Gun safety rules are there for a reason. They should be taught early and often, and should be ingrained in the mind of all shooters, so that tragedies like this never happen. Experience can't make up for complacency.

A trainee at a Cobb County police academy was killed Tuesday when the instructor's gun accidentally went off during the first day of firearms training, authorities said...

The trainees were in a classroom in the basement of the academy, located in a converted textile mill, when the gun discharged about 4 p.m., said Carol Morgan, the academy director...

Kennesaw police Chief Tim Callahan called the death "a tragic accident," and added: "For the next few days, we want to honor the life of this young officer who would have been a great officer one day."

The class instructor is an "experienced veteran" of the county sheriff's office who has been teaching at the academy for 10 years, Sheriff Warren said.

Guns don't just go off, and this accident was caused by a break down of several basic gun safety rules - any one of which could have prevented this.

First, always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. Had this gun "went off" when it was pointed down range or in a safe direction, nobody would have been hit.

Second, always keep your finger off the trigger. The only time you should put your finger on the trigger is when you have the sight lined up and are ready to fire. Some guns like Glocks need to be "dry fired" to be disassembled. In those cases, you should check to make sure the gun is unloaded first. Even then, dry fire it in a safe direction. Perfect practice makes perfect.

Remember, treat every gun as loaded until you yourself verify that it is unloaded. Even if someone else checks it out before handing it to you, check it again. After you check it keep it pointed in a safe direction. Even unloaded, pointing the muzzle of a gun at someone is rude, and reinforces bad habits.