assault rifle.

Also, the Monkeyfilter thread has comments about the known danger and the lack of an actual externally locking safety catch of the Glock 40.
posted by loquacious at 1:27 PM on March 14, 2005

That's as good as Bob Barr, NRA board member and ex-member
of Congress, accidentally discharging a gun while stroking it
in front of a reception.

Keep your finger out of the trigger guard until you are ready
to discharge the gun. I know it feels good to have your
finger on the trigger, but avoid the temptation :-)
posted by the Real Dan at 1:29 PM on March 14, 2005

Always go with poop. This almost looks like that "Scared Straight" program beefed up for the oughties. You know, going into an elementary school and firing off a blank.

Except for the limping part. That part looks kinda real.
posted by Matching Mole at 1:29 PM on March 14, 2005

And that is why you treat every firearm as if it were loaded.
posted by MLIS at 1:31 PM on March 14, 2005

And as if the owner is loaded, as well.
posted by davejay at 1:34 PM on March 14, 2005

He says "Yeah, I'm hit." So he is, presumably, hit. Being in real life instead of in a movie, he didn't immediately fall down or fly backwards 10 feet.

Stupid mistake, but his reaction -- "I just screwed up, and I'm trained, so don't play with guns" -- seemed on the mark. I stopped watching right after that though, so for all I know he proceeded to perform a similar demonstration with a grenade, howitzer, or the Tsar Bomba.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:36 PM on March 14, 2005

Well, he's had the check for bullets on receipt rule and the laser rule pointed out to him in a way he'll never forget, and so have the class and anyone who views the video, which is the main thing. I hope this video gets widely circulated, it will do its bit for gun education.

Poor bastard, though. No promotions for him, not for a long time.
posted by aeschenkarnos at 1:44 PM on March 14, 2005

I'm still waiting for the Middle-Eastern version of "kids, don't play with guns" to be released...

It will be any day now....

Aw, hell! Who am I kidding?
posted by mystyk at 1:52 PM on March 14, 2005

If this was staged, the guy should be fired. If it was an accident, he should be fired for gross incompetence and negligence. Either way, this moron shouldn't ever be holding another weapon again.

Was it bad that I was expecting him to blow off his own head?
posted by fenriq at 2:07 PM on March 14, 2005

Doing a little google on this you'll find a few articles/discussions ... it appears that this took place in Orlando and was in the news at the time. After seeing this on MonkeyFilter yesterday I spent about an hour trying to prove it as a hoax, couldn't find any evidence to that effect.. looks like it might be real.

The interesting thing (and perhaps part of what makes me think that it is real) is the lack of response from the kids when the gun discharges.. Of course, in some schools that's not exactly an unusual event... :-\
posted by HuronBob at 2:17 PM on March 14, 2005

looks like it might be real.
Afterwards did you see the DEA's assistant looking for the bullet? Think there are laws regarding discharging a gun in a building, unless a firing range. Feel no hoax.
posted by thomcatspike at 2:40 PM on March 14, 2005

I'm surprised the kids didn't freak out when the glock went off, it would have been super loud when fired indoors. Maybe they were in shock? I would have yelled at him to put the rifle down too. I was cringing when he said, "listen to me, listen to me" several times before trying to pick up the rifle. Thank god those kids shamed him into putting it back. And why didn't the other agents move him out of the room after that? He would have been shaken after accidentally discharging his weapon, it seemed like very poor judgement to allow him to continue his presentation. How many ADs do you need in a day before they send you home?

I also don't get why he hit the slide release on the glock while he was holding it up in the air. They are trying to scare kids away from guns, not make them sexy. Racking the slide is "cool", the good guys always emphasize that part in movies. Also, there are special magazines and barrel inserts that make it impossible to chamber a round when giving lectures or demonstrations. You'd think that when talking in front of a room full of kids, the agents would have taken precautions to avoid an accidental discharge. Imagine if the ricochet had hit a student or a teacher. Stuff like this is why I get nervous around anyone (civilian, cop or military) who is carrying a firearm. Most people just don't have the attention to detail required to carry a deadly weapon.

If he really was shot in the foot, then he's pretty tough. So I'll give him props for that. I would have been yelling at the top of my lungs, "OH MY GOD, I JUST SHOT MY FUCKING FOOT!"
posted by beaverd at 2:48 PM on March 14, 2005

What does he say at the video's ending, sounds like the DEA says, take my stuff, think I'm shot.
posted by thomcatspike at 2:51 PM on March 14, 2005

Did the ricocheting bullet hit his foot? After firing the gun, looks like he is limping in pain or was that his reaction from almost shooting his foot off.

Maybe he pooped his own pants in fear.
posted by Goblindegook at 3:23 PM on March 14, 2005

Why does he need to bring a gun into the room at all? It'd be a stupid idea even if he wasn't an incompetent boob.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 3:34 PM on March 14, 2005

This is why you should always keep your weapon loaded with a round in the chamber. Then and only then can you be sure if it's empty.....or in this case full.
posted by The Infamous Jay at 4:20 PM on March 14, 2005

It looks like he fired into the floor well ahead of his feet. He might have gotten hit with resulting tile fragments or something.

WTF is the point of brandishing firearms in a grade school classroom anyway? The only "gun safety" lesson kids need to learn at school is "Don't touch; go get an adult." This looks like gratuitous showing off. The irony is that the accidental discharge may be the only thing that makes it a valid lesson.
posted by Tubes at 5:07 PM on March 14, 2005

Why does he need to bring a gun into the room at all? It'd be a stupid idea even if he wasn't an incompetent boob.

For his fiddy cen cred...
posted by srboisvert at 5:15 PM on March 14, 2005

Would have been the greatest situation ever for a soft shoe exit:

"I'm the only one in this room that I know of who's professional enough to carry a Glock .40."

Bang!!

(Four second pause, soft shoe exit stage left)
posted by planetkyoto at 5:26 PM on March 14, 2005

What a dumb F***! If this is real, then so is Karma.
posted by caddis at 5:32 PM on March 14, 2005

I know it feels good to have your finger on the trigger

Erm, no. No, it doesn't. Not that I know of. And I hope never to know, either. Laws that say that a member of the public can have even one small gun in their possession are idiotic in today's world. The 'safety' of guns never quite washes in any argument, however long. The clear and apparent danger of guns endures even the most determined catfight.

Even if a farmer must have a gun for culling / whatever, the weapon should be held by local law-enforcement when not in use. And I don't care for arguments like "but a predator could come along..." because guns + ordinary people = real disaster material.

Sheesh.
posted by paperpete at 6:04 PM on March 14, 2005

I guess I'm the only civilian here that actually carries a loaded .45 (with an extra magazine) on my person almost everywhere. I have for 6 years. I'm a buisiness owner, and sometimes have several thousand dollars in cash on me. I usually carry $3-400 .
I've never had to brandish it, but I know that I wouldn't unless I was going to use it all the way to defend my life.
Maybe even defend yours if the situation arose.

The guy in the video should be fired for incompetence, and probably subject to civil charges by everyone in the room.
posted by Balisong at 6:34 PM on March 14, 2005

Have you ever watched a crime drama? They always get to the tearful confession part (when the perp. is sympathetic), and there is the line "and then the gun went off."

Guns don't "go off." Guns are fired, either intentionally or otherwise, by a finger on the trigger.

So this guy brings a gun into a classroom, he doesn't PERSONALLY inspect the chamber and clip to make sure it is empty, and THEN he puts his damn finger on the trigger? Fool. At least he just hurt himself.

The irony is beautiful, though. "I am the only one qualified ..." BOOM, "I've just shot myself!
posted by teece at 7:05 PM on March 14, 2005

Jebus...that's freaking insane. I have guns, I'm trained in how to use, carry, disassemble, reassemble, clean and fire guns...under no conditions ever would I pull the trigger of one in a classroom full of kids for a "demonstration", even if I did think it was empty. Good lord.

That bozo needs to be disarmed...and fast.
posted by dejah420 at 7:09 PM on March 14, 2005

Top police gun prone to accidental firing. Glock denies that its guns are a problem.

Nevertheless, the guy -- who was obviously nervous and not prepared to be a public speaker -- violated rules that even I, a non-gun-toting civilian, think are pretty obvious. He may remain at the DEA, but he's never doing a classroom demo again, that's for sure.
posted by dhartung at 10:11 PM on March 14, 2005

You may remember us from such filmed incidents as Waco, Texas, or Ruby Ridge, Idaho. -- DEA.

I'd sure like any more news background on this incident (where, when, who, and especially why). Can anyone translate Icelandic?
posted by surlycat at 1:24 AM on March 15, 2005

oh fer chrissakes
posted by clockzero at 2:39 AM on March 15, 2005

Glocks disengage the safety if you pull the trigger. This is what makes a Glock attractive. This is also why you never ever ever hold your finger on the trigger on a Glock, unless you plan to fire it. It's not an "accidental" firing when you actually pull the trigger. From what it looks like in this film, the DEA man has his finger on the trigger and then lowers the gun to point to the floor. Gravity will take care of the trigger bar being pulled in in that move. (see Dhartungs link for a great graph). So yes, he's an idiot.
posted by dabitch at 3:23 AM on March 15, 2005

IMHO incompetence in so many ways---I hope their program of out reach to kids improves. Of course this one was wrong in so many ways that yes not only is it laughable but I did laugh.
posted by dsaelf at 3:50 AM on March 15, 2005

Glocks disengage the safety if you pull the trigger.

Now that is not much of a safety.
posted by caddis at 4:07 AM on March 15, 2005

Now that is not much of a safety.

Yes it is. If the trigger isn't pulled, the gun won't shoot (for instance if the gun gets dropped, the safety should prevent it from firing). I can't speak for every Glock in the world, but mine has never fired unless I pulled the trigger. Seems pretty safe to me (for a deadly weapon that is).
posted by Sirius at 5:43 AM on March 15, 2005

I guess I'm the only civilian here that actually carries a loaded .45 (with an extra magazine) on my person almost everywhere. I have for 6 years. I'm a buisiness owner, and sometimes have several thousand dollars in cash on me. I usually carry $3-400 .

Wow. I usually have between $5-10 on me. What calibre is appropriate when I carry this kind of cash? If I were to have more than a couple thousand on me could I carry a bazooka?

Just askin'.
posted by leftcoastbob at 5:54 AM on March 15, 2005

Top police gun prone to accidental firing

Goodness, lots of morons in this article. I think the title of the article would be more accurate if they used negligent instead of accidental. For instance, this man know his gun doesn't have a trigger safety, but he is carrying it in his waistband instead of in a holster that covers the trigger:

That was the case in August when Woonsocket, R.I., police Lt. Walter Warot accidentally shot himself in the buttocks and slightly wounded the person sitting next to him.

Warot, who was sitting on a granite bench outside Providence Superior Court at the time, was adjusting a Glock tucked in his waistband when it discharged. An employee of the attorney general’s office sitting next to him was nicked by flying fragments of granite from the shot’s impact.

Or the guy that treats his loaded gun like an old coffe cup instead of having it in a holster that covers the trigger:

in July, Detroit Officer Michael Allen, 22, was shot in the leg, the bullet hitting the bone. His Glock accidentally fired as he tried to put it under the seat after his car was pulled over by customs inspectors on the Canadian side of the Ambassador Bridge.

If people are going to do stupid stuff with deadly weapons, "accidents" are going to happen whether it has a trigger safety or not.
posted by Sirius at 5:58 AM on March 15, 2005

Sirius, I understand that function of the Glock safety, but that is only one of the important functions of a gun safety. The other is to prevent accidental firing when the trigger is pulled or otherwise moved by accident. For instance when hunting a safe hunter will keep the external safety activated and fingers out of the trigger guard until preparing to fire. With even a small amount of practice there is plenty of time to deactivate the safety and get your finger on the trigger. I understand why police officers may prefer the perhaps faster action of no external safety, but the Glock is less safe than a gun with an external safety. Retrofit external safeties are available for those not in need of a quick firing shoot-out weapon. Accidents do happen, and that is why an external safety makes the weapon safer.

In this incident it probably wouldn't have mattered as this bozo probably would have had the safety off.
posted by caddis at 6:57 AM on March 15, 2005

If people are going to do stupid stuff with deadly weapons, "accidents" are going to happen whether it has a trigger safety or not.

OK, Sirius, you seem to be falling for that same over-sensitivity to gun reporting that my Dad does. Yes, they were accidents, as none of these people intended to shoot themselves. That fact that accidents are caused by neglience does not change the fact that they are accidents.

No conspiracy here.
posted by teece at 10:02 AM on March 15, 2005

I guess I'm the only civilian here that actually carries a loaded .45 (with an extra magazine) on my person almost everywhere. I have for 6 years. I'm a buisiness owner, and sometimes have several thousand dollars in cash on me. I usually carry $3-400 .

Wow. I usually have between $5-10 on me. What calibre is appropriate when I carry this kind of cash? If I were to have more than a couple thousand on me could I carry a bazooka?

Just askin'.
posted by leftcoastbob at 5:54 AM PST on March 15 [!]


Probably a good pocket knife would be good for your situation.. But it sounds like you'd be disgusted to even carry one of those.. and probably hurt yoursellf with it and blame the knife company.

The amount of money could be a motivation factor for some stupid person to try and attack me. $5-10 usually isn't enough for even desperate criminals to bother with when weighed with the possible negative outcomes. $300-3000 might be.

But don't worry, If I see you are being robbed of your $5, I'll step right up to help you. I won't come running towards you waving my gun and shooting into the air, but I bet that the two of us can handle those pesky robbers, no problem...
posted by Balisong at 10:17 AM on March 15, 2005

A weapon should always be treated as if it was loaded.

Revolvers are favoured by many because with the hammer on an empty chamber (with respect to above statement) the possibility of accidental discharge is negated.

Reenactment or not; this is how a great many injuries occur each year from firearms... incompetentcy.

After a review; the Glock sure sounded like the action closed without a shell. Was the explosion an off-stage sound effect? I have a hard time imagining that he could close the action without seeing a shiny round capped with a copper clad hollow point inside. Of course, this is the DEA.
Good thing these guys weren't part of the pick-up team for Elian Gonzalez.
posted by buzzman at 1:31 PM on March 16, 2005

You may remember us from such filmed incidents as Waco, Texas,

I'd sure like any more news background on this incident (
Was not in Waco, TX.
posted by thomcatspike at 1:03 PM on March 18, 2005