The worst of all worlds...

My prayers to all involved... this is... painful.

The Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, SD) has this story. Apparently the young man entering had the wrong house... as in, it appears that his house was just down the street and it appears that he was intoxicated.

Reading the story I can only think about two things. The families involved and firearm use & safety.

The families involved. My prayers are with you. I still do not know what God's plan is and that is part of the problem with religion... you never know, you can believe, you can believe that you know, but in the truest sense of the engineer you do not know. Personally, I believe.

Firearm use & Safety. Let me start with, I know it is day time and after the fact, so no commentary on the Monday morning quarterbacking. Also, I do not know the state of minds involved at the time of involvement. So, I am going to make simple statement of the four rules and let y'all puzzle out which ones slipped. Also, Xavier treats the "Rules" topic much more deeply and probably better than I ever could... so, his thoughts are linked below.

Rule One: All firearms are always loaded.

Rule Two: Never "cover" anything with the muzzle of your firearm unless you are willing to destroy it.

Rule Three: The only time your finger touches the trigger is when you are ready to fire.

Rule Four: Make certain that your target is... what you think it is and that nothing beyond it can be harmed or damaged should your shot go astray.

For what it is worth, Rule Four is my selection. BUT, late night / early morning encounters tend to blur all (not just firearm) of the rules.

Again, my prayers to all involved. If you go to the Argus story, a goodly many of the commenters are talking on what happened, as if they know. A few, are doing what is best, in my opinion, and offering condolences and leaving the rest alone for now.