Three-year-old Texas boy dies after accidentally shooting himself
Source: Yahoo! News / Reuters
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A 3-year-old Texas boy who shot himself at a Houston-area home over the weekend died on Monday from the wound, officials said.
The boy's grandparents were babysitting him and had put him down for a nap. They later heard a gunshot and found the boy had shot himself, police said.
"When they went in to check on him, he had apparently located a .380 semiautomatic pistol that was in the bedroom and had apparently accidentally shot himself in the head," Sergeant Ben Beall of the Harris County Sheriff's Office was quoted as saying by broadcaster KHOU.
A grand jury will investigate the case that took place in Spring, north of Houston, to see if anyone will face charges over the incident.
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/three-old-texas-boy-dies-accidentally-shooting-himself-211132391.html
Journeyman
(15,044 posts)and a child had access to it.
We mustn't let the guilty off. Make them acknowledge their irresponsible behavior and then make them pay for their criminal deed.
Anything less is a crime itself against the memory of that child.
C Moon
(12,226 posts)anything the law can impose.
Horrible!
Demit
(11,238 posts)Maybe a few years of community service, going around and speaking publicly to groups about how stupid they were & please don't be stupid about guns in the house.
Suich
(10,642 posts)How in the world does a 3 year old even get the idea to point a gun at his head? Point it at your teddy bear, a picture on the wall, the door, anything!
Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)it works. The point the barrel at their head. Sometimes they suck on the barrel. Their hands explore the nooks and crannies of the gun, often a thumb goes to the trigger. It truly is frightening to behold.
Warpy
(111,467 posts)The butt is too big to fit into their mouths but the barrel is just right. Everything goes into a toddler's mouth, it's how they explore the world.
Kids of all ages are stupid about guns. Toddlers are the worst because they really have no clue what shiny thing they've just picked up.
onehandle
(51,122 posts)Last edited Mon Jul 6, 2015, 10:58 PM - Edit history (1)
Frances
(8,548 posts)It's billions that the gunmakers get for selling their guns
Follow the money
Judi Lynn
(160,682 posts)lastlib
(23,388 posts)......or h is mom. Or his dad...................
Oh, wait...........Never mind...............................
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(for the benefit of the snark-impaired and the hoplosexuals.........)
chervilant
(8,267 posts)How can there be even the slightest doubt that someone should face charges?!?!
Sparhawk60
(359 posts)A three year old child finds a loaded gun, how can they NOT file charges? You never, never, ever keep a loaded gun in the house. Full stop, end of story.
markpkessinger
(8,409 posts). . . I mean who the FUCK keeps a loaded gun anywhere in a house with a small child present? For that matter, who the fuck keeps a loaded in in a house PERIOD? I grew up in rural Pennsylvania, where most families, mine included, had one or more hunters. We actually owned quite a number: an assortment of shotguns of various gauges, as well as hunting rifles. My father was absolutely diligent about gun safety, to the point that I and my siblings would get in trouble if we so much as pointed a toy gun at another person (the sole exception was for squirt guns). What's more, when not in use, guns were kept locked away. So was ammunition, but in a completely separate location. And finally, under absolutely NO circumstances were loaded guns EVER permitted indoors or inside a vehicle. And this level of care and concern for gun safety was typical of any of the families I knew in the area.
But then again, neither my family, nor any other families I knew or knew of, were living out some paranoid fantasy that we were likely at any moment to face an armed intruder. Guns were viewed primarily as tools, not as weapons.
Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)That is the lack of paranoia.
When I was a kid, my step-dad and grandfather treated them the same way. . . Guns are tools for hunting not weapons.
SunSeeker
(51,811 posts)Judi Lynn
(160,682 posts)Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)cigarettes. We need to have ads on television that show babies and children playing with guns, gun goes off, a ringing sound fades to silence as the adult finds the child, blood curdling scream. It needs to be horrifying. We need to educate because banning guns is just not in the cards right now. We need to remind people over and over again the dangers of gun ownership. We need to show on television the statistics that show gun owners are far less likely to use it for protection and far more likely to use it in a suicide. etc. etc.
CTyankee
(63,926 posts)I know because I have seen those charts over and over and over again for several years some of them right here on DU. So don't even waste time with them. Better to campaign for pro gun safety laws where we can...
Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)your family before you ever have a chance to use it on an intruder. The house always wins in the end.
valerief
(53,235 posts)NRA logic.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,414 posts)since that's not clear from the OP report: http://www.click2houston.com/news/3yearold-shot-in-face-at-residence-in-spring/34005872
hamsterjill
(15,224 posts)Since the OP article said "baby sitting", I wondered if it was the parent(s) as opposed to the grandparent(s) that were negligent.
This clarifies that it was the grandparents since it happened at their house.
It's horrible and I'm sure the grandparents are going through hell. But I agree that charges should be filed. Guns need to be locked up where there is no chance of anyone who is not the intended user of the gun getting a hand on it.
Elmer S. E. Dump
(5,751 posts)Apparently? Yeah, that softens it a lot.
ileus
(15,396 posts)If you're going to have a personal safety device it should be on your person. If not on your person then locked up.
Safety First...