Man kills self while teaching gun safety

A 26-year-old Phoenix man accidentally killed himself early on Sunday while explaining gun safety to two Sierra Vista residents.

Samuel Benally Jr. was at an apartment on West Tacoma Street when he said guns should be kept unloaded because people could point them at their heads, said Sierra Vista police Sgt. Brett Mitchell.

Benally then demonstrated by putting his own 9mm Ruger, which he believed to be unloaded, to his head and firing it, Mitchell said.

Benally was flown to University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Mitchell said. An investigation is ongoing, but police do not believe alcohol or drugs were involved, Mitchell said.