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Demetrius · May 5, 2007, 04:39 PM

A terrible tragedy occurred near my parent’s home this weekend. According to the newspaper report, one police officer was cleaning his weapon; when he finished, he charged it and it fired. It struck and killed another officer.

My concern is that if things like this happen to trained officers, then how can a new gun owner like me avoid accidents like this? It sounds like a mechanical failure, though I do not wish to be disrespectful and speculate over the actual events that took place.

First off, what is ‘charging’ a weapon? Is that lingo for loading it?

And secondly, how can one ensure that accidents will not happen when cleaning weapons?

May 5, 2007, 04:39 PM	#1
Demetrius Member Join Date: April 20, 2007 Posts: 21	Cleaning and Safety Question A terrible tragedy occurred near my parent’s home this weekend. According to the newspaper report, one police officer was cleaning his weapon; when he finished, he charged it and it fired. It struck and killed another officer. My concern is that if things like this happen to trained officers, then how can a new gun owner like me avoid accidents like this? It sounds like a mechanical failure, though I do not wish to be disrespectful and speculate over the actual events that took place. First off, what is ‘charging’ a weapon? Is that lingo for loading it? And secondly, how can one ensure that accidents will not happen when cleaning weapons?