5-year-old Kentucky boy fatally shoots 2-year-old sister with gift rifle

This is why my husband and I will never own a gun and keep it in the house. I've children, and likely sooner or later will have grandchildren, running around the house. If we want to go hunting we have friends and family who share. There's always an extra rifle somebody can bring. I know it puts us at a risk, in a home invasion situation - but it's a risk I have to take. I'd crumble if that happened to one of my children. Didn't these parents have a safe and why wasn't it locked away? Why wasn't there constant supervision with it being out? Now this is where strict gun laws should come into play as to the responsibility gun owners should acknowledge when owning a firearm. No? I'm not saying restrict the right to bare arms - but what I'm asking with this specific situation - should there be a revoke on these specific citizens to bare arms? I think jail time should be considered. Due to the massive failure in responsibility that has now led to death....

Thoughts & condolences to the friends and family. I can't imagine the pain and guilt the parents must feel. This is so tragic. Very sad situation all around.

Cirque

This is criminal negligence if i have ever seen it, its one thing
for us to have rights to own weapons but this child was 5,
i do not care what excuse is given but a 5 year old should not
own a rifle, his father could own one which he only allows
the boy to shoot in a direct contact hand on supervised outing
but never ever ever should a five year old have sole control
of a gun, ever.

These parents have no idea what gun safety even means.....
five years old what in all that is good were they thinking,
i mean we kept it unloaded in the corner, that's the worst
idea of gun safety ever......

So the kid was given a 22 caliber rifle when he was about four, and said rifle was kept in the corner of a room in the house? And there were at least two young kids living there? And he rifle was neither kept locked up or checked to see if it were loaded?

Stupid parents. Feel sorry for the dead girl and the brother who is going to have a lifetime of regret. He and any other children should be taken away from the parents and the parents should be sterilized.

Chalk up another Second Amendment victory. Oohrah!

Originally posted by camaro68ss
aaaaa, a .22 is NOT a toy gun. This news artical, the parints or both are stupid to think so.

(sorry, the Yahoo news artical called the .22 a "toy gun")

Its fine fo the kid to have a gun at that age, he just needs to be supervised and shown to respect a gun.

edit on 1-5-2013 by camaro68ss because: (no reason given)

Are you serious??? Its ok for a 5 year old to have a gun?? No it #ing is not.. How can you give a kid a gun when they can hardly use a knife and fork. He could easily trip whilst carrying the gun and shoot someone or himself. May as well give the kid a car to go for a drive as well..

What the f.. is this?! Kids Corner - toddlers with guns and more such crap (Companys website which produced the gun for that 5 y old kid.)

This is deeply unsettling. Anyway, that is your country, do whatever you please to do.. Freedom is revoked, lets have some more guns..

reply to post by Cabin


First and cardinal rule of weapon safety! Never point a weapon at something you do not intend to destroy!

Ignorant Ignorant stupid dumb parents!!!!

reply to post by CirqueDeTruth


That is why weapons are kept in a safe locked away from all...

Originally posted by crazyewok
reply to post by g146541

 

O so if i go out and shot someone right now its a accident cause you know that victem could get hit by a bus....

You are trolling or serious?
If you go out right now, you have had the idea and the killing would be no accident, don't be silly.
But yes it is possible your target just may get hit by a bus, or operate a saw with no guard, or slip on a wet bathroom floor, all avoidable but they happen!
You must know that there are a million and three ways to die, all of them possibly avoidable, yet they happen everyday.
I admit the parents were negligent, but the kid was too. I expect negligence from kids, but adults do it out of laziness or pride.
The tragedy is accidents happen, this is why we have things like safeties, seat belts, insurance contracts, lifeboats, Etc.
The real question here is why do we not over report hospital acquired infections, or prescription drug fatalities or contaminated environmental fatalities yet e v e r y s i n g l e t i m e someone dies due to a gun death it is national news?

Originally posted by ngchunter

Originally posted by Cabin
Here for example, you will never get a licence (or maybe after some 5-10 year-old-period) if you lose your gun, even when it is stolen. Nobody cares, the fact is you owned and had to keep it in a place, where it can not be gotten by other people. If murder is made with the gun, you are also held accountible as somebody who helps with the murder, although the punishment is still 1-5 years.

Do they also hold you accountable if someone steals your car or carjacks you and then runs over or kills someone in a getaway attempt? I'm not saying leaving a gun laying around for a 5 and a 2 year old to access is anything but negligent, but I certainly don't think a gun owner should be held accountable if their weapon is stolen any more than a car owner should be held responsible for the same thing.

Hyuk yes. And next week when we're reading about a 5 year old who accidentally runs over his 2 year old sister at 90mph, it will make sense.. what you just asked.

"well we usually left the car in the shed, but we had no idea it had the keys in it and the tank was full."

I see the comparison. oh.. maybe if I just.

Originally posted by redoubt
The media buries the nation in stories of accidental deaths when there is a gun involved but completely ignores those who dies because a younger sibling somehow took a car out of gear or in one instance, electrocuted a friend in a bathtub with a laptop computer.

Once you see this kind of slant, then you understand that there is a definite and determined effort to shift public opinion based NOT on saving lives, but on fulfilling political ends.

A car serves one purpose. To move people from one location to another. In it's purposeful use it kills no one. If it is used by someone intent on misusing it, it can lead to a death.

A laptop computer serves one purpose. Portable computing. In it's purposeful use it kills no one. If it is used by someone intent on misusing it, it can lead to a death.

A gun serves one purpose. To shoot things. In it's purposeful use it can kill someone. If it is used by someone intent on misusing it, it can lead to many deaths.

Please stop making baseless comparisons to friggen utensils.

Originally posted by ngchunter

Originally posted by Cabin

Originally posted by ngchunter
Do they also hold you accountable if someone steals your car or carjacks you and then runs over or kills someone in a getaway attempt? I'm not saying leaving a gun laying around for a 5 and a 2 year old to access is anything but negligent, but I certainly don't think a gun owner should be held accountable if their weapon is stolen any more than a car owner should be held responsible for the same thing.

Cars and guns should not be compared. Car is mainly a vehicle. Gun is a weapon.

A car is mainly a weapon when in the hands of a criminal who just stole it.

Isn't theft a crime?

What made the criminal a criminal before he stole it?

you mean someone using a gun, then.

I see.

Someone bent my ear a couple of weeks back, because in the UK, you can give a shotgun (and relevant licence) to a child of 12 (and no younger).
What parent leaves their child alone with a gun, whether they're aware of it being loaded or not?
This was an accident waiting to happen. Anyone could've grabbed that if they have just left it in the corner.
Why do I have a mental image of the kid looking through the sight of the gun, finding the child, and pulling the trigger thinking the gun wasn't loaded?

its happened before. it will happen again. it will keep happening.

America,

you reap what you sow

Natural selection possibly?

This child would have gone on to have kids, who would have kids etc who would have come from a genepool that thinks that giving a 5 year old a rifle is a perfectly normal thing to do. I can't even begin to describe how stupid their parents must have been!!

I am trying to figure who thought a gun at 5yrs was appropriate.. and I would also like to know who thought it would be a good idea to keep it loaded before the child knew and understood the proper way to handle a firearm.

Buy the kid a bb gun to get his feet wet.. then when he is oh lets say 13 give him a 22.


This is just piss poor parenting.

Originally posted by lacrimaererum
its happened before. it will happen again. it will keep happening.

America,

you reap what you sow

sadly bad parenting will continue.

Poor wee Soul, rest in peace hen!

What kind of irresponsible cabbage gifts a 5 year old a Gun??? The mind boggles!

The only type of gun any little boy should be playing with is a toy one in my opinion. Why is there no legal age requirement?

People should be atleast 16 years of age before they are alloyed to own or use any firearm, stands to reason!

Anyone who has said "This is the reason I don't own a firearm" are fools.

This is pure ignorance. I have no problem with firearms. But they cannot be left around loaded for anyone to mess with.

I think gun safety and savvy should be taught at an early age. However. That is under heavy supervision and in controlled environments.

You simply don't leave a loaded firearm out in the open period.

They should have done a brass check daily and could have possibly saved a life..

reply to post by Cabin

I saw this on the news this morning and it made me feel sick to the core.
Im not anti gun but kids with gun that can kill,well its a no go area end of.

This will be used to fuel the USAs 2nd amendment or should i say the lack of.

VERY VERY SAD INDEED

I dont even let my kids near a sharp knife and they are 12 and twins of 9
never mind a gun.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere

It was usually kept in a corner of the house, and no one realized a shell had been left inside.

Severe parenting fail. The universe was just taking back what these people should never have been blessed with in the first place.

Id of rather the universe took the parents and the children put in a safer upbringing