Recently in Utah, a man seemingly vying for the title of world’s worst father apparently instructed his four-year-old son to shoot at police. This occurred as the man was stopped by police for brandishing a firearm at McDonald’s employees, following a purported issue with his drive-thru order.

As his father was being arrested, the child dutifully fired a round from the gun he’d been given. Fortunately, the bullet struck no one. Even more fortunate, the officer closest to the vehicle recognized that the shooter was a child, and managed to alert other officers. As a result, those officers did not fire back at the four-year-old, nor his three-year-old sibling who was sitting next to him.

That’s something of a miracle. Unfortunately, everything else about this story is horrible, and it can still get worse. So, of course, it does.

UPD Sheriff Rosie Rivera said it was “beyond belief that something like could happen,” adding that it was a “sad day” for law enforcement.

I think it’s a sad day for humanity, myself. If anything, it seems like a slightly good day for law enforcement, given that they managed to successfully avoid using deadly force against toddlers.

“To have an adult think it is okay to encourage a four-year-old to pull a firearm and shoot at police illustrates how out of hand the campaign against police has gotten.”

Oh. Wow. You really managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory there, Sheriff Rivera.

Is there also an equally out of control campaign against fast food workers, as evidenced by the initial incident which drew the response from law enforcement? Or is perhaps the issue unrelated to a phony “campaign against police”, and more a problem with the accessibility of firearms in America? One is left to wonder.