A gun store employee was shot and killed by the store’s owner after a prank that should never have happened went wrong.

According to ABC 13 News, Jon Whitley, owner of Coastal Firearms, brought a replica Glock BB gun and placed it amongst other real firearms.

The same man then picked up what he thought was the replicate but was actually a loaded Glock, pointed it at his employee, and shot him in the face, killing him.

Whitley is now facing an involuntary manslaughter charge.

Those of us in the firearm industry should know better. Gun should not be used in any kind of prank, let alone one where you are pointing a gun at someone and pulling the trigger.

This also makes me wonder what a loaded gun doing there in the first place was. Was that his personal firearm? Was it a firearm that was being sold but was actually loaded? Whatever happened, this is unacceptable.

And I feel like we’ve been beating a dead horse lately but PLEASE…PLEASE follow the 4 Rules of Firearm Safety. If he had, this would have never happened.

4 Rules of Firearm Safety: Watch What Happens When You Don’t Follow Them

Read the original story: Gun Store Owner Shoots Employee in the Face; Mistook Real Gun for BB Gun After Prank