Former Florida deputy who says he accidentally shot girlfriend while 'dry-firing' gun arrested on suspicion of manslaughter

MicroWave@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 236 points –
Former Florida deputy who says he accidentally shot girlfriend while 'dry-firing' gun arrested on suspicion of manslaughter
nbcnews.com

A former Florida sheriff's deputy was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the accidental shooting death of his girlfriend, authorities said.

Leslie Boileau called 911 on Thursday night to report that he had "accidentally shot his girlfriend" at their home in Ocala. The girlfriend was found with a handgun on her lap "and a rifle was also present at the scene," the Ocala Police Department said in a statement on Facebook.

38

You are viewing a single comment

This is a friend of a friend, so take it for what it's worth, but he told me that the guy died at a party by pointing a gun at his head and pulling the trigger because it wouldn't go off with the safety on. It did.

There are a lot of people who really should know how guns work before being allowed to have one.

I mean, the first thing my grandfather told me about guns - the very first thing - was that you never, ever, under ANY circumstances ever fucking point it at something you do not want to kill. Ever. Period. For any reason.

Now, I might not expect some random person to maybe have any sort of proper handling training, but a fucking ex-cop? C'mon.

It wasn't an ex cop, it was a sheriff's deputy. He was fired after he committed the murder.

There is no amount of training, experience, or ability that can prevent gun accidents.

Other activities that are life/death like surgery or airline piloting use checklists because they know that training, experience, and ability are not enough. Making rules like "a gun is always loaded" or "careful where you point that thing", are not sufficient because instead of solving human fallibility, they ignore it.

I'd go further and say that these "rules" are more mantra than procedure. A kind of protection spell that's spoken more than it's followed. These spells are cast in a flurry every time someone has an accident. Not to reinforce the lesson, but to reassure that we're not going to get hurt.

Give me an example of someone following all 4 basic rules of gun safety and accidentally killing someone anyway.

There are a lot of people who really should know how guns work before being allowed to have one.

Like the cop in the article...

Where I'm from you are literally required to pass a safety course before being approved for a Firearms License. Why is this basic requirement not a thing everywhere, period?

Probably because Jimbo and Cleetus would be too stupid to pass the test and disallowed their pewpews, and unfortunately these are very reliable voters, despite them not being able to spell republican or their own names, so a particular party keeps the status quo to remain in power.

First day finding out about America?

In most of the US, if you want to get a gun, you go to a store, plop your money on the counter, and as long as the guy behind the counter decides that from a hundred feet away through a dirty glass you don't look like you might shoot up a GOP candidate, you'll have a new gun.

If you're unlucky, you'll have to wait a few days first.

Because regulations are evil and can only mean the next step is "them" taking your guns away. If only more people were as protective of their 1st Amendment rights like some are for their 2nd.

There are a lot of people who really should know how guns work before being allowed to have one.

So gun control measures?

What a concept. I wonder if anyone in America is willing to actually try that?

Plenty of people are willing to. Just not enough of the ones with the power to do so.

Sig Sauer has a long-standing known issue of the gun firing without even pulling the trigger; regardless of whether the safety is on or not.

The 320 had a recall earlier in its life for drop safety but they did a redesign of the interior since then. I think today it's more of a poor excuse for negligence.