Child shot while playing with his father's handgun

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http://www.charleston.net/pub/archive/news/child0601.htm

Child shot while playing with his father's handgun

Thursday, June 1, 2000

By TYRONE WALKER
Of The Post and Courier staff

A 9-year-old child was shot as he and one of his three brothers struggled over a gun Wednesday evening in North Charleston, police said.

The boy was shot in his left side, but the injury was not believed to be life-threatening, said North Charleston Det. Doug Hester.

"He was a very lucky young boy. If the bullet would have hit a half-inch in either direction, he would have been dead," Hester said, noting the bullet traveled through fatty tissue on the boy's side.

The child was listed in stable condition at Medical University Hospital, a hospital official said late Wednesday night.

The shooting occurred at about 6 p.m. in the Three Oaks public housing community on Oakleaf Drive.

At the time of the shooting, the boy's father, Willie A. Howard, was resting on a couch in the living room as three of his four sons played in a bedroom, North Charleston Det. John Reynolds said. His sons range in age from 6 to 12.

Three of the boys apparently found an unloaded 9 mm handgun and a box of cartridges beneath a pillow in the bedroom where they were playing, Reynolds said.

The father told police he had purchased the gun within the last two weeks following a burglary of his home, Reynolds said.

The gun also had a trigger lock on it, but the injured boy apparently found the key and unlocked it, according to Reynolds.

"Trigger locks are as easy to open as finding the key," Reynolds said.

After the gun was unlocked and loaded, two of the boys apparently struggled briefly over the weapon when it fired, Reynolds said.

The father and one of his sons sat in separate patrol cars late Wednesday evening talking to officers. The little boy was sobbing, and the father was visibly shaken.

After talking to the officers, two people assisted Howard back to the stoop of his apartment, where his children consoled and hugged him.

The shooting is considered an accident, and police do not expect to file any charges regarding the gun, Hester said.

He said that Howard had tried to store the firearm in a "safe place."

"A young boy's curiosity found (the gun)," Hester said.

Police noted that guns are not allowed in public housing.

Neighbors gathered at a playground across the street from the apartment.

"Kids are smart enough to know how to load a gun. They watch TV," said Candace Turner, mother of an 8-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter. "You have to be more careful when you have kids around. They're inquisitive."

Laynaie Riddick, a visitor to the neighborhood near where the child was shot, said, "When I saw them load the kid on the ambulance, I prayed."

The incident remains under investigation.

Tyrone Walker covers law enforcement. Contact him at 937-5570 or at twalker@postandcourier.com.
 
But..but..the gun had a trigger lock on it. How could that happen?

Hard to tell if the father is at fault here.
He did have the gun locked, but having the ammo with it was not a good idea.

I wonder if he'll be charged for having a gun in a public housing project?

Dick
 
A gun without the ammo is pretty useless as a defensive tool, don't you think?

If he was going to have a gun in a house with children, he had a responsibility to teach the children about the dangers of that gun just like he might teach them not to drink the drain cleaner in the bottle under the sink.

Other than that, he didn't do anything wrong other than possessing that gun in a public housing project (I guess your rights go out the window when you accept a dole from the government).
 
gun ownership bares social responsibility and accountability. These are weapons and if owners take a complacent approach accidents will continue. When there are children in your home every thing to be locked up, triggers, guns, ammo. Everytime an accident happens because of the lack of owner responsibility it give all gun owners a bad name.
 
This is SO sketchy. The kids found the gun, ammunition AND the key to the trigger lock? It doesn't sound to me like this man was trying very hard to hide anything in a safe place.
I agree with big bore, this guy needs to take some responsibility. If everyone acknowledges how curious kids are and how easy it is for something like this to happen, he should have taken better precautions.
 
Duh gee wiz. Sounds like your typical, stupid fool. I have many people in my home,including children of all ages, and many firearms. They are all locked!!! And, here's the secret for the bird brains out there, I always have the key for each one. That is just in case they figure out the combo to the gun safe. The only key that is there is going to be for the particular gun I happen to carry that day. They should put this dodo out on his a!$ and put his kids in foster care as they don't need a dim bulb like that to raise them....
 
You guys are way off base. This incident shows the falicy of depending on a trigger lock to keep children from mishandling guns. No matter what precautions you take, there will always be someone who can cirumvent them. Nothing! Let me repeat that, nothing is absolute.

This guy did everything he was "supposed" to do. He acquired a gun for protection and he bought and used a trigger lock. You don't know the circumstances around how the kids got the key to the lock so you have no right to hammer him. The guy made an honest effort to prevent his kids from misusing his gun and you folks want to hang him for it.

Sometimes I think we are our own worst enemies.



[This message has been edited by proximo (edited June 04, 2000).]
 
Responsibility, we need to look at this and see who is responsible, the gun? no, it's just a hunk of metal siting there, the kids? no, even if they did know better, they are still not wise enough to think things out while angry at each other, Dad? well that is the thing that makes this all so hard, I think yes, becuse if he knew those kids were going to be alone in that house and he knew the gun was in reach, well I think he did a poor job of of making sure those kids could not find it. trigger lock or no trigger lock.

Just because you put a muzzle on a dog that bites, does not mean that dog is not a threat anymore.

------------------
"The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, becuse the whole body of the people are armed"
Noah Webster

Second Amendment lover? www.2ndamdlvr.homestead.com/home.html
Support H.R.347 Citizens Self-Defense act of 1999! Sign petition at: www.petitiononline.com/protect/petition.html
 
If you own a gun to protect your family, part of that protection is teaching them how to treat and behave around the gun. Here's what I've tried to do with my wife and kids:

1. Kids: Taught them what to do if they find or see a gun (get away and tell an adult).

2. Let them handle each gun when I acquire it and when they reasonably request to do so out of curiosity, but only in my presence. I don't want the kids satisfying their curiosity about guns when I'm not around.

3. Explain and demonstrate the lethality and danger connected with guns, and that every gun should be treated as if it were loaded and pointed in a safe direction. That means NO horseplay if someone in the room is holding a gun. I repeat this every chance I get. I set a good example myself, and handle guns and ammunition with the proper respect.

4. Go to the range myself between one and four times a month. Let the kids watch while I clean the guns afterward. Offer to take them shooting, either at the range or with pellet guns in the backyard, working on safety first, then accuracy.

5. I explain and demonstrate that shooting is a fun and relaxing sport and hobby both, engrossing because it requires absolute attention at all times, and that it also provides a means of family protection, not to mention varmint control ;).

6. All guns under my and my wife's control, all the time. Either with me, or in the house in a safe or locked box, whose combinations are not written down.

You all may have additional ideas to post as well.

This father was probably new to guns, and there isn't a good source of information for the new gun owner in the common media. (Except, of course, that guns are bad and you should be ashamed if you have one.)

I think he made a good effort based on what "they" led him to believe would render his gun "safe." He relied on the Holy Trigger Lock, and forgot how curious and crafty young boys can be. No guns in public housing projects? "Sitting ducks" is one phrase that comes to mind. I'd have a gun too.

New gun owners need more information on keeping their families safe than 'Here's your trigger lock, now your gun is "safe."' Ideally, gun (and family) safety is maximized when every person in the home is trained and qualified to handle and shoot a gun safely.

In my opinion, the RKBA is well-served by pointing out that reliance on trigger locks alone is dangerous. Guns can not truly be made "safe" and still be useful for their intended purpose, any more than electricity or gasoline can. New gun owners should be encouraged to familiarize their families with guns and gun safety, instead of hiding their gun away with a trigger lock.

[This message has been edited by Ledbetter (edited June 05, 2000).]
 
Amen.
There will never be a machine to replace a well informed, responsible person. However, machines can be used by the informed, responsible person to accomplish their reasonable purpose. The horse should go in FRONT of the cart.

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Those who use arms well cultivate the Way and keep the rules.Thus they can govern in such a way as to prevail over the corrupt- Sun Tzu, The Art of War
 
Seems straightforward to me that the owner of the gun is responsible for it. He made some effort with the lock, but what good is a lock if the key is accessible? The key should have been on his person.

There's a line that says guns are not allowed in public housing, which surprises and upsets me. That's another issue which could bear some discussion.
 
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