Firearms instructor accidentally shoots person at Livonia range

LIVONIA, Mich. (WJBK) - He's hired to show people how to safely use firearms -- but tonight a local instructor could face possible charges after his weapon accidentally goes off at a gun range.

That bullet hit another person at the range.

Gun owners and firearm instructors  FOX 2 talked with say this should serve as a stark reminder to not become cavalier and overconfident with using guns and to always remember the basic safety rules about firearms.

"It is just carelessness," said Rick Ector, firearms expert.

A local firearms instructor has become an object lesson of what not to do with a gun after accidentally shooting the man. It happened at the Firearm Exchange gun range in Livonia Saturday afternoon.

Police say the instructor from Lifechoice LLC was teaching a CPL class when he unholstered his gun during a demonstration, pointed it at the door and pulled the trigger.

He was unaware that his gun was loaded.

"It's one of those errors that when it happens, things can go bad, can go south very quickly," said Ector.

And that it did - the  bullet  struck a man in another classroom at the gun range, going through one leg and hitting the other.

"I can tell you this once it happened, he rendered aid immediately," said attorney Terry Johnson.

Johnson is the instructor's lawyer and says what happened Saturday was a mistake.

"He's very remorseful," Johnson said. "He's really concerned about the gentleman that was injured.  He sends his wishes to him and his apologies as well. That's his main focus, to make sure he's okay."

"It's extremely rare for something like this happens, particularly in a classroom environment," Ector said.

Rick Ector, who's also a firearms instructor, says basic gun safety rules were broken starting  with this one - treat every gun as if it were loaded.

"And then you had it pointed in an unsafe direction and then you had your finger on the trigger and then you actually pulled it," Ector said. "This is all presumably after he failed to properly check the gun."

"My client realizes, it was a mistake, it was not intentional," Johnson said. "Sometimes a little bit more of a cautious atmosphere can prevent some of these things."

Although this happened at firearm exchange the instructor is not affiliated with the Firearm Exchange gun range,  he could be charged with negligent discharge of a firearm that's a misdemeanor.

If convicted the instructor could face jail time and will likely have his concealed pistol license revoked and he could be facing prison time.