Story Archive

Look at the Gun, Not the Camera

Josmel Herrera, 43, was on his back patio in Miami, Fla., showing his cousin how to clean a gun. “I guess she wanted to get a gun and he was showing her the ins and outs,” relative Jorge Abreu said. The cousin was somewhere else, though, and the lesson was being given on his iPhone over FaceTime video chat. During the lesson, Herrera accidentally shot himself in the chest; he was killed. David Von Matt, chief instructor for Miami Gun Classes, said it’s common sense to unload a weapon before cleaning it, but it’s not unusual to hear about people accidentally shooting themselves with weapons they think are unloaded. A weapon “has to be pointed in a safe direction so no one would get hit if something happened,” he said. “Making a mistake can cost you your life.” (MS/Miami Herald) ...A lesson Herrera’s cousin will never forget.