This past Saturday, I took my friend to a local sporting goods store. He has just bought his first gun, and we were getting him all the supplies he needed to clean and store his new purchase. And you can rest assured that I’ll be teaching him all the important safety rules to follow starting with never pointing a loaded firearm at your junk . . .
Michael Smeriglio, a teenager living in Port St. Lucie Florida, didn’t take that particular bit of advice to heart. According to a report from the Daily Mail, the teenager had recently purchased his first firearm at a local party. Speculation is that it was a handgun, and while the 18-year-old Floridian may not have been able to legally purchase one from a dealer, buying a gun from a private citizen is still kosher. However, details about whether the handgun itself was kosher are scarce.
As he was cleaning the firearm (or attempting to), something terrible happened. He forgot all four rules of firearm safety and shot himself. Where did the round land, you ask? Well…
Doctors say the bullet went through his penis, his left testicle and then lodged itself in his thigh.
Ouch!
Remember: the four rules aren’t just for the range — they’re also required when doing ANYTHING with guns. I go so far as to try to treat the barrel as if it were loaded, even when completely disassembled and separated from the rest of the parts of the gun. If you always religiously follow the four rules, there’s no possible way you can end up with extra perforations. Safety always comes first, especially around firearms, and responsible gun owners recognize that fact.
While it may have been a good effort, trying and avoid our most coveted award by voluntarily removing himself from the gene pool, we nevertheless are happy to award Mr. Smeriglio (or what’s left of him) with our Irresponsible Gun Owner of the Day award.