Accidents happen. We all know it and we’ve probably all said it a few times as well. We’ve accidentally done something. We’ve probably accidentally done something just today. In fact, first thing this morning, I accidentally dropped a cup filled with ice, spilling ice cubes all over the kitchen floor. I’m not sure what I did, even now, but I did it. What a way to start the morning.

When you’re dealing with firearms, though, there’s no room for carelessness. You have to be almost paranoid about what you’re doing so as to make sure you’re acting in a safe, responsible manner.

So it’s a little ironic what happened to two safety officers in New Hampshire.

Two safety officers went to the hospital Sunday with gunshot wounds after one accidentally fired a gun at the other at an event at the shooting range on Ferry Brook Road, Keene police said.

Officers responded to the range, run by the Cheshire County Shooting Sports Education Foundation, at about 11:40 a.m., according to Keene police Sgt. Collin L. Zamore.

One safety officer apparently attempted to give a demonstration using a dummy weapon, Zamore said, but grabbed a real firearm by mistake. The man fired the gun while his hand was in front of it, according to Zamore, and the bullet traveled through his hand and into the abdomen of a second safety officer.

Well…that’s dumb.

Folks, training guns are called “blue guns” for a freaking reason. They’re all blue, don’t work, and can’t shoot anyone even if you wanted to. They’re just gun-shaped lumps of plastic, which is what you want in a situation like this.

This is clearly not what was being used.

My own speculation is they were using an airsoft gun for training purposes–a tool which truly does have a place in training, in my opinion–and didn’t pay close enough attention to which firearm they picked up.

It’s either that or these officers were morons. I suppose there are other alternatives out there, but damned if I can think of them. If you can, please share them in the comments.

Look, accidents happen, but they almost always happen because of carelessness. There’s a reason some people hate the term “accidental discharge.” It’s because it implies that the discharge of a firearm was due to something other than someone not being careful with their firearm.

When you’re conducting training like this, where you’ll be pointing a weapon at an individual and apparently going “hands-on” with one another and a weapon, you need to be so ridiculously careful that it’s stupid. You need to annoy yourself with how careful you’re being.

Or, you know, just use a blue gun. You can buy those off of Amazon, for crying out loud. They vary in price, but the Glock replicas run for about $50 or so. With one of those, you don’t have to sweat it. A quick check to make sure some smartass hasn’t replaced the training weapon with one cerakoted to look like one. Just a quick check and you’re ready to roll.

Then, you don’t accidentally shoot your buddies like a complete and total knob.

Hat tip: Gun Free Zone