Did you ever hang out with your friends and pass around something for fun?

Like a bottle of Tequila, a cigarette, a joint, or a cool baseball card?

Pretty normal if you ask me, unless, it’s a loaded gun and no one knows what they’re doing with it.

Well, that’s what happened in Manasses VA recently. 3 friends were passing a loaded gun around when one of them, 27 yr old Daniel Villalobos, pulled the trigger as he tinkered with the gun. The bullet struck and killed 21 yr old Jesus Villalobos.

2 lives destroyed in an instant.

Why? Because someone thought that they didn’t need to learn and follow the safety rules. That looking cool wouldn’t end up in looking dead.

That split second decision made in ignorance killed a 21-year-old, will land a 27-year-old in prison, ended in a parent’s worst nightmare.

It could so easily have been avoided. It breaks my heart every time such a tragedy occurs by accident, and why I keep harping on the topic of firearm safety education so often. And guess what… I’m about to do it again, and I expect you to read this till the end and share this story with everyone you know. It may save the life of someone you care about.

First, never handle a firearm without following the 4 universal safety rules:

1. ALWAYS point the firearm in a safe direction. That means pointing in a direction that has 0 percent chance of hitting anyone or anything you don’t intend to shoot.

2. ALWAYS keep your finger OFF the trigger. That means that unless you have identified your target with 100% certainty and are 100% certain you intend to destroy it your finger stays off the trigger.

3. ALWAYS treat ALL firearms as if they are loaded. That includes toy guns, water guns, real guns, etc. Toy guns that fire plastic bullets can take out an eye. Powerful water guns can do the same. We know what real guns can do.

ALWAYS also means that even after we perform a thorough safety inspection and the firearm is safe and clear, we are still to treat it as if it is loaded. PERIOD!

4. Once you have identified your target with 100% certainty, make sure you also know what’s in front and what’s beyond your target. If you shoot an attacker in self-defense and the bullet goes through them, is there an innocent bystander behind them that may get hit too?

Unfortunately, none of these safety rules were followed. I suspect because these young men were ignorant to them which will make no difference to their tragic fates.

I would go as far as questioning their parents as well. Did you attempt to educate your kids on firearm safety, or did you not want to because you thought it would keep them safer?

I cannot imagine the pain and sorrow Jesus’s parents must endure, but I feel that we all have a moral obligation to educate everyone, children and adults alike, to be safe and responsible with firearms. It’s through education, not omission, that tragedies like this may be prevented.

Train Hard, Often, and Safely!