It is a puzzle to me on how some people manage to have an unintentional discharge while cleaning a firearm. After all, the very FIRST STEP when cleaning a firearm is to UNLOAD it. In particular, one must remove the detachable magazine and remove any cartridge that is in the chamber of a semi-automatic pistol (which is undoubtedly what the teacher in this unfortunate case was employing) before one can field strip/ disassemble the firearm for a proper cleaning after firing. In fact, it is impossible to clean the barrel of any firearm if it is loaded. The magazine cannot be cleaned of any dirt or soot either, if it too is loaded with cartridges. Apparently the teacher was “unclear on the concept” and did not clear the weapon prior to handling it for cleaning. All I can imagine is that he must have been “cleaning” a loaded pistol by merely wiping down the outside with an oily rag and that he was NOT taking care to keep his fingers off the trigger. Consequently he unintentionally fired the shot that killed the student.
A teacher in northwest Pakistan accidentally shot dead a 12-year-old pupil on Thursday while cleaning his pistol in the staff room, police said.
Teachers in northwest Pakistan were given permission to carry firearms in the classroom after Taliban militants massacred 132 students at a school in the city of Peshawar in December.
Thursday's deadly incident happened on the outskirts of Mingora, around 180 kilometres (110 miles) northeast of Peshawar.
"Majid Khan, a teacher at the private Sangota Model School was cleaning his pistol in the staff room when it fired a bullet by accident, hitting a student passing through the corridor," local police official Fazl Rabi told AFP.
He said the student died on the spot.
Saleem Khan Marwat, the area police chief, confirmed the incident and said the teacher had been arrested.
Northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province allowed teachers to carry guns -- and began giving them firearms training -- in January, saying it could not provide police guards for every school.
The move was part of efforts to beef up school security after the Peshawar massacre, the deadliest terror attack in Pakistani history.
Heavily armed militants went from room to room at an army-linked school, eventually gunning down a total of 150 people.
But teachers' associations objected to arming staff, saying it was not their job to fight off militants.
No comments:
Post a Comment