And thus another data point of evidence for the argument: "If extensively-trained police officers have these kinds of "accidents", imagine what would happen if ordinary untrained citizens had guns." Blood in the streets, wild west, etc.

USPS Police Officer Opens Fire After Rat Spooks Him, Sources Say

MANHATTAN — A Postal Service police officer started shooting when he was spooked by a rat in a darkened Post Office Friday morning, sources said.

The officer had his gun and flashlight drawn as he investigated an alarm that went off at the Manhattanville Station of the USPS at 365 W. 125th St., near St. Nicholas Avenue, sources said.

He was scouring a dark room when a rodent leaped out at him from the shadows, sources said.

The officer pulled the trigger [Keep your finger off the trigger until you have acquired the target.] and a bullet ricocheted off the floor into a concrete wall, sources said.

The bullet missed the rat, which survived, sources said.

The Postal Service's Inspector General is investigating the shooting, sources said.

https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160219/west-harlem/usps-police-officer-opens-fire-after-rat-spooks-him-sources-say

(via David Codrea, http://waronguns.blogspot.com/)

Lol
Que the Don Knotts

Must have been a big ass rat

Might be a perfectly good reason to let rounds fly. 

I've been that unsafe guy at the shooting range before so take this with a grain of salt, but I always thought the primary firearm safety rules were:

        "1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction."
        "2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot."

I usually dislike vague rules, and "ready to shoot" is pretty vague, but for once that's a vague rule I like because it allows for some flexibility. Keeping your finger off the trigger until you've "acquired the target" may be too late in a dangerous situation. I'd do that personally in any situation, but I wouldn't expect others to do that in battlefield conditions. Some versions of the same rule even say to "keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target" but in real life confrontations you've got to be ready to possibly shoot without using the sights at all.

Ever seen a New York subway rat !
Holy Crap !

New York rats are not that cute one in the picture in the article.

For all we know he took a deliberate shot at the rat.
(Concrete building and all)