Three-year-old Texas boy dies after accidentally shooting himself

[Little Tich]

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]

1. There wasn't anything "accidental" about -- someone left a gun criminally unsecured . . .

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]

17. I'm not a gun supporter AT ALL! But I think what those grandparents are going through is worse than

anything the law can impose.
Horrible!

[Demit]

19. I'm fine with the law imposing something on them.

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]

2. WTF?

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]

5. Have you ever seen a toddler play with a toy gun? I have and I noticed they have no concept of how

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]

6. You're right, that's exactly what they do

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]

3. What's one 3-year old's life compared to millions' freedumb?

Last edited Mon Jul 6, 2015, 10:58 PM - Edit history (1)

[Frances]

4. It's not millions' freedom

It's billions that the gunmakers get for selling their guns

Follow the money

[Judi Lynn]

15. Sometimes the tree of freedum has to be watered with the blood of tiny patriots. n/t

[lastlib]

7. If only the poor kid had had a gun............

......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. "...to see if anyone will face charges..."

How can there be even the slightest doubt that someone should face charges?!?!

[Sparhawk60]

22. +1,000 This

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]

9. The grandparents should be charged with negligent homicide . . .

. . . 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]

13. This was my childhood experience. Especially the last part.

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]

10. We are awash in guns. The more guns, the more gun deaths.

[Judi Lynn]

16. The image you've posted needs to be seen everywhere. Thank you. n/t

[Ed Suspicious]

11. I think we need public education about gun ownership in much the same way we educated about

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]

23. the other side has their own charts "proving" that we are wrong, wrong, wrong...

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]

12. Gun ownership is a bad bet when it comes to safety. The house is betting you kill yourself or

your family before you ever have a chance to use it on an intruder. The house always wins in the end.

[valerief]

14. If only someone had a gun or two to shoot the gun out of the baby's hands.

NRA logic.

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. This was at the grandparents' house

since that's not clear from the OP report: http://www.click2houston.com/news/3yearold-shot-in-face-at-residence-in-spring/34005872

[hamsterjill]

24. Thank you for that clarification.

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]

20. "he had apparently located a semiautomatic pistol that was in the bedroom and had apparently shot...

Apparently? Yeah, that softens it a lot.

[ileus]

21. Always on your person, or locked up.

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...