I concur. Always keep the muzzle of a gun pointed in a safe direction. Always keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to fire. Always treat a gun as if it's loaded. Never point a gun at someone you dont intend to kill. Always know your target and what's behind it. He failed all five basic firearm safety rules. I expect *four year olds* to memorize those rules before they get to shoot a BB gun, nevermind a grown adult with a fully functional firearm. It doesn't matter if he was told it was a prop or loaded with blanks. If someone hands you a gun, you follow the same rules. If you hand someone a gun you unloaded yourself and they hand it right back, you follow the same rules. If you field strip it for cleaning, you follow the same rules. If you're going to fire off blanks, starter pistols, ball-less black powder loads, or even dry fire it...you check that the flipping barrel is clear first and *still* follow the same darn rules.