[Simon Green]

he Gun Safety Rules Are:

Firearm Safety Rules

1. All guns are always loaded.

2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.

3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.

4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

[DesertRhino]

“Be sure of your target and what is beyond it”

Rule number 4. Clearly violated because they did not know a road was just out of sight in the direction they were shooting.
No excuses.

[21twelve]

We shoot at an old gravel pit sometimes. One area with a low wall of dirt faces back out towards the asphalt road. I don’t shoot in that direction - I’m always a bit leery of one of the kids letting one go too high. It hasn’t happened yet, but....

[Zhang Fei]

I’m gonna say negligent homicide and a few years in prison. On top of that, damages, assuming the homeowner’s insurance policy covers it.

[ZULU]

Didn’t they have a berm at that range???

[Ace's Dad]

Be sure of your target and what is beyond it

Simon, you are so right! The range where my Dad and I sighted in our rifles had a very high backstop, maybe 12 feet high. It would be criminal to fire over that wall.

[Troublemaker]

Over the past 10 years, I’ve seen a tremendous increase in the number of people at our local public range on forest land. I’ve seen Cooper’s rules broken so many times that I won’t even shoot there anymore if others are there. Heck, just yesterday I was in a gun store and was swept multiple times by a customer AND the salesman.

[familyop]

A firing range should always have some kind of backstop or enough distance and complete visibility for the earth to act as a backstop. Make sure that you can always see the backstop. Never take a chance on elevating above the backstop.

Clear the range before firing.

[AndyTheBear]

Firing ranges should not have public roads down range hidden by anything less than what will stop bullets.

[Gay State Conservative]

It certainly sounds like it was unintentional but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t negligent.

[fwdude]

A legitimate target range, even temporary, has a solid earthen backstop of some kind. This was stupidity on steroids.

[VR-21]

Bookmark

[Right Wing Assault]

Was this a real "range" or just a big vacant area with no berm? Do shooters have to get permission to use it? Does the owner know how the property is being used? Were the kids trespassing? Were there 'no trespassing' signs? Was any adult there to ensure safety?

These and more questions were not answered in the article.

[Dubh_Ghlase]

My daughter came out to her car one morning and found a bullet hole in her minivan hood. Trajectory indicated it came from above, indicating someone had been shooting a rifle in the air in a pseudo-rural setting (with developments). Didn't have enough velocity to go completely into the engine compartment, but did make it through the metal and would have killed someone if it had hit them.

Took the sheriffs in 2 counties to find the potential perps, but could only issue a safety warning as there was no proof it was them (more beer bottles than brains).

Not all shooters take or heed the safety training...