MANILA — Police Corporal Fhrank Aldene Dela Cruz, 30, and fellow SWAT members were checking their firearms at the village hall in Barangay 1-B in Laguna last Thursday.

A police report said another cop approached Police Corporal George Mervin Duran, 31, and told him that their service firearms had been switched.

Duran examined his gun, a .9 mm pistol, and removed its magazine.

When Duran was about to check on the gun’s chamber to see if there was still a bullet inside, the report said the firearm went off and hit Dela Cruz in his chest.

Duran, fellow policemen, and village watchmen rushed Dela Cruz to the Community General Hospital of San Pablo, but he was pronounced dead on arrival.

On Monday, a member of the Philippine Coast Guard was accidentally shot in the chest when the gun of his colleague accidentally went off in their outpost in Matnog, Sorsogon during a turnover.

The victim SN1 Joshua Solano was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

The number of accidental gun firing cases from January to November 2022 has reached 83, higher than the 77 cases recorded in the previous year, police data showed.

GUN SAFETY

PNP Firearms and Explosives Office accredited instructor and gun enthusiast Raoul Esperas of the Eastridge Shooters club of Binangonan, Rizal was saddened by the recent incidents of accidental firing.

According to Esperas, accidental firing can happen even to the most experienced and skilled shooter.

But if you follow the 4 cardinal rules of gun handling and safety, accidents can be avoided.

Esperas said, “Number one doon consider every gun as a loaded gun, number 2 trigger finger out, number 3 do not point the muzzle (at) anybody o anything that will be subject of destruction, and number 4 be sure of what is your target.”

Esperas said that when handing over a firearm to another person, always make sure that it isn’t loaded.

“Bago ko ibigay sa iyo titignan ko muna na wala siyang load. I-clear ko muna siya several times. Titignan ko chamber kung may load, atsaka ko siya ire-release, i-hammer down saka ko iaabot,” Esperas explained.