A gun is not a toy.
A security guard who often played with his service firearm and point it to his fellow guards learned this hard lesson when he fatally shot himself unintentionally last Monday (June 4) at a hotel in Malate.
Lumil Ocampo, 26, of M and S Security Agency, died on the spot at the main entrance of the Pearl Lane Hotel, at the corner of Maria Orosa and Malvar Streets, in front of his colleagues.
According to police, Ocampo was about to hand over his 9 mm service pistol to fellow guards Rene Luces and Joemar Saquibal when he suddenly pointed the gun at them and joked of shooting them.
Fellow guard Luces scolded him, warning him it was dangerous to point a gun at anybody as it might accidentally go off.
Ocampo merely laughed it off and told Luces the pistol was not loaded since he had already removed the magazine. Ocampo, however, placed the pistol back in its holster.
When Luces left, Saquibal continued to talk with Ocampo about what happened.
During their conversation, Ocampo tried to prove the pistol was not loaded by cocking the firearm, putting the muzzle against his right temple and pulling the trigger.
The pistol, which still had a bullet in the chamber, went off and instantly killed Ocampo.
The guards immediately informed their supervisor Mark Anthony Lasala, who reported the incident to the police.
Meanwhile, the hotel management turned over the CCTV footage of the accidental shooting to the Manila Police Department, confirming the account of the two witnesses.
