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.
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.