Mike Worley invented the Safety Bullet to bridge a gap.
On one side, curious kids raised by reckless parents/guardians with guns.
On the other, responsible gun-owners who demand fast access to self-defense.
In the middle, a little girl in Panama City, FL, shot to death by her brother playing with Dad's gun in 1995.
"The girl was 6 years old, and she was shot by her 4-year-old brother," said Worley. "No safety device had been used on the gun.
"As a dad, I could not imagine the pure hell that family was going through. I was upset by the story, and then I got mad."
According to a study of accidental shootings by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, there were 363 unintentional shooting deaths in 16 states between 2003 and 2006.
49 percent of the shootings were inflicted by someone else other than the victims.
78 percent of the victims were children -- infants to 14 years old.
81 percent of the shooters -- were under the age of 25.
Half of the cases were family members killing other family members -- brothers, sisters, cousins.
Nearly all of them involved a handgun that was not properly secured.
The stats and the stories inspired the Safety Bullet's design. It's just like a regular ammo cartridge -- same primer and casing -- but the bullet itself is a neoprene ball.
In a semi-automatic pistol, you plug it on top of the live ammo in a magazine, load it into the chamber and just leave the handgun out where you need to get to it quickly.
"A child happens by -- or the bad guy gets in without you knowing it -- grabs the firearm and pulls the trigger, you're going to hear a sound like a cap gun going off," said firearms expert and Safety Bullet dealer Scott Kilby. "The neoprene ball expands, seals the slide, and the gun is locked up."
"Or if the attacker gets a hold of your firearm and pulls the trigger on the Safety Bullet round, then it locks up, and they don't have your weapon to use against you."
Responsible gun-owners must train with the Safety Bullet like they would with any other safety device. They can leave their handguns out of a safe or without gun locks, but they must remember to eject it first in order to load a live round.
"Not to say that this is to, in any way, replace responsible firearm ownership or to properly keep your firearm secured, but for some people, this would be a perfect fit," said Kilby.
Most police organizations still recommend gun owners use a safe, or at least a trigger lock. And children's advocacy groups say sold older teens still may be able to figure out the Safety Bullet works.
"If the Safety Bullet saved just one life, it was worth the effort," said Worley. "To the best of my knowledge, it has already saved 20 kids so far. I sleep well."
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