I don’t like seeing stories about people doing stupid stuff with guns. While they’re the exceptions, to be sure, they still happen and someone will try and use that to paint all firearms owners with the same broad brush.

You know it and I know it.

A prime example is this soccer referee from Oklahoma.

A soccer referee in Oklahoma has been arrested after allegedly shooting a gun in the direction of a player and several fans following an argument over a red card.

The incident allegedly occurred at around 4:00 p.m. last Sunday at the Pauls Valley Sports Complex in Oklahoma after referee Davi Bazeth gave a player a red card during an adult match, which meant the latter was ejected from the rest of the game.

Pauls Valley Assistant Police Chief Derrick Jolley told local station KFOR that after the red card was shown to one of the players, “the incident started to escalate, got kind of heated, [I] believe there was some pushing and shoving.”

He said that following the scuffle on the pitch, Bazeth walked over to his car and returned seconds later carrying a gun in his hand. A video filmed of the incident by one of the spectators purported to show one person shouting “Hey! Hey! Hey!” before the referee allegedly fired the weapon.

The police report of the incident shared with the local outlet said that the player issued the red card by Bazeth saw the referee “work the action of the gun, point the gun in the direction of him and the other spectators and players near the playing field, and fire one round from the pistol.”

OK, um…do I really need to tell you that you can’t do that?

Look, I get a ref getting frustrated when they lose control of a game like that. However, it’s a fistfight. They suck, but they’re rarely fatal, which means you don’t get to use a firearm to try and stop one.

That’s not how any of this works.

Bazeth returned to his car after firing the shots and drove off. He was pulled over a short time later where police found a .380 pistol in his truck. He was promptly arrested.

As he should have been.

I’m sorry, but you’re firing a gun toward people to make them stop fighting? I mean, sure, it’ll stop the fight, but it could also do so many worse things. You know, like kill someone?

Bazeth will get his day in court, of course, and he can justify it or not as he wishes. Who knows, the court may find that he did none of that. That’s the benefit of “innocent until proven guilty,” after all. But if he did, he’s going to have to deal with the ramifications of his actions, which he should.

The truth is, that’s not how gun owners should act. We shouldn’t condone this kind of thing. We should call it like it is, this was a rash and impulsive act that could have gotten someone killed as it has been reported.

I won’t feel bad about him getting jail time if he did such a thing.