On Saturday, January 5, 2002, at 12:53 AM, Anonymous wrote:

Infant Shoots, Kills Cop Father

SMYRNA, Tenn. (Reuters) - A 22-year-old policeman was killed by his 3-year-old son when the boy picked up his father's gun off the kitchen table and accidentally fired, police said Friday.

Joshua Haffner, who had recently joined the Smyrna Police Department, returned home Thursday from night shift duty, put down his gun, and was struck in the back by a bullet fired by his unidentified son, police spokeswoman Barbara Wilford said.

Haffner was taken by helicopter to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he died a short time later. He had graduated recently from the Metro Police Academy.

Smyrna is a town of 14,000 southeast of Nashville.

Ironically, the U.S. headquarters for Glock is in Smyrna....Smyrna, _Georgia_. (There are Smyrnas in both Georgia and Tennessee.) This sort of accident (caused by carelessness) may affect Glock sales slightly. The lightness of the trigger ("Glock SafeAction") on Glocks makes it more likely that a 3-year-old could manage a shot than with other actions. For example, a "cocked and locked" 1911 would probably be safer in this situation, as the kid would have to disengage the manual safety and also depress the grip safety (*). A DA/SA or DAO would also have more resistance on the first shot. And the "clack-clack" P7 that Matt Gaylor derides would be tough for a small child to squeeze cock. (* Some folks disable the grip safety on their 1911s, either by taping the grip lever in the squeezed position or with special mods. But nobody I know of carries the piece "cocked and unlocked.") --Tim May "That the said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." --Samuel Adams