Gun Safety Rule #1

ALWAYS keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction.

Seriously. It’s not that difficult.

And it saves having to explain how you managed to shoot both your 4-year-old son and your own mother while you’re “cleaning your gun”.

Gun Safety Rule #2

ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger and out of the trigger guard until you’re ready to shoot.

This should be a no-brainer for someone with training, as this individual claims to be.

CHAPARRAL, N.M. – A man accidentally shot his young son and his own mother Saturday morning.

The man was cleaning his 9 mm semiautomatic handgun when he shot both his 4-year-old son and his own mother, Doña Ana Sheriff’s Department investigator Bo Nevarez said.

“The grandmother was sitting behind the boy when the gun accidentally discharged striking the boy, continuing through, striking his grandmother in the abdomen as well,” Nevarez said.

Both victims were taken by ambulance to University Medical Center in El Paso, where they were listed in critical condition Saturday afternoon, Nevarez said.

The shooter is believed to be a 26-year-old man who identifies himself as a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and a corrections officer, but Nevarez declined to confirm or deny that information.