A woman was shot by a stray bullet while changing her child’s diaper in her Bastrop County home Saturday morning, police said.

Full story here, (h/t Brian)

This was “accidental” in that it appears there was no intent to harm anyone. But, if the facts of the article are correct, it wasn’t an accident, it was negligence … or ignorance about what a “safe direction” is.

Four men were found shooting on a nearby property and are suspected of firing the errant round that hit Jones, among a few others that hit her home and her husband’s car about 9:20 a.m. Saturday, Dezarn said.

Adel Mandavi, 26, Pouyan Mandavi, 21, Hani Zahrooni, 23, and Mani Zahrooni, 23, all of Austin, have all been charged with deadly conduct, a third-degree felony and remain in Bastrop County jail Sunday, according to jail records and Dezarn.

“They didn’t have a proper backstop. (They were shooting at) just a clump of trees that had fallen over,” Dezarn said. “They were just kind of blasting away.”

They didn’t have a proper backstop, just shooting at a clump of trees.

Another article covering the story says they were shooting at a “deer box” (or maybe she said “beer box”? I listened to it a few times and couldn’t tell). Either way, cardboard certainly won’t stop a bullet nor will plywood that is commonly used to make deer blinds.

I think it’s time to go back and read this article on “what is a safe direction”.

The key here is where the bullet will come to rest. A clump of trees is not a solid object that can stop a bullet (not like a 15′ high mound of dirt). And it would seem numerous bullets did not come to rest.

Unfortunately the 4 men are now charged with a felony, and they won’t be able to own or shoot a gun again (if convicted). They’re all also pretty young, and the rest of their lives forever altered.

The Rules exist for a reason. While I certainly advocate getting as much education and training as possible, if nothing else please follow the core rules, be they the NRA 3 Rules or Col. Cooper’s 4 Rules. They’re there precisely to prevent situations like this.