6 year old IN boy killed in accidental shooting

[MtnBiker6510]

very sad.

 

[schafe]

This is a tragic event. One family member is dead, but the others will never be the same, either. While we don't know a lot about the events leading up to this, you can rest assured that the boys parents are going over itmany times in their heads.

 

[Larryjr]

Do your children always behave in the fashion that your training would lead you to believe they should?

They are children and the adults in their lives need to train AND protect them. From themselves, especially.

Small story from personal experience. I was in Germany and got a call to come home on emergency leave. My 13 yr old brother had an accident with one of my handguns that I had left at home. Farm kids, we all were, and well versed in guns and gun safety. Timothy was home alone and some dogs had gotten into Mom's sheep and he'd grabbed the first thing at hand out of the gun locker to take care of the problem. Fired a couple of shots and ran the dogs off. Went inside and was talking to his girlfriend and it looked like he'd absentmindedly reached up to scratch his head and the gun went off. His G/F said he'd just stopped talking after she heard a loud noise. I wish he'd taken the time to unload when he hit the door like we always did and still do. Our kids need us to be the responsible ones.
The point is that as parents and adults in kids lives, we are responsible for their safety. Teens think they're immortal. That's not a good combination with weapons. How many of us here on this board can say, "It's only by the grace of God that I lived through my teenage years!" because of all the crazy stupid sh- stuff we did?
To this day, and probably until my last breath, I will wish that I'd stored my guns differently when I PCS'ed. I KNOW my father regretted not having had them locked up until he passed a couple of years ago. Love your children but don't trust them too much.

@patience I am sorry to hear about what happened both in your situation and the more recent one. As a parent it has made me think carefully.

 

[adventures47129]

Leave an 11 and 6 year old home alone without adult supervision? I am sorry, I do not mean to sound like a jerk. I am so sorry for all involved. But, this could have been avoided so very easily by keeping an eye on your kids, education, and weapon security. I do hope that many parents learn or at least think about this and make some adjustments in the home. My prayers are with the family and friends.

 

[88GT]

Maybe I misread the article that the OP posted. But in that article it did not mention that the firearm was owned by the kid's parents. Do we know if it was? Or did the kid bring it from somewhere else?

You didn't misread it. There are exactly zero details in the article about how that boy got the firearm. Or where the parents were. Or what kind of safety education he had. Or where the firearm was stored. Or....you get the picture.

Lots of Monday-morning quarterbacking, except that nobody's really watched the game, they're only seeing the score.

 

[jedi]

You didn't misread it. There are exactly zero details in the article about how that boy got the firearm. Or where the parents were. Or what kind of safety education he had. Or where the firearm was stored. Or....you get the picture.

Lots of Monday-morning quarterbacking, except that nobody's really watched the game, they're only seeing the score.

Thanks 88GT. I'll wait for an update before I blame the parents for lack of firearm training. Now leaving the keeps at home unsupervised (as the article does say that) that is a different story.

 

[huzyerdaddy]

very sad, never assume or leave your stuff out

 

[! twitty]

Maybe I misread the article that the OP posted. But in that article it did not mention that the firearm was owned by the kid's parents. Do we know if it was? Or did the kid bring it from somewhere else?

Well here is the update and yes, I was quick to assume and unfortunately was right. The gun was left out in the parents room but the kids were 'not' supposed to go in there... sad situation.

6-Year-Old Shot In The Head, Dies - Indiana News Story - WRTV Indianapolis

 

[88GT]

FWIW, I talked to one of the responding medical personnel today who said that the firearm was a rifle and that the 11-year-old brother said something to the effect of "But it didn't look like it does in the movies." According to said EMT the wound was forehead, centerline. Take all this with a grain of salt. The implication from the EMT was that the 11y/o did it based on the claim that it doesn't look like the movies. If it was in fact a rifle and the wound was where EMT said it was, the possibility that brother did it seems a little more likely. And LE doesn't seem to be confirming self-inflicted, which one would think they'd be more likely to speak up about to help avoid the pile-on of the brother.

But I wasn't there and I don't personally know this EMT to just his credibility.

 

[browncofiddler]

I just read that the 11 yr. old has been charged with murder, as a juvenile.

11-year-old charged with murder in Morgan County | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com

So very sad. This is one reason why young kids should always be supervised whether there are firearms in the home or not.

 

[Bert]

the parents must be just going nuts . losing a son , then losing the other to the system . 11 is still too young to baby sit

 

[DragonGunner]

Very sad....we had unlocked guns growing up, no way at any age I ever pointed a real rifle at anyone at anytime...Dad eduacated us well, if he hadn't this could of happened in my youth also...in the end the parents have to be accountable for the decision an how much responsibility they put on their children....but as this story continues, will we find out the 11 yr. deliberatly shot his brother...?...when I was a 14 we had a 12 yr. old kid willfully shoot both his parents, killing one.....wasn't even upset about it, got in the family car an drove to a nieghbors house an said he had just killed his parents....

 

[88GT]

the parents must be just going nuts . losing a son , then losing the other to the system . 11 is still too young to baby sit

I disagree. It's not the chronological age, but the fact that we coddle our children too much in modern society. Most eleven year olds are incapable of being responsible enough, but I know some that are more mature and responsible than 40 year olds.

 

[THard6]

Maybe I misread the article that the OP posted. But in that article it did not mention that the firearm was owned by the kid's parents. Do we know if it was? Or did the kid bring it from somewhere else?

Some of you seem to be jumping on the wagon of blaming the parents for not locking up a gun which may not have even been in the house to begin with!




^THIS!

it may not of said it in the article. but my parents happpen to be neighbors. i knew a little more that the OP and article, and once again.. just my openion.

 

[danimal]

i've let my 5 and 3 year old sons handle both rifles and handguns. whenever i have one out to clean/lube up i drill the basics into their heads before i hand it to them (unloaded of course). they love guns and i have a blast hanging out with them while we have everything torn down. but you'd be surprised how quickly they sweep the muzzle past someone (or the cats!) and i have to take it away. they are young still so i can't blame them much, but after reading this story i'm glad i've started teaching them as early as i have.

 

[o Mr Cadillac o]

This is sad, what's even more sad is that we seem to hear about this quite often. What's wrong with parent's?

 

[Gun Bunny]

Yes, very sad indeed!

I feel what is different from 20, 30 and more years ago is that when it comes to children and guns is that guns are treated like porn! We have all heard the phrase "think of the children" or "why do you carry a gun, there are children here". I also grew up with guns around, knew where they were plus the ammo, but was raised not to touch them unless I asked! We even had outdoor education in High School which included "firearm safety".

Now days most people think that you should not let your kids know about guns or even see them like it would mess up their little minds! That is bulls**t! You have to teach them young about guns even if you don't own or have any around because somewhere they could come in contact with one.

 

[kludge]

How many times do we have to say it... Your kids WILL find you guns, and regarless of what you teach them there is a change they will not obey you when you're not looking. Do not leave a loaded gun unattended. Store guns unloaded and inaccessaible to children and unauthorized persons. Store ammunition separately. Regardless of the outcome, the parents are negligent.

 

[Patternpimp]

Godspeed little fella. Prayers for the family.

 

[lrahm]

Same here, prayers for the entire family.