Mother Says Girl Thought Loaded Gun Was Wii Controller

[jedi]

Monday, March 08, 2010

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LEBANON, Tenn. — A Middle Tennessee child who might have thought a loaded handgun was a video game controller has fatally shot herself.
WTVF-TV in Nashville quoted Wilson County Sheriff Terry Ashe, who said the 3-year-old girl picked up her stepfather's .380 caliber pistol and shot herself in the stomach Sunday night.
Ashe said the girl's mother was in the same room and the stepfather was asleep when it happened.
The mother told investigators her daughter could have thought the gun was a controller for a Nintendo Wii.
The stepfather told deputies he got out the gun because he heard a prowler, then left it on a living room end table.
The child died at a hospital. Her name wasn't immediately released.
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Here is a pic of what the "Wii Gun" looks like.

This is very sad and should remind all of us that you have to secure your gun all the time or have it on your person.

Yuo can read some comments here:
Girl Confuses Wiimote with Loaded Gun, Dies

on the topic and one thing that stuck was what one posted said that could the 3 year old actually have fired the gun?

 

[billyboyr6]

that poor baby. it is a shame that some people are so careless. come on people, young kids just do not know any better. lock up all firearms no matter what. if he was worried about a prowler why the F#%@ was he sleeping? sounds like a cover up to me.

 

[JohnP82]

Sad story. Horrible story that could have easily been avoided if the parents would have just done what they should have and secured the firearm.

 

[aclark]

I was going to post this story too. Here's the link I was reading. Wii Gun Involved In 3-Year-Old Shooting Is Amazingly Lifelike - Gun Controllers - Kotaku

Something doesn't add up about the story though. How did a 3 y/o have the strength to pick up the pistol and pull the trigger? Why did she aim at her stomach?

Also, does anyone know which S&W is in the picture in the link I posted? Trying to find out if there is a manual safety, and what the trigger weight is.

 

[printcraft]

Smell like bull hockey to me.

Guy is "sleeping" after hearing an intruder and leaves the gun on an end table.

Mother is in the same room and does not think to pick up or put away said
gun with 3 year old running around.

My B.S. Detector is pegged on this one.

 

[wtfd661]

What a tragedy, prayers sent for all involved.

 

[indykid]

How could a 3 year old "pull" the trigger? She didn't. She turned it toward herself and using her thumbs she pushed the trigger. There was no way she could have known what would happen if she moved that part.

Unfortunately she paid the price for the stupidity of her parents. It doesn't get much sadder.

 

[darinb]

This saddens me and I could not begin to imagine the pain the parents are going through. My 4 year old once told me my Springfield XD9 looked like one of her brothers toy guns. I found the toy that he had and it did closely resemble a real gun. The toy gun belonged to my cousin who is in his 30s now and back then there was no red plugs in barrels and alot of toy guns were metal. She pointed to the grips on my XD and said they both looked the same and she was right they were the same color and material. This story makes me rethink my safety plan. Prayers are with them.

 

[groovatron]

I was going to post this story too. Here's the link I was reading. Wii Gun Involved In 3-Year-Old Shooting Is Amazingly Lifelike - Gun Controllers - Kotaku

Something doesn't add up about the story though. How did a 3 y/o have the strength to pick up the pistol and pull the trigger? Why did she aim at her stomach?

Also, does anyone know which S&W is in the picture in the link I posted? Trying to find out if there is a manual safety, and what the trigger weight is.

You'd be suprised what a 3-year-old can do.

My heart goes out to her parents......awful.

 

[ws6guy]

The story does sound fishy but no matter what happen it doesn't change the fact that a gun was treated carelessly and the little girl has paid the ultimate price for her parent's poor firearm safety.

 

[Greenmonsta79]

Terrible makes me want to cry somebody ought to shoot those parents,
leaving a gun out and loaded around children that small is unexcusable!

 

[wildhare]

Horrible. This is the reason people hate guns. Irresponsible parents. I enjoy playing games as much as the next overgrown kid but there needs to be some restrictions and parents need to teach kids. I believe if we had a gun ed like they have sex ed the country would be better off. JMHO

 

[ihateiraq]

im gonna go buy a couple of those controllers before they get banned.

 

[Packin-Heat]

Horrible,it is a damn shame that a grown man would leave a loaded weapon laying around, let alone in the living room with the child and go to sleep. The mother was in the same room and didnt stop this or even notice the child picking up a weapon. These are the people that are giving the government all the ammo they need to try and make it even more difficult to purchase and own a firearm.

 

[Bluedragon]

I was going to post this story too. Here's the link I was reading. Wii Gun Involved In 3-Year-Old Shooting Is Amazingly Lifelike - Gun Controllers - Kotaku

Something doesn't add up about the story though. How did a 3 y/o have the strength to pick up the pistol and pull the trigger? Why did she aim at her stomach?

Also, does anyone know which S&W is in the picture in the link I posted? Trying to find out if there is a manual safety, and what the trigger weight is.

Truly is a sad thing to happen, but to answer your question if no one else hasn't already answered it.. The gun in the pic is a Smith & Wesson Sigma 380. They are no longer made, and are total junk. They have no manual safety just like the other Sigma pistols, and cheap zinc metal slide that has been said after I think around 2,000 rounds? would just sorta crap out and break. S&W has even admitted to them being cheaply made and I think awhile back offered to buy back used 380 Sigmas. Back when I was 13 or 14, a neighbor friend of mine's older brother had one. We shot it a few times, it's fit, finish, and overall handling was junk in my opinion. Also there was no slide lock to lock the slide back when empty, no mag disconnect, and if I remember right it required a tool to field strip the gun similar to a Hi Point.

 

[Robert Richardson]

Man that's sad

 

[Greenmonsta79]

I have three children and I took my two oldest out (five and nine) and I showed them the importance of gun safety I used a Watermelon for a visual and drew a face on it for good measure (hammers the point home). I told them no matter what if you see what you think is a gun do not touch it or this could happen and after chunks of watermelon were done flying, I could see the look on their faces that they understood, And on the other hand I did not want to scare them and let them (with my help) shoot the AR and AK,
my baby girl is three and even she knows what a gun does and what it is for, she calls them boom booms, and deer dead! but I hammer home to them you don't touch a guy without daddy by your side! And of course all the gun safes are locked at all times!

 

[singlesix]

What a shame. Little girl pays for an Adults stupidity.