Stepfather kills Daughter, thinks she is a burglar

In the wee hours of the morning in Colorado Springs, a 14 year old girl was shot dead by her father as she climbed through a window because he mistook her for an intruder. She died at the hospital from gunshot wounds.

When the news broke of this story, it brought the gun advocates and gun opponents out of the woodwork. Guns spelled backwards is snug; some people get too snug with their guns, as was the case of the girl’s father, who was not arrested according to the report.

In the right hands, guns can be an enjoyable part of target shooting. The purpose of a gun should be that of protection, but at the same time, the person who wants to protect himself also needs to add some mental stability and smart thinking to the equation. The man who killed his daughter wasn’t what you’d call unstable (in a corrupt, immoral sense), but he certainly wasn’t thinking clearly, either.

Guns have been proven to protect the good guys from the bad guys, especially those in high risk professions. But what’s frightening is that some gun owners just aren’t savvy or informed enough to properly handle a gun in the face of threat or perceived threat.

Too many family members are being shot to death by another family member in their own homes—not because of an argument gone bad, but because of mistaken identity. Would that girl have been shot had the house been equipped with an alarm system?

It’s all about common sense. In the hands of a person with common sense (and a regard for life), guns usually are not a problem.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.