4 yo boy in Merrillville shoots himself and dies.

[Bigtanker]

4-Year-Old Merrillville Boy Dead After Shooting Self With Gun From Parents? Bedroom « CBS Chicago

My heart hurts because of the stupidity of this boys parents. Kids will be kids. I have 2 little ones. Leaving or hiding a gun where a kid can find it is just plain stupid. Their son is dead because of their negligence.

For God's sake, keep your guns locked up or on your person until you are 100% sure your little ones know what to do when they see a gun lying around. Keeping it in your sock drawer is not good. I know I'm preaching to the choir but there might be a few that still dont keep their guns locked up. YOUR KIDS LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!

 

[Darral27]

Very sad this has to keep on happening. If you have little ones either teach them not to touch your guns or keep them locked up.

 

[chef larry]

Poor little boy.

 

[Bravo-4-2]

Parenting is more than spreading your legs twice. It just seems that no one is qualified for the role anymore. We are creating a society that literally can't continue to exist.

 

[Snapdragon]

This hurts my heart. I actually know a lady with the last name of Irby. I hope he wasn't her son, but he was still somebody's son.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Very sad. Wonder if this was a case where the kid was able to take the "night stand gun" off the night stand while the parents were still sleeping?

 

[actaeon277]

Very sad. Wonder if this was a case where the kid was able to take the "night stand gun" off the night stand while the parents were still sleeping?

I think they said it was on a shelf "out of reach".

 

[lonehoosier]

Very sad. Wonder if this was a case where the kid was able to take the "night stand gun" off the night stand while the parents were still sleeping?

A quote from another story about it.
"White-Gibson said the child climbed shelves in a closet to get the gun, which was stored in the back of a top shelf. The family kept the handgun for protection, she said."

4-year-old boy shot, killed in Merrillville : Merrillville Community News

 

[rugertoter]

Parenting is more than spreading your legs twice. It just seems that no one is qualified for the role anymore. We are creating a society that literally can't continue to exist.

True. Being around when nature decides to "reset" things? That will be ugly. Concerning the OP, this is just the kind of thing that the anti-gun crowd will use to make the vast majority of us look reckless. I feel so sorry for the little guy who will not get the chance of growing up...and I would like to slap the parents. My kids are all grown now, but when they were young, it would have been impossible for them to get their little mitts on any of my firearms. Wake up people.

 

[GNRPowdeR]

Sadness fills my heart. Please, go home & hug your Loved ones.

 

[Principal Skinr]

While we didn't have handguns, I grew up with rifles and shotguns in an unlocked glass cabinet, with ammo in a drawer underneath. My best friend's dad had several handguns, loaded, in his dresser drawer. We ran around his house all the time from 5 years old and up, but we never thought about trying to handle those guns. We feared his dad and mine, as well, but we also had been told countless times how dangerous it would be for us to mess with them without our dads' guidance.

I don't know, maybe we were just lucky. I'm so sorry to hear about this little boy. The parents will feel far more pain, for the rest of their lives, than they would with any of us slapping them, or if they go to jail. They are paying the ultimate price. I'd rather die myself than deal with losing one of my children, especially if it was from something preventable, like this. My heart goes out to them.

 

[Que]

I grew up very lucky. My father kept his ammo separate from his rifles, but I knew where they were kept. He never taught me about safety and I did fire a round through a dresser. I teach my children, but I still don't trust them. The only loaded gun not in my safe is on my hip. Still, this is sad news and my prayers go out to the parents.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Sad, sad, sad.

 

[xM3RC1L3SS1x]

That is extremely sad.

 

[T-DOGG]

Having a four year old myself, it deeply saddens me to hear this story. With that being said, the small investment for a gun safe is truly priceless when it comes to the safety of children. Anyone who thinks there kids won't find their guns no matter where they stash them, are fooling themselves.

 

[Mark 1911]

The kid saw a lot more than mom and dad realized, and was a lot more determined and resourceful too. How tragic they didn't see that.

 

[wtfd661]

Prayers said

 

[bradmedic04]

Just makes my heart sink to read these things. This poor kid. His siblings will never be the same. Though negligent, I feel for the parents as well. They'll never get over this mistake. I'm not sure how they'll be able to go on.

 

[CitiusFortius]

Very sad this has to keep on happening. If you have little ones either teach them not to touch your guns or keep them locked up.

You're half right. You can't teach a 3-4 year old the consequences of handling a gun. Their brains can't process that. Guns need to be locked up, end of story.

 

[Snapdragon]

You're half right. You can't teach a 3-4 year old the consequences of handling a gun. Their brains can't process that. Guns need to be locked up, end of story.

Agreed. At that age, they don't understand the permanence of death.