Fairfax County detectives determined that the officer pulled the trigger on a gun he believed was unloaded early Sunday, striking Jesse Brown Hernandez inside an apartment in McLean, Virginia, according to a police statement.
Hernandez, 22, was found deceased with a gunshot wound to the upper body, Fairfax County police said.
The officer who fired the gun has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, police said. He is being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on no bond.
Police said that preliminarily detectives determined that Roy “was attempting to dry fire a firearm.”
“Dry firing is when one simulates the discharge of a firearm by pulling the trigger of a firearm that is unloaded,” police said in the news release.
There were four people in the apartment at the time of the shooting, and all were known to each other, police said. Three of the four involved individuals were off-duty U.S. Park Police officers.
Or, and hear me out, always treat a firearm as if it was loaded. Which would mean don’t dry fire it in a residence. You know, basic firearm safety.
Of course cops are supposed to know basic firearm safety so treating it as intentional would be the logical thing to do.
Dry fire in a residence is fine. You have to do it a lot if you’re working on anything. Heck, on a Glock, you have to do it to remove the slide. And it’s part of a regular function check.
BUT, you only do it after removing the magazine, operating the action, inspecting the chamber, and pointing it in the safest direction you can (basement wall, ground outside, etc.). Certainly not at your buddy. This is pure negligence.
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That’s the second thing they teach you.